overhaulin

Submitted by redstone underground

Sometimes, the best thing to do it take it all apart and start from scratch.

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SSUSA 2010 Results

Submitted by KRISTA PARK

 

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Ramsay Cascade

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

Despite less than ideal weather, I was determined to make something out of nothing. Fortunately I was able to talk Eric into going for a hike on a shitty Saturday. We drove to the mountains in the rain, which became snow above 2000′. It was hard to tell at what elevation the snow would fall, so rain was a good possibility.

Snow was a welcome sight. We climbed around on icy boulders in old growth forest looking for a big waterfall, and I figure that was good way to spend what was a rainy Saturday morning in Knoxville. Hope you enjoy my pics.

On our way back from the falls, we passed a couple of other groups, which was somewhat of a suprise given the conditions at the lower elevations. But the true hearty souls were the one carying kayaks up the trail to put in the Middle Prong of the Pigeon River on a cold day with the water ripping. We saw two different groups making runs. The water looked rough, way above my skill level in a boat.

The spelling of the the name Ramsay is contridicted here:

I’m a tree hugger

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Our Southern Highlanders

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

My interest in the Smoky Mountain backcountry has been renewed since picking up a copy of Our Southern Highlanders. If not for the ban on dogs, I would certainly spend more time in these mountains; not to mention the favoring of horses over bikes!
In the interest of exploring, my latest bike is a shoe. I’m heading into the cold rain and snow tomorrow.

Historical Photos from Horace Kephart

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We need to go back here:

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

Devils Backbone

Hall Top / Stone Mountain

TN Loookout Towers

Of course it’s better as a shuttle run, but Dunnigan lays out a good route to climb it:

From the Hartford exit (Exit 447), you can ride a 19 mile loop up to the Stone Mountain tower ( Hall Top). Park at Mill Creek road (1260′) on your left, ride the pavement up Big Creek Road 3.7 miles to a left at Raven Branch and then a left at mile 4.1 and then a left at mile 4.5 up gravel Hall Top Road (FR 207). (The lower area is residential, and there are lots of dogs!@!) Climb 5 miles to the tower (3610′). Stone Mountain trail (#9), departs from the cliff area 0.2 miles before the tower and descends 2.5 miles to FS 110 which drops 3.5 miles along Mill Creek. Follow Mill Creek Rd 1.3 miles back to Big Creek Road.

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SSUSA 2010

Submitted by Diary of Scott Morris

I blame it on Lynda. When I rode with her last weekend she made singlespeeding look so fun. More fun than it has ever seemed to me.

She was riding a shiny silver Lenz singlespeed. Perhaps coincidentally I had just picked up a shiny silver Lenz frame from Mike on the Kaibab.

As I was drifting off to sleep on Monday I was thinking about transferring my old parts to the new frame when it hit me. Why not leave the shifters off? It’d save me some setup time and Dejay’s “Singlespeed USA” was coming up. Plus Chad had a new YESS tensioner that was rumored to work well on full suspension frames.

Though I had no place asking him for it, given that I had chided him for even thinking about turning his Leviathan into a singlespeed (!), he hooked me up with the tensioner, a cog, some spacers and everything else I needed to turn my shiny Lev into a single. (Thanks Chad)

And so, for the first time I had a legitimate entry and chance at Dejay’s singlespeed race. (Previously I had both “won” the race by cheating on a geared bike and also been completely decimated on a borrowed way-too-small rigid SS).

 



course map, a classic Tucson loop
 

Dejay had a little surprise for us at the start. Front wheels were removed and bikes left on the side of Redington Road. I have one of these:

DT 9mm non quick release skewer. Great for descending Milagrosa and hucking ledges on upper Chiva. Not so great for quick transitions. It really only takes a few extra seconds to tighten down. But I fumbled with it, almost left half tightened, then stopped to twist it some more.

So I started 50 or 60 riders back and the leaders were already out of sight. Fiddlesticks!

I clawed my way into the top twenty relatively quickly, but the price was high. The leaders were well ahead and WAY above, which was not inspiring. I took time benchmarks and surmised that they were not riding any faster than us, they were simply ahead. I planted that (perhaps untrue) thought in my head and kept focused… just a bad start.

