Paul's biking and stuff blog

CG 200k 3M

2012-01-07T18:33:00.001-09:00

MMM = Me and the Minnesota Maidens. I suppose I could say Minnesota Maidens with legs of steel or titanium or something like that. It's always a bit intimidating riding with folks from out of state as they usually do a lot more of these than I do and today it showed a bit. For one, you really do get a lot of endurance built up doing those things. You may not be able to ride superfast but you can at least hold your speed alot longer than someone who might not do as many of these. Anyway, I suppose I should backtrack a bit.

It was interesting showing up at the shop bright and early. It seems like I don't recognize as many people these days (some have moved, some just don't come out anymore) but it wasn't too long before Lara recognized me from the ride we did on Mines to Pines a year or two ago. She has a real good ability to recognize people. I remembered her of course, after she mentioned where she knew me from, but if she hadn't have said anything I wouldn't have probably thought about it.

Susan said her piece about 20 after and then cast us all off trusting us to know the way. No motor drafting, no one to trigger the lights for us on the way out of town, why, it was almost like she expected us to be self sufficient or something.

I always feel really good the first 5 miles or so. I tell myself what an awesome cyclist I am the way I am keeping up with all the fast guys. How it seems like nothing to just pedal along behind everyone. Of course, once the five miles is up that typically marks the end of the warm up for the fast guys and I get a reality check as the speeds ratchet up to superhuman.

My bike computer got left on my commuter bike so I had no idea how fast we were going. I'd later learn it was around 25mph. Of course I did my best to hold on. Last time I did this I was able to hold them most of the way up the pass but last time I did this I was in a lot better shape. Today I would find myself running out of air huffing like a steam engine about halfway up the main drag to I-10. I was thinking that I should probably drop off somewhere in here when I saw someone drop off the back. Figuring if I tried to man it out the only result I would get is a lot deeper in oxygen debt and be out there trying to recover alone. If I dropped now I not only would not need to recover as much but I would at least have someone else to ride with.

Enter Lara. Yes, year before last when we rode the Mines to Pines we rode pretty much the same speed along with Tom Baker and interestingly enough, it was to happen again today. We worked pretty good together. Heading up to the pass above Coolidge we spotted a group behind us and kind of hoped they would catch up but they never did. One person of the group did and passed us but by the time we started heading down the otherside we would pass him and would be off to the ruins.

Lara surmised the other group was about 2 minutes back and sure enough after we got our cards signed the group showed up 2-3 minutes after us. One of Lara's friends from Minnesota was there and she did a lightning turnaround and headed off with us and so it was the Ladies from Minnesota , who I must say are pretty strong riders for being from a place with a more difficult cycling season this time of year, and I.

In my experience, the CG 200k is an interesting beast. It doesn't have a lot of climbing but the winds are the issue. If one takes too long to get out to the turnaround one might find that the headwind they fought all the way out turns around and becomes a headwind all the way back. If you work a little harder to get out to the lunch stop faster though you might have some tailwind on the way back. So we worked a little extra hard on the way out and got a little payout.

I have to say these Ladies worked my poor legs ragged. I thought the lunch stop would never appear. Not having a bike computer makes it hard to know how far things are and I didn't want to get into asking "are we there yet?" too much and becoming a pest so I just pedalled on. About 5 miles out from the stop I was thinking I was seeing a mirage ahead that looked a lot like a rider. The wind was becoming a real nuisance. Enough of a nuisance that the rider in front of us, who was not a mirage, nearly got caught before we arrived at lunch.

Enter Brian. We had a good lunch and I think I ate too much as the stomache was not happy about an hour down the road. Anyway, Ryan decided to ride back with us and so we were a group of four. Well, 3 and an anchor, although to be fair I did take my pulls until about 13 miles from the end when my stomache started to act up and my legs just wouldn't churn out the revolutions anymore. Fortunately everyone was patient with me and pulled me the last ways in. This is what I meant by perhaps endurance being a bit higher for folks that do a lot of these.

The wind in the last 13 miles shifted to a nasty headwind (but the tailwind was very nice while it lasted). I entered zombie mode and just kept pedalling as best I could. Lara asked me if I had been drinking and I replied "no, I had not been drinking". Then I realized she was talking about water. I had been drinking water but the stomache was not very happy. I probably should have been drinking more water but Michelle's comment about a bike bottle full of Vodka made me laugh. Mirth is good when your dredging the wells.

