The B.P.R. Council has mandated that I start documenting some of the Arizona Ludacracy, so this is my version of the Sandbox Showdown 2012. I forgot a camera, so stole some pictures off the web and credited as best I could. I really don’t feel like typing much, so I will give you the typical Mad Rhino list.
Sandbox Showdown 2012 – the inaugural race year. I think we were the guinea pigs, as no one as ever put on a race like this in the desert. This fatbike race was about 35 miles through the washes and river beds in Tucson – Aqua Caliente Wash > Tanque Verde Creek > Rillito Creek > Santa Cruz River.
Race Rules
- Ride your fatbike through the washes
- Follow route on laminated card.
- Use number on the back of the card for emergency extraction.
- No GPX tracks, follow the sand
- Stop at the bars along the wash and every dollar you spent gets one minute deducted off your race time. Everything you buy has to be consumed prior to leaving the bar. Buying local shots was encouraged.
- Get out at St. Mary’s Road – head back to Sky Bar.
- Be at Sky Bar by 5:20 pm race cut off.
- Don’t die. Don’t drink the water.
The List
- Saturday Night race check in – Borderlands Brewery – all out of Porters, settled for Ambers all night.
- Saturday Night Dinner – B Line – Veggie Burrito and Milk Stout
- Crashed at race headquarters.
- Freezing race morning, forgot my long sleeve bike shirt. “Teddnecked” up and Wore my long sleeve button flannel under my shirt sleeve plaid race shirt. It was the homeless biker look I was going for.
- Forgot my camera, stole some pictures off the web.
- Dropped the Creepy Van off at race finish line – Sky Bar.
- Broke bladder bite valve, water all over the place, tied knot in bladder hose.
- Peddled to race headquarters.
- Party starts.
- Fixed bladder bite valve – loaner valve from Dejay and a zip tie.
- Pedaled to shuttle bus, and loaded up, and drove to Aqua Caliente Park.
- Race started – and discovered really quick that an 18t cog on the back of a singlespeed fatbike was going to hurt at the end of the day.
- Lots of sand, horse prints, and not very much coasting, pedaled all day.
- More pedaling, more giggling, and lots of suffering.
- No GPS – no idea how far or how fast I was traveling.
- Rotated places with everyone from last to 2nd many times throughout the course of the day.
- Decided to skip the bars as it wasn’t in the race budget and my B.P.R. sponsorship checks haven’t shown up in the mail yet.
- Wash seriously overgrown. Death was possible, and no one would find me. McMurdo and SPOT were my friends in my pack. Riding solo for a long time.
- Continued on battling it out for second place finish.
- Was right behind 1st place Al at the Santa Cruz river.
- Hear loud pop along the river. Thought is was just one of the homeless camps.
- Rear skewer snaps in half, lose Surly Tugnut somewhere.
- My race is over and had to bail to the bike path back to town.
- 8-10 mile ride back to town with no rear skewer. Tires rubbing chain stay, brakes screaming at me, and wheel falling off every so often. Scary ride along the streets with no sidewalk and no skewer holding the rear tire on.
- Horizontal track dropouts have one advantage – break a skewer, you can get home…maybe.
- DNF’ed the race battling 2nd place 8-10 miles out.
One of the hardest and most grueling rides I’ve been on in a long time.
Look for more info at Drunkcylist
Sandbox Showdown 2012 Race Flyer
Race Map
Jelly Shots under the bridge. Photo by Dirty of DC
Photo by Dirty of DC
Loading up the short bus with fatbikes. Photo by Dirty of DC
Keener and his 36×43 rear cog on a 36er. I think this might be one speed above walking. He did finish 2nd. Photo by Keener Cycleworks.
The Mad Rhino coming up under the I-10 underpass. Photo by Singlespeed Steeds of Steel (SSSS)
Sandbox Showdown Gang 2012. Photo by SSSS
Photo by SSSS
BACK OF THE PACK RACING 
moral of the story? extra tug nuts? stash of PBR? ca@h a check from BPR? either way, I hope not to miss this in 2013.
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Mr. Judd…extra tugnuts won't help when you snap a skewer. In hind sight…I should have put the Pug front skewer on the rear, and duct taped the front wheel into the front fork dropouts. I value my grill through, so I didn't.
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Mad Rhino. I guess my reading comprehension isn't what it once was. Oh well. Let's try this again. Moral of the Story… if you were hanging at the back of the pack, or the front of the back of the pack, but not the front of the pack, then maybe the skewer would've survived. Then again, that wouldn't be any fun.
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If you look closely at our new urban art collection you'll see elements of design made popular by street art.
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