I slowly picked a few people off, but it was hard work. I found it almost impossible to bridge up to the chase pack on the singlespeed (spin spin! tuck tuck!), but I did everything I could, and finally passed a Durango rider just before the singletrack. Several chasers were visible ahead on the singletrack, and I knew I had an advantage on the next section of trail, so I backed off and tried to recover. There wasn’t much recovering going on, but I caught the group of 4-5 riders, and Beto was there to clue the others that I knew where I was going. “Follow Scott, he’s GPS man!” At which point they were stuck on me like glue as we made our way down the vague “trail.”

The upper chiva loop is full of steep ledgy climbs. Just rideable on the SS, but I knew my legs held finite strength to climb such things. And that strength was much less than the guys around me. So I walked early and I walked a lot. And I didn’t really lose much time. My entire body was coming unglued, though. It had never really come down from the ferocious start.

The entire race was really fun for me mentally. So many things were new that I had to constantly flex my brain as to how to react and what was “fastest.” I am not used to starting so far back in any race — I’ve always thought that it was hard to deal with mentally and that the urge to give up is too great. But it wasn’t today. I took it as a new challenge and it was super fun. I had plenty of new challenges, so what’s another?

I was a little puzzled that I couldn’t catch anyone on the high chiva descent. It’s easily as techy as anything on Milagrosa, and I was riding aggressively and hucking ledges. Then one of the guys was on the side of the road with a flat.

I could not shake one of the Durango riders, no matter how hard I tried. He admitted to being in survival mode, and I responded by singing the “I love hike-a-bike” song as we pushed our bikes up “the Chute” on chiva, even though I was most definitely in survival mode as well. We kept the pace high on Redington and learned we were in 10th and 11th from other riders on the route. We chatted about the trail ahead and riding in Durango, and though we were talking we punched all the hills, to which my quads responded with the quiver of cramping.

Crud. Cramping is rarely an issue for me, but then I don’t normally ride this fast, nor do I ever ride singlespeed. I figured it was from torturing weak SS-specific muscle groups, not other causes. I tested that theory several times over the next hour, discovering the limits of what I could and could not pedal. It became a game of seeing how much I could get away with, running just up to the edge of cramping, then backing off. If I had been descending a bunch I was good for several bursts out of the saddle. Otherwise there was no choice but to walk.

Learn and adapt. But most of all, keep moving.

I went from 11th to 8th by riding self supported and skipping the “comfort station.” Out of sight, out of mind. I attacked weakly, but one rider who was at the aid station (Tim Allen) pulled me back in. I trailed behind him as I continued to teeter on the edge of shutdown. We caught up to Fuzzy all too quickly. He muttered something about doing a big race just recently, then I pedaled around to continue hunting Tim.

I pedaled on the nose of my seat instead of standing and found that my legs held energy. I just couldn’t access it. Not on this bike and in this terrain. I reeled Tim in on the dirt road climbs just before Milagrosa. I figured the advantage was mine, with all my suspension. But boy was I wrong. He absolutely rocked the trail, start to finish. On an 18 pound rigid bike! Going into the gauntlet I was very curious to see how much he would ride, thinking my trail knowledge and supposed skill would finally give me the break I needed.

But he rode just as much as I did, and when I clipped back in before the first switchback, my calf cramped. Ooh. Had to let that settle down before attempting to navigate the rest of the rock garden. Tim was well ahead by now. Awesome.

I closed in on the straight/fast/rough sections, though I think I was just as rattled as he was, or perhaps more so. Despite my complete lack of composure, I remember several moments of “wow, I love this bike”, flying off a ledge or maneuvering around some tricky obstacle.

I spied Beto ahead, and when I passed it was clear he was either spent, spun out or didn’t care. Maybe a combination of all three. I quickly spun up to Tim as we exited the singletrack onto neighborhood roads. “I guess it’s going to come down to a sprint finish”, he said. “Yeah, kind of lame to sprint flat pavement into someone’s driveway.” But so it was, and after yoyo-ing back and forth a little, I motored on ahead and signed the finish sheet fourth. I don’t really know what place I was (probably 5th because someone didn’t sign in?!), but it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy I was able to ride anywhere near these guys and was able to hold together a solid SS effort. I had an awesome time out there, riding hard, learning and pushing limits. Just another great day on the bike.

I am looking forward to more rides on the SS Lev, for sure.

PS – Check Mike’s pics and words from the snowbiking trip.