The pavement eventually turned to utter crap and of course, this means you are getting close to home. For some reason Casa Grande must not have a very large street maintenance budget. I'll have to ask my friend about that come to think of it, he's a city planner down there. Being in that dark place of suffering and delirium I steered us past the turn and we had to go back and find it. We didn't get far but if we had just done the first turn like we were supposed to we might have finished with more than a minute to spare before hitting 8 hours. As is, we did in fact beat 8 hours. My goal was to beat my first time on this course of 8 hours and ten minutes. I would have been happy beating my worst time of 8 hours and 30 minutes but 7 hours and 59 minutes is more than acceptable. Not my fastest time, but not my slowest by quite a bit. All in all it was a good day with good riding company. Who can ask for more?

Keeping up with the Two Wheel Jones's......almost.

2012-01-01T09:46:00.000-09:00

As many of you may know, at least those of you who are omnipotent, my boy's are on a junior's cycling team as they will be racing age next year.   The team is run out of a bike shop called Two Wheel Jones east of us a few miles. They have a weekend ride that meets there and this Saturday I found myself in need of a stiff ride and they were headed out to Canyon Lake and beyond so I decided to hop on thinking they might not be as crazy fast as the Brumby's and perhaps even had a 'B' group that wouldn't be too slow.

Yep, pulled up behind a fine set of riders out on baseline heading over to the same ride I was. I even caught up to them.   Felt pretty good about myself at that point I must say.   We chatted it up all the way out to Signal Butte Road and then signed in and waited for the ride to start. Since we were such a large group they were splitting into an A group and a B group. B group was supposed to wait 1 minute Tricia said as she sped off to catch the A group 20 seconds or so after they left. All of us of course thought she was leading the B group so we sped off after her and humorously enough, the B group caught the A group after a few lights.

I believe we caught them because of the headwind they were fighting, or maybe that is why we stayed with them. That being said once we turned the corner I found myself on the back after a few folks dropped off and the old familiar Yo Yo action started up and I was getting winded fast. I had to bridge a few gaps that formed in front of me and before long I was cooked. Just like with the Brumbys. Except I actually had started being able to hold the Brumbys before my training sloughed off.

I spotted a couple of folks in my rearview mirror and I softpedalled until they caught up. It was one of the kid's from the blue team (older faster kids, mine are on the orange team). This was his first time out to Canyon Lake on a bike. Needless to say I was impressed. In fact, he outclimbed me on every hill. Not by much mind you, and truth be told I was holding a little something back for EOP, but for a 15ish year old, that was pretty darn good.

Sorry I never finished The last post, this week was similar to last week, there were around 50 riders most of them of good fitness levels, I held on until the hill at Usery Pass and then I was off the back. Funny thing was I thought I was last once the 4 or five people behind me passed me up but I passed them going down the other side and they passed me up again before we got to the beeline. I passed one lady and told her I was thinking of turning up to Four Peaks for a few miles if no one was up at the beeline.

There was a regroup up at the beeline though and as we waited with them I discovered there were quite a few people behind me.   I guess we were sort of an A- or B+ group that formed in the wake of the fast guys.   Someday I'll be back up with hanging with those fast guys but today it worked out pretty good. I ended up riding with Walt. Walt's the dad of one of the kids on my boys cycling team and we had a good discussion about that, randonneuring (yeah I was flying the colors on my jersey that morning) and whatnot. I emailed him the info on the brevet scene down here and maybe will have another recruit on our hands?

A few times I found myself struggling to hold onto him but I think I am not too far behind his fitness level. It was really cool having someone to ride with.   I think I'm going to make this ride a weekly thing. Their meeting place is a bit closer than that of the Brumby's and there is the fact my kid's are on the team and it's cool to mix with the other parents out on the road as opposed to watching the kids practice.

