As 2025 rolled around a year ago, I set a goal that had been twinkling in my mind for some time: I signed up for a bikepacking ultra.  I'm no racer when it comes to bikepacking by any means, but there was something to the promise of a shared group experience along with sure physical challenge that stuck with me.  Plus, Janna and I were having a baby in early June which would change the calculus of our free time as late-term pregnancy and newborn responsibilities surged.  The goal became to try one out, preferably locally, and lined up with my time off.  Right around winter break 2024, I spied an Instagram post by Dexter Kopas about the SonorAn Ultra Endurance Ride (SAUER) that he and Henley Philips planned on co-hosting mid-March.  I cross-checked the dates and it landed smack on day one of my spring break - it couldn't be better timing.  And the route traveled on majority dirt roads around southern Arizona - one of my favorite places in the spring and my style of riding.  I signed up immediately when the 320 mile event registration opened.  The date was set, and now I had a real push to get into cycling shape by March.