And, trackleaders.com is getting slammed by thousands and thousands of Yukon Quest and Kiwi Brevet fans. Had no idea both of these events were so popular. So far so good on the tracking side of things.

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2010 Sponsor Update

Submitted by KRISTA PARK

 

I am excited for 2010!  I was lucky enough to line up every one of my first picks when it came to companies and products this year! My goal was to build the sweetest bikes possible after looking at all Interbike had on display in September. Thanks to every company listed on the right side of this blog I was able to do it!

Cannondale and Incycle are my title sponsors, most of my other sponsors will remain the same as in 2009.

New Frames:  For 2010 I think my hardtail will weigh ~ 17.5lbs and my full-suspension ~19.5lbs. hmmm that will be really cool! Of course this is on paper, we’ll see what the scale says. My 2009 S-Works carbon hardtail was raced just over 19lbs and I thought that was light!

 Flash Frame

 Scalpel Frame

Picture them with the Lefty forks, Cannondale Hollowgram SL 2×10 cranks, SRAM XX drivetrains and the rest of the builds looks like this:

White Jagwire Housing with red bits

 1210g Podium NoTubes Wheelset

 Kenda Small Block and Kenda Karma tires

 Magura Marta SL Mags

 WTB Silverado Saddles

 

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Intro to snow bikepacking

Submitted by Diary of Scott Morris

The drive north was a little surreal. Fog curled over the Vermillion cliffs, the road was empty, and snow appeared low in the desert.

I met Mike Curiak and Brian Blair at the Jacob Lake Inn. Mike handed me a bicycle, fresh off the jig in Steamboat Springs.

A Snoots — a Moots titianium softtail, designed specifically for touring on snow. Sweet.

I had a couple hours to turn the garage sale erupting around my car into a cohesive snow bikepacking kit. I didn’t know what I was doing, so there were a number of educated guesses in there.

Streamlined, well thought out, confident? Not the words you’d use to describe my kit.

We knew even less about the trail and snow conditions. There was a bit of a celebration when we discovered a ~packed trail heading south, towards the Grand Canyon.

I was amazed we were able to ride at all through the soft and deep snow. These bikes are pretty cool! Though it was always slow and broken by long stretches of walking.

No big deal, though, the walking was easy and allowed the head turn around and take in the surroundings.

I have spent so little time on snow in the last decade that it seemed like a different world. I flashed back to memories of skiing in Utah as a teenager. Except I had to remind myself that there were no quick runs back to the parking lot, no lodges and no warm places. Just an endless world of beautiful white.

We walked and walked, crunched snow, rode and rode, and in seven hours we had covered 14 miles. Only 14 miles out, but it felt like we were out there, knowing how much time and energy it’d take to get back.

The sun dropped and the temperature plummeted. I learned that you have to react quickly to temperature changes, and I payed for it getting chilled while Brian worked on his frozen derailleur pulley. Brian is also from a warm place (SoCal) but he seemed much more comfortable in the cold than I did.

We rode a little bit after sunset. It was fun to see how little light you need – slow speeds and reflective surface. Then we stomped out a place for a few sleeping bags and a fire.

I fiddled with my alcohol stove for quite a while (apparently they don’t work very well in the cold) and eventually got some ~boiling water for dinner. Mike had already made and eaten dinner, plus melted a gallon or two of snow, so I took some of his water. We stood around the fire telling stories and jokes, then finally sauntered off to try to stay warm without el fuego.

There was a certain amount of curiousity, lying there for the first minutes, trying to fall asleep. I don’t know quite how to explain it, only that when you are doing something foreign (sleeping on snow, in easily sub freezing temps) your mind tends to wonder. I knew if I got really cold all I had to do was jump up and run down or up the trail, so there was no real worry.

I was actually quite comfortable, and slept well. My toes were chilled in the morning hours as I laid around waiting for the sun’s influence to be felt in the world again. But otherwise I was toasty warm. According to Mike’s thermometer, it was 8 degrees when we left camp, an hour or so after sunrise. Maybe 4 or 5 was the overnight low?

In the morning I learned again how critical it is to have a streamlined kit. As soon as I put my feet into my frozen shoes they became very unhappy. Perhaps more a function of my non-ideal footware choice (hiking shoes with NEOS overboots) than anything else. But it was clear that standing around fiddling with gear was a good way to freeze, fast. I did my best packing up the gear and said to Mike, “I’m going to walk down the trail to get my feet back.”