Next week is the 200k in Casa Grande. It's been a few years since I did it but I am looking forward to it. Susan posted the 2004 results on the website and my time was 8:10.   That was both the first Az Brevet for AZ Randonneurs and my first Brevet.   8:10 was lot longer than the sub 7 hour I did year before last. That's my goal though. I'd like to think I am in better shape than I was in 2004.   I haven't trained much, but seeing as I finished the Mt. Lemmon 200k a month or two ago I think I probably can do it. Hopefully there will be someone my speed out there. Hard to believe it's been 8 years.   I've also started bike commuting since then of course so that will help too.

Let's play, finish the driver's sentence.....

2011-11-17T14:17:00.000-09:00

I could never ride a bike in traffic but......

I could risk my life and others sending a text to my boyfriend/girlfriend about the last song I heard on the radio or how terrible all the other drivers are.

I could risk my life by watching an in dash dvd player, which likely enough has a movie that involves a villain who risks or harms people's lives.

I could almost ram another car in my zeal of yelling at a cyclist.

I could risk my life and others in passing a cyclist unsafely to save 10 seconds of drive time.

I could spend 3 minutes of my commute following and harrassing a cyclist that otherwise would have cost me 20 seconds of lost time.

I could swear and throw a tantrum over having to deal with a peloton of cyclists costing me a minute or two, not thinking that if they were all in cars like I am, I would be exponentially screwed out of much more time.

I could risk my life and others by driving into the sun when I couldn't see, instead of stopping and cleaning my windshield (-but I couldn't see him officer! The sun was in my eyes! officer-Do you often drive while blind Sir/Mam?).

In heavy traffic I could use the bike lane to queue up behind a long line of cars for a right turn despite having just told a cyclist to stay in the bike lane.

I could blame a cyclist for taking up 4 feet of road space despite having made the decision to drive a vehicle bordering on the maximum legal width and fully suitable for driving my posse to the Love Shack.

Feel free to add any of your own in the comments, just keep in mind to keep it kid appropriate...

Mt. Lemmon 200k Brevet

2011-11-13T15:05:00.000-09:00

I did the Mt. Lemmon 200K Brevet Saturday. It was another great ride. I rode slow since as you know I have not had time to train this fall. It has been a long time since I did a climb of this magnitude and I must say it has been too long. I have grown soft but by the time I arrived at the top the old will had again manifested itself. I did make a video of the experience which I have attached below. I managed to beat my last time on this ride. Of course I wasn't dealing with a bum knee and crazy headwinds all the way up the mountain this time (they were there in parts but not contunuously).

Am I getting repititious?

2011-11-06T16:11:00.000-09:00

So it has been awhile since I did a Brevet. I helped with one in Sep but couldn't ride since I didn't get Friday off for a preride. The last one I did was the Route 66 300k. Other than that I have done permanents but have not had much of an organized Brevet year. Perhaps it was a latent grudge against not being able to do PBP once again? I think the biggest reason was I've been trying to bike with the kids a lot more and that interferes with training. I have hopes of doing more rides next spring. We have been told by my Son's therapists that Mom and Dad need to put on their 'Oxygen Masks' first so to speak so I am upping my "Dad Only" rides again. We'll see how we juggle it around the Boy's race schedule next year. With so many Brevet's being offered I think things should work out.

This brings me around to Saturday morning. I had the dream again. I don't know how often this happens to you before Brevet's but after I have had a long hiatus and am looking at a ride the next week, I have the dream. The dream usually starts out with me getting ready for the Brevet and then I can't find something or I run out of gas and don't make it to the start line. The other variation is that I do start but then I get lost and can't find a control or I miss it or I'm too slow, or any number of stupid things happen. So Friday Night I had the dream. I invited a bunch of friends on the Brevet and they made me late. Maybe it was my brain just telling me, "don't even think about someone else, this ride is for you and you need the outlet". At least it wasn't a show up to the Brevet naked dream I guess.

Saturday's Brevet is the Mt. Lemmon Brevet. Mt. Lemmon is one of the top climbs in the country. Since you've been following this blog you probably know my training has not been optimal. In fact I haven't strung more than 60 miles together in over a month. I figure I can count the Tandem as double miles. So I am a little trepidatious. I did manage to do over 3000 feet of climbing over 43 miles Saturday morning in Las Sendas. Yes, little Las Sendas. How does one get 3000 feet of climbing in Las Sendas you may ask? Well, you repeat yourself a lot. You also dig up side roads like "Range Rider" that feature slight variations but no one rides them since they don't connect to anything.

