Ep. 196 ~ Matt Annabel, AZT 300 Yo-Yo on a Singlespeed
Bikes or Death
Patrick Farnsworth
4.8 • 563 Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2025
⏱️ 151 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
While you were sipping egg nog and opening the presents that Santa Claus brought you, Matt Annabel was starting his AZT 300 Yo-Yo attempt. And while you were watching the ball drop or lighting fireworks to ring in the New Year, Matt was still out riding the AZT 300 Yo-Yo. I can't think of a more epic way to close out one year and ring in a new one than riding your damn bike on one of the most beautiful and challenging routes in bikepacking, the Arizona Trail 300. In true legend fashion, and in true Matt Annabel fashion, he did it on a singlespeed!
Matt's ride was not an official time as he didn't stay on the official race course and he also stayed with a friend in Tucson, but that was never Matt's goal. He had other goals and intentions behind this ride that are just as valid as an official ITT, at least in my opinion.
On today's episode Matt shares with us how this trip came together at the last minute, with literally zero training or planning, his personal reasons for being out there, and some really insightful background on some of the AZT trail history. He also reveals some big plans that he has on his bike for this year!
Matt is a true wordsmith, who provided daily recaps during his ride. I strongly recommend you checking those out on his social media page for more context and perspective to this conversation. I also recommend you read, for a good laugh, his account of the Drive-by Dildo that impacted Indy Shultzs' face during the 2023 AZTR. He also has created and published a route called Rolling Horse in Colorado that sounds truly special.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Bikes for Death podcast. |
| 0:03.4 | As always, my name is Patrick, and I'm your host. |
| 0:06.3 | And on today's episode, I am happy to welcome Matt Annabelle to the podcast. |
| 0:12.2 | While you were drinking eggnog and opening the presence that Santa Claus brought you, |
| 0:18.9 | Matt was starting his attempt of an AZT 300 yo-yo. |
| 0:24.8 | And while you were watching the ball drop or lighting fireworks, |
| 0:30.5 | Matt Annabelle was still out riding his damn bike on the AZT-300 yo-yo. |
| 0:36.9 | Today we are going to talk to him about his experience out there on |
| 0:41.8 | the Arizona Trail. For what it's worth, this was not an official ITT. He was out there doing a tour |
| 0:47.7 | with some other goals and intentions behind his ride, all of which we will be discussing on |
| 0:53.6 | today's podcast. One thing that I |
| 0:56.0 | found kind of cool and interesting about Matt's AZT 300 Yo-Yo was how little preparation and |
| 1:03.5 | planning went into it. And we're going to break that down in today's episode. But he is no |
| 1:10.3 | stranger to the AZT. Over the last 15 months, he has put in |
| 1:15.3 | 2,000 miles on that trail. So he knows the trail. He obviously loves the Arizona Trail, as most |
| 1:22.6 | people do, who have had an opportunity to go out there and ride it. And he did it on a single speed in true legend fashion. |
| 1:31.4 | We had a fantastic chat about his experience out there, |
| 1:34.3 | and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. |
| 1:36.6 | I do want to offer a quick apology because it's been a little while |
| 1:41.0 | since I released an episode of the podcast, |
| 1:43.5 | and all I can say is I'm sorry I had some |
| 1:46.6 | I had gone on that bike packing trip to Oaxaca and when I got back I got sick and while I was |
... |
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