Mike, on the other hand, was packed up and ready to ride in what seemed like two blinks of the eye. Streamlined, well thought out, confident? Yep, you’d use those words to describe MC and his kit. I guess this isn’t his first rodeo or sumthin’.

There was a moment where I wasn’t too happy with myself, wondering if my feet actually would come back. When you can’t feel them you aren’t really sure how far gone they are. But several minutes dumb walking led to toasty toes.

I started trying to ride. But snow conditions were no better than yesterday. Things were still in the ~3 mph range. I questioned whether we would make it to the North Rim (~45 miles out), let alone back. It seemed pretty pointless to continue, but I knew conditions can be variable, so I figured I’d keep trudging along for at least a few hours to see if it would get any better.

It seemed to be getting worse, and I started getting frustrated. Part of it was the psychology of the out and back (why push / fight your bike one way, only to push / fight it back), and part of it was a regular old ‘low’ moment of being a little tired. MC and Brian both seemed to be able to ride more than I did, and moved a little faster.

After a long snack / gear break I decided I was turning back. We mulled over the options and the numbers, and MC and Brian decided to join me. It did indeed seem unlikely we’d make it to the North Rim (for the view and possibly a hike down canyon) with enough time to get back (we only had ~4 days of food and fuel at best).

 



Brian on his Pugsley with homemade frame bag
 

I expected continuing SLOW conditions on the way back, which meant we’d camp another night on snow.

 



Mike, running as cool and settled as the snow around him
 

But the trail firmed up, some NPS rangers passed by on snow mobiles, and I found myself spinning in granny gear, uphill, on what was perhaps the steepest hill we had yet seen.

Awesome! So this snow biking thing really is possible…

Oops. Keep your bike upright!

We stopped for a hot lunch, basking in the warm sun. My stove worked a little better, but melting snow to refill the camelbak was still a little tedious. I’ll need to figure out something else next time.

It was a beautiful day to be out on the bike. Brian out front, per usual.

Besides improving trail conditions, we were also descending — far more than it seemed like we had climbed in the other direction.

Fun stuff ensued — pumping the rises, swooping through ruts, one foot out around corners, trying to catch Mike and Brian only to go superman off the bike into the powder!

It still wasn’t ‘good’ conditions, just ‘good’ compared to what we had seen before. Our rear tires would still sink into holes. It was fun to try to get a read on the conditions, based on the snow mobile tracks and MC and Brian’s tracks. The sink holes were completely avoidable… sometimes.

We reached Jacob Lake just after sunset. We inhaled whatever they would cook us inside, then hit the road for warmer climates. My parents were in St. George, so I was excited to see them and stay at their place.

The next day we rode with two national champions, both in a bit of a goofy mood (that was the first they’d worn the jerseys since winning them at 24 Hours of Moab). Lynda was flying on her shiny singlespeed, I was trailing with tired legs and a persistent headache.

But man did it feel good to get out and ride some dirt.

And rock. MC on the quasi snow bike. It didn’t seem to slow him down any, and this way he didn’t even have to contemplate the big moves, like Base Jump. I pretended like I gave it a half serious look on my ‘big’ bike.

 



photo by Lynda Wallenfels
 

There were a couple fun things to ride on it, though.

DH and MC sessioning on Zen Trail. Yeah!

It’s always good to see friends and family. Bonus that it worked out that way on this trip.

The next morning I got to ride with my Dad. It was a little chilly (30’s) since I needed to go early, but once we were rolling it was quite nice.

I’m totally jealous of the ‘backyard’ trails my parents have.

Super scenic, super fun. Slickrock, techy sections.

Even a side move or two.

It was an invigorating way to start the day and a long drive back to Tucson. I decided to return back through Jacob Lake and Flagstaff to digest a few more snow visuals. In many ways the snow bikepacking seemed like a dream, and my eyes were craving more trees and deep snow, perhaps to prove it was real.

I’m still processing the experience and don’t know quite what to think. Most of the drive back I was just thankful for all the people in my life and everything I have. Life is full and I feel very lucky. Special thanks to Mike for all the info and encouragement over the years, and for loaning me his incredibly sweet and incredibly new snowbike for the trip.