My saving grace is I could have done much more as I felt fine so I think if I spin I should be ok. As far as distance goes, by the time I rode with Josh and Adela in the Afternoon, and Joseph late at night, I had over 80 miles in. I was sleepy but the cycling muscles weren't overly exhausted so I think I should be good. Now to figure out how to get some fenders on the bike. There's a chance of rain. Maybe it might even snow up on top. If it does rain, the Coy Mistress will miss out on a climb up Lemmon while the commuter shines in it's element.

Full Circle....Again......

2011-10-26T06:54:00.000-09:00

It's a good thing actually. I feel like my work locations cycle. I worked in Tempe just south of the big water bucket on the butte once upon a time, then I moved out of tempe to a job in north Phoenix, then by the airport, then to just North of the big water bucket and I started bike commuting. From their I left again and went to Chandler where I still commuted albeit a little long I continued by bicycle, then it was up to Squaw/Piestewa peak area and commuting was noticeably harder due to the distance and eventually stopped. The past week I moved. The new location is just North of the big water bucket. You may ask, Paul, have you started bike commuting again? I may reply, does a fish return to water first chance it gets?

Since the last time I had to commute down the Broadway corridor a few things have changed. There are now bike lanes down Main Street/Apache Trail which weren't there before so I don't have to go north to University and ultimately the rio salado parkway. So though my work is farther as the crow flies, I am able to actually have a shorter commute mileage wise since I don't have to go as far north to avoid the terrible terrible road that Broadway road is through Tempe.

I decided to resume commuting last Wednesday and was pleased to find that since last time I was a much faster rider being able to catch the holy grail of a 20mph average with rack trunk and traffic lights everywhere. I don't know if it is safe to go much faster than that due to the number of traffic lights and the annoyances of urban riding. Still it was a pleasant surprise.

This new route may not have beautiful scenery like Camelback mt and Squaw peak in it but it is a much more doable distance so it will happen a lot more. My father in-law works only 5 miles away so the ride home is taken care of. Things have worked out quite well for me. It's good to be back until the circle decides to take up the cycle again.

Isn't that a long way to go for a 45 mile ride?

2011-10-11T19:46:00.000-09:00

Cochise County Cycling Classic

Friday was an interesting day. Our trip started out with me remembering a few things we forgot after I got the kids in the car and while I collected them Joe got bored. Joe's kind of like the incredible hulk in a way, don't get him bored, you wouldn't like it when he's bored. First starts irritation, he irritates people ceaselessly, then when people get mad at him he lashes out and gets violent. Well, the doctors told us the next time it happened take him to Phoenix Childrens emergency room where he would spend the week in their pediatric psychiatric unit getting his meds regulated and that is just what my wife did. That left Josh, Adela and I to head down to Cochise County one rider shy. I have to say, it took a lot of stress off me having him out of the picture, not that I don't love the little guy but when his other side comes out it can be a long time before the genie goes back in the bottle so to speak.

So off we all went in the bikemobile down to Douglas. We stopped off at Kartchner Caverns and the Bisbee mine tour on the way and the kids loved them both. We actually managed to time things quite nicely, we managed to slide into the Douglas Fairgrounds at 5:20 to check in and attend the bike patrol meeting at 5:30. I chatted up Wayne Churchman who recognized me before I recognized him thanks to a new moustache, he commented Douglas was a long drive for a 45 mile ride. I told him we were bike tourists. Then we picked up our packets and t-shirts including Joseph's and went to listen to Sheila in the bike patrol meeting. Sheila is an old friend that used to go to our church when she lived up in Mesa. Enter Fuji. Fuji is Barbara's dog and of course, all dogs love kids or is it vice versa? So it seems they found something to entertain them while I was instructed on the finer points of bike patrol.

