The SAUER (Southern Arizona Ultra Endurance Race) is a competitive pedaling adventure and self-supported ultra-endurance race in the wilds of the Sonoran Desert.

Good friend of the shop and Sanitas Cycles rider, Rocky Gingg, shared a race recap and how he came to win the 2026 iteration of the SAUER!!

Route: 317 Miles~15,300ft of climbing. Tucson, AZ

I first heard about the Southern Arizona Ultra Endurance Race a year ago when a friend in Tucson posted his ride on Strava. I immediately became interested and did some digging on the inaugural race, which featured some sporty weather and only 12 riders. The route looked intriguing with a good mix of fast, scenic gravel and a little chunk sprinkled in to keep everyone honest. I signed up for 2026 as an early-season test and a reason to get down to AZ during my favorite time of the year. I recently put drop bars on my Sanitas Root hardtail and knew this was an ideal route for the extremely versatile bike.

Flash forward to race morning – my buddy and I pedaled from our hotel to the start at Presta Coffee and met up with the rest of our Durango crew. Spirits were high, coffee was flowing, and temps were perfect for a long day ahead. Race directors Dexter and Henley gave us some words of encouragement and sent us off at 8:00am.

It felt like a social group ride for the first 30 miles as we zigged and zagged out of Tucson city limits. It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones as we worked our way to the first stretch of gravel. We were absolutely flying, and I was starting to question my bike setup, as many folks were on leaner gravel bikes, and I found myself in the second group of riders. Shortly after hitting gravel, the lead group missed a turn, and I ended up in front for a few miles, headed up Box Canyon. The winner of the SAUER-ita eventually came cruising by, followed by Alex and Jeff. I joined them, and the three of us worked our way up and out of the beautiful climb in the Santa Ritas. We hammered to Sonoita (Mile 63) and were in and out of the Mercantile for some quick cals and water top-offs. Grandma’s Cookies and Coke for me!

The next stretch was much more engaging with chunky double track in and out of washes in the Canelo Hills. My 120mm front fork and 2.1s tires felt great, and I decided I made the right choice with the bike setup. We made it back to smooth gravel and headed south towards the border and near-ghost town of Lochiel. Jeff took off on this section, and I wouldn’t see him again until Rio Rico.

I counted at least 20 Border Patrol vehicles around this zone, which was a little unnerving and gave me a sense of how much activity is going on down there. The climb up to the Patagonia Mountain Cabins was a high point for me, and the literal high point of the race at just under 6,000 ft. The views were incredible; the rugged mountains were absolutely stunning. From there, it was smooth sailing downhill to Rio Rico (Mile 129). This was the last big resupply for nearly 150 miles, so I loaded up with various grab-and-go items, including the usual suspects: Snickers, PayDay’s, M&M’s, Swedish Fish, Uncrustables, Cheeseburger, Chicken Sandwich, Bean Burrito, Chocolate Milk, and of course a Coke. I crushed the burrito and Coke and hopped back on the bike, with Jeff out in front of me, and Alex right behind me.

The next few hours as the sun began to set were incredibly beautiful. I’m biased, as I grew up here, but I think the best sunsets and sunrises are in Arizona. The colors, smells, and sounds of the desert are special, especially this time of year when everything is springing to life. I arrived in Arivaca (Mile 164) just past the 12 hour mark and was a little concerned with warmth as the temps dropped. Fortunately, once I started climbing out of the valley, I warmed up and was fine the rest of the night. I topped off my water at the Three Points spigot (Mile 217) and was feeling great as the dark hours clipped by. The moon rose in the Black Hills and lightened things up quite a bit while I jammed out to some early 2000’s hip-hop. Somewhere around here I saw a blinky red bike light in the distance, and knew I was closing in on Jeff. Unfortunately, he had some stomach issues, which resulted in no food or water for way too long. He was forced to take some time to regroup while I pressed on towards the sunrise.

The dawn hours were chilly, and I couldn’t wait to feel those first beams of sunlight. Eventually, the sun came over the Tucson Mountains, and I felt recharged as my body warmed up and I neared Tucson again. I entered Saguaro National Park (Mile 295) around 7:30 am and knew I was on the homestretch with less than 25 miles to go. It was another beautiful climb with Saguaro’s everywhere you looked, then the first glimpse of the city in 24 hours. I tried to hype myself up for the gas line ramble section, but it was a little worse than anticipated… It seemed to never end, and it was almost comical how much of a kick in the teeth it was so close to the finish. That said, it was honestly better than riding on the road with cars buzzing by.

I finally made it back to pavement and started hammering to try and make it back to Presta before the 26-hour mark. It was in the last ½ mile, right in the heart of Tucson, where I came closest to crashing. I was riding between the light rail tracks before realizing that bikes shared the outer lane with cars, so I rode over the tracks, and my front tire got stuck going 20mph. I nearly went flying off the bike with traffic right behind me, but I was able to save it by unclipping and getting my foot down just in time. I told myself to chill out and just get to the finish unscathed. I arrived to a welcoming party at Presta just after 26 hours and was extremely thankful to finish the SAUER without any setbacks and feeling good. I had a flight to catch in a few hours back to Durango, but thankfully, I was able to see Jeff and Alex finish and exchange a few stories.

I caught the bikepacking bug in 2024 and have made just about every mistake you can think of along the way, but this was the first race where I feel like everything came together. The bike setup ended up being perfect, and the light + fast packing approach worked out. Shoutout to Dexter and Henley for hosting, and a big congrats to everyone who toed the line out there. It takes a lot of time and commitment to show up for these crazy races, so kudos to everyone for getting it done. I’ll likely be back next year for another lap!