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Ask and ye shall receive

Submitted by redstone underground

Remember the cone zone at the bottom of Hall Ranch and how the trail had widened to an unacceptable and disgusting width? Boulder County OS staff has reworked the trail. They have fixed most of the damage and have given more visual cues of the trails character. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that recent changes at Hall Ranch are a direct result feedback from the mountainbike community.

I was out today. Here are a couple few before and after pics:

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push to the top; ski down

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

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first tracks at the ridge

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

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Racing Singlespeeds, it’s a great date.

Submitted by KRISTA PARK

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Official Tuesday Ride info for 2/2

Submitted by redstone underground

Tuesday ride heads to the deep south this week. The trails are dry and rideable at Green Mountain in Lakewood so we’re making the trek. Let’s try to leave Lyons around 5:30 so we can be there by 6:30 and be pedaling soon after that. We WILL NOT be meeting at the Rooney Road parking lot. I’ve heard info about some break ins and what not so we’ll try to avoid that. We’ll be meeting some Denver crew down there as well. Meetup point will be:

Ironworks Brewery & Pub
12354 West Alameda Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80228

This way, we can follow it up with brew and food at Ironworks,

See you there! We should probably hook up a carpool from Lyons as well as one from Boulder if there’s enough folks interested.

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Let’s plan ahead for next Tues

Submitted by redstone underground

I hear that the southerners down in the Golden/Lakewood area received very little snow. I have some feelers out right now on trail conditions. Provided conditions are worth the trip, how about making the trek down to Lakewood for a Green Mountain night ride? We haven’t done that in a loooooong time.

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sleding

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

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Antelope Peak Challenges

Submitted by Diary of Scott Morris

That photo sets the scene. Blankets of snow in all directions. Puddles and saturated soil at the Willow Springs arch.

The sunset was unreal. But even the light wind cut right through us. What would it be like at 3am?

All indications pointed to ‘bail’. I was swimming in a sea of doubt as I nodded off. I wasn’t sure this loop was doable with perfect conditions, and we had no idea what it would be like out there after a week of heavy rain and snow. We did know that it would be cold.

Our faith was tested. Everyone joked about bailing, testing to see if anyone was serious. But nobody was.

We pedaled out into the cold night.

 



Enduro dorks at circular K.
 

We collected a few extra calories and a bit of warmth before blasting out of Oracle, set for a long day on the Arizona Trail.

For thin-blooded Arizonans, I think we were all dressed a little light. Nobody wanted to haul pounds of clothing all day, but it would be a long time before the temperature climbed above freezing.

There is one thing that keeps you warm, more so than layers: pedaling hard. We were flying through the early switchbacks of the Arizona Trail, hot blood returning life to various appendages. Cold air and a layer of frost had settled into every wash. The ground was wet, but still frozen. I wondered what would happen when the sun came out.

That was hours away, though. We were well into the endless expanse of the gasline before we even saw a hint of hope on the horizon. We also saw a hint of a Jonesy headlamp, somewhere above Bloodsucker wash.

Jonesy had started at midnight, and I have to give him huge credit for having the guts to head out on 100% new-to-him trail, alone, and in the dark.

This area is so remote and ‘out there’ that all three of us, though we observed it independently, were absolutely certain the light had to be Jonesy. He provided us a nice carrot to chase.

 



Cholla mine field. Classic Antelope Peak singletrack.
 

Max and I set to Bloodsucker wash just a little ahead of Chad. Earlier washes we had crossed on the gasline had been completely reformed by the rain, paved over with a hard crust. But not Blood-suck-a… somehow it was slower than normal!!

Max’s rear tire was shooting up a fountain of gravel as he churned through the deep and heavy sand. Suddenly Chad was in front of us!

Then, he disappeared. How the?

I finally clued in that there was only a Jonesy track in the sand. I turned into a side channel and watched my speed increase and effort level drop. I was coasting instead of pedaling hard! Max followed me, but I never saw him again.

Chad had a big jump on me, so far that I couldn’t see him on the switchbacks out of Bloodsucker, nor was he at the next gate. I put some weight on the pedals and caught him just before the windmill at Beehive well.

We pedaled together for a while, but my legs wanted to go a bit faster. I was hunting Jonesy, but after a while I realized my tire was leaving a slight indentation in the soft ground, but there was no Jonesy track.