The kids it turned out, had become psyched about the spaghetti dinner after all and so all thoughts of Dairy Queen were out of their minds. Before dinner though we needed to run to Walmart since we had left Adela's backpack behind, I mean it wasn't like there were any distraction going on when we departed huh? So, one pair of shoes and new outfit later, and also a brief delay waiting for the border overflow traffic to let us through (lot's of folks trying to get back to Mexico at sunset), we were off to enjoy our spaghetti dinner. Had a good talk with Patty and Ajai. Ajai was doing the full enchilada, the big early, the double stuffing, the big ride, the reason it is the Cochise "COUNTY" Cycling Classic. Kid's loved talking to them. Kid's loved talking to everyone actually. Cochise is one of those rides that is the equivalent of life in a small town. Everyone pretty much meets everyone and much of that happens at the dinner. They were the only kids there really.

Josh and Adela's Spaghetti dinner

Back at "Six Motel" as Adela puts it, and after a brief trip into Middle Earth the kids were asleep and it was time for me to become "Bicycle Repair man!". Well, actually there wasn't much to repair as opposed to prepare. I just love the skit by Monty Python, it's a good watch on youtube if you ever get the chance. It took me about an hour to get the bottles, handlebar bag full of scooby snacks (candy), and all the race numbers pinned, twisty tied, and stuck to the various paraphenalia that would be used on the ride.

I prodded the kids to get up around 6:15 and headed out to the front of the hotel to take pictures of the 157 and 92 mile guys as they went by. They were ready when I got back and we packed up and headed to the start line where they made no delay in finding Fuji and Barbara. I wandered around a bit and then we all lined up and I decided to tuck my pullover under one of the traffic cones and chance the cold morning.

Josh hurried out with the pack despite my wish to hold back but I figured he'd blow up within a mile or two anyway and then we could hold a more practicle pace. Sure enough, after turning off the Pan American Hwy there he was and we caught him fairly quickly. It wasn't too long before we were taking our illustrious position of being the last riders. Being bike patrol I felt that since I wasn't around to help anyone I would at the very least pickup all the event related garbage along the route which mostly consisted of empty gel packs. We did find a 2004 El Tour shirt though which came in handy later on.

The Long Road back to Douglas

Being in back meant we got to have the broom wagon keep a watchful eye on us and offer us fruit and so forth. Being so cold we really didn't need much water but ate a few bananas. After halfway Sheila took up the broom wagon duties and watched us as we went into the flatter and faster portion of the course. I use the word 'faster' loosely though. 9 year olds just aren't that fast I am afraid but that's ok.

The kids had remained surprisingly upbeat until Adela had to go to the bathroom and we discovered that there were not any on the last 15 miles of the route. We eventually were forced into a rather pastoral area by the road where relief was found as well as a good use for that t-shirt we picked up. Just before we stopped there Josh proclaimed he "quit" but after the break he was ready to finish after having what must have been a pep talk from Sheila.

I am often surprised how one gets extra energy from somewhere when the last few miles of the ride starts. Josh bolted across Douglas looking for that finish line. We pulled in at one minute after one with a time of 5 hours and 1 minute. Josh's bike computer showed 4 hours and 22 minutes of riding time and mine showed 4 hour and 10 minutes of riding time (we got to ride faster when we would catch up to him after picking up garbage).

Um, can't remember why she looks like she's crying, probably something her brother did..

We hung around the finish for awhile while the kids entertained the PBAA staff. When Dan rode in (100 mile world record holder, 10 time Cochise winner, yada yada yada) Josh was calling out to him like they were old friends which seemed to catch Dan off guard a little but after he had had a minute to recover a bit (234 miles is quite aways to go in 11 and a half hours after all) he came over and started talking to Josh about Josh starting to race next season and how he knew some of the Two Wheel Jones guys. Dan's a class act for sure. Cochise is one of those events where everyone gets to rub shoulders so to speak and it was very cool it really made Josh's day.

Can't say anything of interest happened on the way home. Had Pizza, had ice cream, had a long drive where Josh pulled a switcheroo on me while I was filling the tank and stole the gummy bears I had hidden away just so he wouldn't get to them. Impulsivity disorders and medications that give you the appetite of Scooby Doo are not a good idea in my mind, need to talk to the doctor about that come to think of it, before he blows up like a balloon.

Yes it was a long drive for a 45 mile ride. If you look at it from a 9 year old's perspective though, it may as well be a century. It's also a wonderful opportunity to meet the folks behind the scenes when they don't have 9000 cyclists milling around them. Time well spent.

