So just what does “monstercross” mean? In the first, I had to come up with something to call the race. Otherwise, it means many miles of gravel and dirt roads, some buff and bumpy singletrack (buff in AZ means a different thing, hence the different descriptors given to the Rainbow). We had lots of different solutions to the puzzle, see for yourself which one worked best.

Mark from Bisbee. Dinglespeed fixie (38/34 x 17/21, I think), Winwood carbon fork, 44c Mutanos, Brooks Swift, Midge bars with Brooks tape. Dual BB7 roads. Note massive saddle to bar drop. Mark rocked it, and still had juice to ride a good piece of AZT after lots of gravel road climbing, he was even zipping around on his rig the morning after. He did use his ability to “shift” to good affect fairly early in the race. This is a real MC rig.

Mary Collier, sick light (2.5 lb frame!) Siren 55 (29 front +26 rear). Nice to be married to a frame builder and be light enough to get away with a road tubeset.

Matt from Tucson.

The other Matt.

Troy Marino with his rigid Coconino 29er. Running Nevegals!

Blair Foust and his Voodoo SS. Geared 32×19 because “that’s what I had on there.” Early on I think Blair thought he was undergeared, but it didn’t slow him down (until he decided he “wasn’t having any fun” and took a nap on the RR). Very close to what I would pick as a SS gear, actually.

Brendan Collier, the man hisself, with his own creation. Notable are the Pace fork, sliding drops, and stronglight 29/44 double in the front. Nice shade of blue, too.

Carol Ann with her girly yet strong 3″ Lev. All the pink goodies you could want, dual Ignitors, etc. She seemed pretty fresh after a long day getting turned around and drinking lake water (for which she got the DFL (Deer F-ing Lake) award).

Eric. He was up late Friday night filling his chainring to fit, and had to leave Saturday to work on the South Rim at 0800 the next day!

Fred Wilkinson astride the secret weapon, his custom Sycip 26″ SS, fitted with road disc wheels, 44c Mutanos, and a 32:15! Fred was super fast on the initial smooth dirt and gravel, but chunkier gravel and the uneven climbs revealed the weaknesses of his setup. He gets creativity points nonetheless.

Eventually winner Dave Harris, and his workmanlike Yeti AS-R, with the usual refinements (bottles held on with myriad zipties).

Second place finisher Brian Blair, with his uber-pimped rigid Moots. Erikson post, Willits stem, ti Titec bar. Very close to sub-20 lbs. He had a XR front, and I believe a Crossmark in the back. And a cool jersey.

Ex-racer chicka Dara Marks-Marino, so fast you can’t get a clear shot of her and her Titus. (Actually a combo of low light and our cheapo camera.) She did a lot of strong riding for someone who claimed to be just out for a long ride.

Yours truly with the Karate Monkey in geared form. The Midges proved their worth yet again for this type of riding, though the barend and Kelly Take Off with friction shifters aren’t accesible enough for fast shifting. My 34×17 top gear was also too low on several occasions. It’s a middle ring course, very little granny climbing (at least, before the reroute!).

The Brooks may have had it’s last hurrah on this one, it may be not confy enough for geared riding or just breaking in and revealing it’s limits, but it gave me horrendous saddle sores.

The Nanos were I think perfect tires for the course. Enough float in the chunky stuff, enough traction in the loose. I over rode them a few times on the Raibow, but overall was pleased.

Honorary third-place rider Craig Tuttle and his Maverick. By far the most travel, the added comfort and a conservative start seemed to serve Craig well as he finished strong, riding the southern half of the AZT, the top 9 miles, and finishing with a huge grin well before dark. He was the only rider, I think, to start with a full-0n light setup for a night finish. We may well have had a few more finishers if others had planned as thoroughly.