I reached the Freeman cache and to my surprise there were people there. Two backpackers were being resupplied and fed McDonald’s breakfast (?!) by a couple of trail angels. At nine o’clock, in the middle of nowhere!?

Chad pulled up, then a few minutes later the trail angels yelled to us, “here comes your buddy!” My brain tried to make Max out of Jonesy, but it didn’t work. Jonesy had climbed Antelope Peak, watched us pedaling far below, and was going to stick with the shorter APC loop.

“What are you thinking?” Chad asked me. It felt like we had made good time, but somehow it was later than expected. Adding up the time to completion resulted in a minuscule probability of finishing before dark. Didn’t the sun just barely come up?!?

“I’m thinking we can make it.” Mostly true, I was thinking that. Perhaps believing is a better word.

We rolled out for more sinuous AZT, through the Boulders segment. Things were a little wet, but traction was superb, allowing us to carve corners and use our momentum to full effect. I hardly remember touching my brakes. Lots of coasting and smiling.

Before we knew it, we were climbing ‘the big hill’ on Ripsey. Note the flowing and recently terraformed wash stage right.

Switchbacks!

Though the temperature couldn’t have been a degree or two above 50, the sun cooked us enough to drop down to shorts and short sleeves.

The trail, the views, the warm air, the strength in my legs — everything came together at once. Everything that seemed so improbable before was right before us. Simply existing on this ridge was proof.

 



photo by Chad Brown
 

Total white moment. I got goosebumps as my freewheel coasted and I tried to take it all in.

 



photo by Chad Brown
 

We railed the switchback descent, counting in Spanish as we cleaned (or didn’t) each one.

After Ripsey we found ourselves at the furthest point ‘out’ on the loop. It had taken us over 10 hours to get here, and to top if off, it was also the lowest point on the route. Gulp.

After a brief moment’s panic (20+ hour ride?!) I tested my legs by pedaling hard up the road. Good! The long climb would disappear beneath our wheels, and soon we were back on singletrack and making killer time.

We saw the backpackers again, this time taking a moment to chat. Apparently it was a good day to start AZT adventures at 3am — they also had an early start. They quizzed us about the trail ahead and thanked us for our memory and GPS guided tire tracks — this can be a tough area to stay on the trail.

A mild perma-bonk settled in as we neared the end of the Boulders segment. Eating kept a full bonk at bay, but I never really got out of it.

The sun set quicker than we wanted it to. We were still a long ways out on Willow Springs road, riding in the shadow of still snowy Black Mountain. Though I had just as much clothing as I did at much colder sunrise, I wasn’t able to stay warm once we started losing elevation. I got ahead of Chad on a few hills so I could unclip and run up them, trying to keep my feet with me. It worked.

We made our way cautiously through the last couple miles of singletrack on the 24 Hour Course, full lights blazing. Chad’s car was a welcome sight, for it held my coat and other warm things.

I’m still a little shocked that we made it, and I’m so happy we were able to suspend our disbelief and give it a go. Great ride, Chad, thanks.

Stats: 114 miles, 14,500′ gain, 15:47 total time.

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cell phone photos

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

Pisgah

Blue Ridge Parkway-> does this pic look as cold as it felt?

Macie contemplates snow

This one’s for Harpers Bikeshop

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Submitted by redstone underground

I think I’m going crazy because I haven’t been out in over a week. Due to my addiction and needing a fix, I opened the shop late today so I could at least get 45 minutes on the bike. Well, I was out for 45 but the ride didn’t pan out. Good reason, though, as I ran into County Open Space staff at Hall ranch.

Previous posters are right, Hall is a mess right now. It was frozen when I was there so conditions were prime. With the absence of added moisture, conditions should be soft but acceptable for the rock garden. It’s a mess because there are sections where the trail is 10+ feet wide.

Antelope is a sheet of ice and will continue to be so for some time.

I talked with the county guy about maintenance and the new “reroute” at the bottom of the rock garden, more specifically, the positioning of the rocks. They are going to look at redoing some of the rocks to A) make them less prone to t-boning and B) help to imrove general flow.