Day and Night and the Super Spies.

2011-10-04T13:47:00.000-09:00

Joseph in front of the Pass elevation sign.

So it's the last Saturday before the Cochise Country Cycling Classic. I figured we'd notch down the distance this week but still wanted to keep it a bit of a challenge for them so a Usery loop it was. This week was not about Treasure Hunts for Captain Crank's treasure, it wasn't about a super spy mission (see below), It was about getting a ride in. I offered to make it a night ride and only Josh took me up on it.

When the kids that wanted daylight finally got out the door it was almost 8 so it was going to be a warm ride. Fortunately the Usery Pass park has a visitor center outside the gate now where one can water up, or if you are the type of boy to down your whole water bottle of koolaid before you get through the first 5 miles, it's also a great place to recover from the effects of such speedy intake of liquids, which also makes it a great motivator for climbing the hill quickly.

Greater love hath no man than he that descends a 4 mile long 5% grade on a tandem at 13 mph behind a nervous nine year old. Mental note to self, double the frequency of brake pad checks.

I have also discovered that though one may not think riding with kids at 10 -12 mph is good training, wait until you hit a 9% grade with a seven year old on the back of the tandem that pedal's hard only when she wants to. Good V02 max training.

It's important to be visible.

The other Son took me up on the night ride offer. Since the tandem was not necessary I attached the good old hub wheel and light, reflective triangles, taillights and ankle bands and we were off. Well, after we fixed the flat in Walgreens parking lot, and saw a skunk! I didn't know they lived down here.

As far as night rides go this one was absolutely gorgeous. It was cloudy and we even felt a drop or two but that was it. The temps were perfect, the traffic was light, the lights were bright. all was silent.

"Josh! Hold on a minute, did you hear that?"
"What Dad?"
"I thought I heard some Coyotes!"
"Uh, Dad... can we get moving again.... like NOW"

Josh was a little freaked out now and again but I think in general he really enjoyed the ride. Of course, when he met the Rattlesnake trying to get off the road he informed me that it was my turn to go in front.

Josh in front of the Usery Pass elevation sign.

It was a great ride and it was the fastest Josh has ever done the loop. I think he climbs better at night because he can't see how big the hills are.

Kids on their 31 mile long Super Spy Mission.

Here is some of the video from the Saturday before last's ride.

High Country Brevet and the Treasure of Captain Crank

2011-09-20T09:15:00.000-09:00

Josh near Sunrise

The High Country Brevet was held recently and I had intended to ride but unfortunately two of my co-workers beat me to the day off so I was stuck with running support on Saturday and no pre-ride. Of course this offered the opportunity to bring the kids along.

Adela the Happy Stoker

The kids and I are training for the 45 mile event at the Cochise County Cycling Classic in a few weeks and I thought we could mix things up a little and do a ride up in the pines while waiting for the brevet riders to get to the ski resort. This plan worked really well as I learned they had recently paved the road all the way to Big Lake and though I am sad to see the area get more developed, as a road cyclist I am pumped. We ended up riding to the Little Colorado river and back.

Josh climbing out of the Little Colorado

It was a bit chilly and we even got a few raindrops on us but was otherwise absolutely beautiful other than a few complaints from the kids (they were in desperate need of a nap).

Joseph crossing the prairie

All in all it was a great day and we missed the big hailstorm that hit most of the other riders.

Now, for Captain Crank! I visited with the kids recently and the consensus was they liked doing the events but not so much the long training rides. So, this left me with a quandry. How do you help the kids train for an event they want to do, but not make it feel like training? Well, how about a treasure hunt? A 28 mile treasure hunt on bikes to be exact! Every 5 or 6 miles I had a point they had to find with further instructions and candy. It's really funny to see how a small change in an activity can make the difference.

It was warm, it was on fairly flat in town streets, it was a boring ride but, it was a boring ride with treasure at the end and little rewards hidden all along the way and even a playground near the turnaround (and drinking fountains fortunately enough as the ride took a lot longer than I thought it would with all the stops). The kids are still talking about it to my wife. This week I need to figure out how to make it work going over Usery Pass so there will be some stuff for me to look at it too. Josh is supposed to get his team bike this week so we might be able to take advantage of some excitement there. We shall see!