They’ve also temporarily placed orange cones to keep folks on the trail. They will make it up in the next day or 2 with some equipment to regrade out the ruts on the lower part of the trail. They don’t care if you ride when it’s moderately soft and a little muddy, but they do care that you stay on trail. I didn’t ride in very far. My estimates of trail conditions are based on feedback from county crew workers.

another descriptive pic

I was pretty surprised at the conditions. I haven’t ridden off road in about a month. It was good to get out but sad to see what has transpired.

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Tuesday Ride?

Submitted by redstone underground

The south side LGS route is a frozen mess of ice. I missed out on LHC last week so can’t speak to conditions. It looks like it’ll probably be cold enough by 6 or 630 that Boulder Valley Ranch could be good, too.

Where do y’all want to go?

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50 degrees and sunny at Tanasi

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

It seems rare that a sunny day falls on a Saturday.
It was a picture perfect day for a foursome and a long ride.
Long Live Long Rides!

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I pictured this photo as a race flyer when I took it

Submitted by Harvest The Ride

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Ripsey Dreaming

Submitted by Diary of Scott Morris

I’m having a hard time getting my mind around the Antelope Peak Challenge 115 mile version. I know it’s a big ride, but adding up the moving time from multiple GPX tracks gave some shocking numbers. I’m not so sure it can be done!

And that’s a big part of where the interest lies.

Then there’s the riding, the country and the singletrack. Time for some Ripsey stoke.

Check the switchbacks in the background.

Views aren’t bad once you get up there. ~3 miles of some of the most incredible ridgeline trail I’ve ever laid tire to.

Ripsey is the furthest ‘out’ piece of AZT on the route. Well worth the effort to get there. But can we make it back, too?

Sometimes flowers occlude the trail (there’s a switchback in there!). A sign of how few people have ever been on the trail.

Megaton switchback attack on the descent to the Gila River (photo by Lee Blackwell, from ‘05 thru ride)

Ripsey is a piece of trail I only get to ride about once a year. Here’s hoping we can make it there….

The ‘river’ in our river path does sometimes run! But that means lots of moisture has fallen. The APC has already been delayed until Sunday, and hopefully it’ll be enough.

On an unrelated note, I got this in the mail today:

Bob flats are no bueno.

Communication is so immediate these days, it’s cool that some people still send post cards! That’s from Nick Kindt, who borrowed a trackleaders SPOT unit from us. He’s touring across the country, and can be followed here: http://trackleaders.com/nick.

The irony of the ’slow’ postcards (when my software is picking up points from him every 10 minutes) is not lost on me.

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Submitted by Harvest The Ride

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2010 Race Schedule & Dreaming About Racing

Submitted by KRISTA PARK

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Resting up

Submitted by Diary of Scott Morris

First things, this Saturday (1/23) is the 3rd annual Antelope Peak Challenge. You should come out and ride!

It’s looking like a rainy week, but the course is relatively moisture proof. A lot of sections get better with rain. As long as it’s not raining the night before or morning of, I think it will be OK. I’m in for the 115 mile, though may revert to the 65 if it’s raining at 3am (the start time).

It’s the perfect way to lose yourself in the desert (even if you are carrying a GPS).
I finally found the discipline to rest up for the better part of a week. There were some moments of restlessness, but it’s paying off. The lack of soreness and ability to stay awake/focused all day are a welcome change.

SDMB adopted a mile of the river path, and it’s a mile I ride frequently (3 times during this rest week!). Saturday we spent combing the wash for junk and had some good finds — shopping cart, road barricade, pieces of cars, et cetera. It was fun.

Part of resting up is learning how to say ‘no’ to big rides at times. I have a hard time with that when someone is pushing for it and has dreamed up their own route. But Chad went solo on a ‘bikepack Tucson’ loop. I caught up to him on the backside of Starr Pass.

We rolled around to Robles, and it was pretty obvious Chad was tired. “Why are you so tired — why do you need to rest?” was the question he asked me repeatedly this week. Now the tables had turned!

 



I rode from over there?!
 

OK, he had good reason to be tired, having ridden Cherry Tank from the 50, broken through the Tortolitas and then the Tucson Mountains. He had about 90 miles by the time I joined him on day 2 of his ride.

Maybe parmesan and crackers will bring my energy back?

Cruising back through Starr Pass, I was feeling good. I love it out there. Chad peeled off at the Santa Cruz river path to go pedal home. I kicked it up a notch, just because it felt good, and was home before I wanted to be.

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