Must have fallen off.....

2011-09-15T13:13:00.000-09:00

Something a little strange has been happening in my neighborhood this week. In the cool dawn hours when the world is silent, a lone cyclist has been seen roaming the streets, on a tandem. He rides alone on a bicycle built for two, but why? Some say he went out riding with a friend in the dead of night and when he got back, the stoker was gone. No one knows what became of the stoker. Was he brutally murdered? Did he fall off? Did he disappear conveniently? Was the oppresive captain so bent upon the road that his stoker was pushed one stroke too far? Who can tell, but the stokerless captain roams the streets with an ominous empty seat. Some say the lone captain roams the streets in search of another victim who he will pedal to their death. When queried as to the location of his stoker he jokes they must have fell off. Joke, or a joke with a hint of truth?.....you decide!

Of course, the other logical explanation is that he's a normal roadie and his bike is in the shop so he rides what he has operational looking like a tool.....:)

Adding injury to insult

2011-09-09T07:14:00.000-09:00

Well, first off, let me apologize for not writing in awhile. First I didn't complete the DM3 permanent I rode with the two Mikes of Az Brevet fame because of mud and that was a downer, second my Mom died, that also was a big downer, and third we've been dealing with the repercussions of the second.

In other news I did get out for a ride on Monday (kids got my time on Saturday, they're training for Cochise). I intended to go to the end of the pavement. Yeah, intended, yet another ride cut short but let me get to that tragic, yet .....well ok, can't Pollyanna this thing, tragic tragic story.

First off I didn't get off before sunrise so it was going to be warm. Fortunately it was a little cloudy to delay things a bit. All the way across Mesa the legs felt blown. It might have been because I really really crunched them going up Kong with Adela on the back on Saturday, in any case I was not in a happy place but was determined to get a bike ride in come what may.

I may not have written about this but in the last few weeks I made the discovery that SRAM offers a derailer that allows you to put a cassette with a 32t ring on it on a road compact crankset so I can spin a little better on the steeps, also spin a little better on tired legs too, which I am sure will come in handy on the Mt Lemmon brevet in November as it came in handy Monday.

The guys at Canyon lake let me use their water spigot since the store was closed fortunately as it was getting warm. I then kicked myself in the butt and headed out to Tortilla flat right in front of another cyclist who upon approaching asked if I was going to the brevet in Showlow on Sat. He recognized my RUSA jersey of course. I'm pretty sure it was Pete who I rode off and on with at the Route 66 300k last spring. I could only mumble a reply as he passed for my shifter decided to break right then. Yeah, the expensive one. This would make #2 to break on me and I didn't think it would be under warranty the original having been purchased with the bike 3 years ago.

So, back to the Marina I turn to go lock my derailleur into a sensible gear for the way home since I was now reduced to a two speed. As I pedalled along in a sad funk, a wasp decided to give me a consolation kiss. Fortunately my mouth was not open enough for him to go french on me. He got my lower lip pretty bad and my upper lip not as much. Yep, when it rains it pours.

It was a ride of spinning and grinding from here on out depending if I was in the big or little ring. Mostly spinning as I erred on the side of being nice to my knees. At the top of the big climb I re-adjusted my derailleur to give me a nice gear for going 20-21 mph in. The day was kind of shot after that but homemade ice cream cheered the soul at the end of the day.

Incidentally, since the replacement shifter was installed last May (after it broke going up the last big hill on the Mines to Pines 300k) the two year warranty applied since it resets when you get a replacement and not when the original part was purchased! Thank you SRAM for being cool about backing up your stuff. So, even if I could have had the day off today, I still could not have ridden the High Country 200k which I am running support for everyone tomorrow. Guess I'll just enjoy the time with the kids and riders tomorrow.

Life Amid the Red Rocks

2011-07-29T08:55:00.000-09:00

Buttes behind Red Rock State Park

Went on vacation this week with the family and of course that meant taking the Coy Mistress along for those escapades at dawn when no one is awake. Many of the roads in the vicinity of Cornville, Az where our timeshare was are zero shoulder roads but many were rideable and quite beautiful.

Cathedral Rock near Red Rock State Park

I only really had 2 objectives to do this week and that was to ride to Sedona and also to climb Mingus Mtn. . I ended up forgetting my helmet, gloves, and cycling cap but since I brought the family's cycling gear along I had an extra helmet I could use. On the first day I forgot to bring water on my way out so it was pretty critical I make it to Sedona so I could buy water and calories of some sort. The morning was beautiful and I didn't sweat too much on the way up so it worked.

Red Rocks near Red Rock State Park

Most of the Journey from Cottonwood/Cornville up to Sedona is rolling fields of green mesquite and catclaw but nearing town you enter a land of red buttes and Canyon walls. Many come from far and wide to see the rocks or if they are particularly wealthy, move in. I only had one behave stereotypical at me and honk and tell me to get off the road. I waved at him as he spead off.

Oak Creek below Red Rock State Park

I opted to ride the Red Rock Loop on the way home to see what Red Rock State Park was all about having never visited. I had been to Red Rock Crossing a lot but never downstream to the park. Having only about a half mile of paved roads it wasn't much for a road biker of course. I did get about a mile of dirt in before I got to the park as the Loop is not entirely paved. I purchased entry into the park when I got there so the Fam could come back later and see it.

Sign says it's open 24 hours!

On Thursday I had decided to climb Mingus Mt. I was going to do it with the local group that does it on Thursdays but through emails I found out no one would likely be there so owing to insomnia and waking up full of racing thoughts and angst (hate it when that happens), I decided the Coy Mistress and I would work all this out on a 3000' climb an hour earlier. The Coy Mistress is a good therapist. Earlier also meant less traffic which is good since there is no shoulder going up the narrow winding road through Jerome and up the mountain.

Curves, Mountain grades sign on the way into Jerome city limits.

I've always wanted to climb Mingus mountain since it is one of the larger climbs in the state. Add to the fact there is an awesome city built on the steepest part of the climb and you have a fantastic ride. I found myself climbing most of the way through Cottonwood in the hour before sunrise and occasionally would be passed by a cement truck or a work truck speeding busily on to the days work. Temps were in the mid 70's and it was as near a perfect morning as you can get. Working my way through the Cottonwood and Sycamore trees was beautiful but soon I was working my way up the dry climb to Jerome.

Corner just before entering Jerome proper.

Jerome is an interesting town. It clings to the side of a steep hill. It clings hard. In fact, it's so clingy that despite the mines having shutdown 60 years ago it is still there. It prides itself as a ghost town and as a tourist destination being full of shops and boutiques, and mining Museums. Theres a state park there too which I'd visit later with the family.

Highway leaving Jerome and climbing into the hills.

The funny thing about Jerome is you go from a nice 7% grade heading into town, to a 10% grade through town. If you walk, then you walk in plain site of all the people who might be out at 6:00 in the morning. I did not have to walk. Although if I did there was only 1 guy out sweeping or something like that.

The climb up Mingus from Jerome was a beautiful climb without too much traffic. There were spots that were 62 degrees and of course it is always nice to get up to the pine trees. I was surprised that the steepest part was actually inside of Jerome.

Every tall hill has at least one fake top that is REALLY convincing as you see it ahead for a mile or two before you hit it. Of course, the fake top is usually within a mile or two of the top, This climb was no different. Once I was finally at the top though it was nice to see the sign saying I was over 7000 feet and a nice picnic area which I would later bring the family up to for a cool lunchtime picnic.

I ended up getting back at 9 or so. Not too bad for a big climb and a ton of scenery. I can see why the local folks climb it once a week

Now, I hurried on this blog post because I need to get it posted before I get Saturday's ride done. Saturday, the two Mikes (Sturgill and Enfield) and I will be riding the Dirty Mogollon Mormon Madness 200k. Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile know that this is a special ride. This year I hope to have my helmet cam and a better still camera along. The scenery is epic, the roads are epic, the elevation is challenging, and it looks like we might have thunderstorms. It promises to be a challenging yet rewarding ride. We will see.

You can get anything you want here I understand.

Three Hill Tandemania

2011-07-24T13:30:00.000-09:00

Who is the youngest rider in RUSA? I'm not sure but I think Joseph is close (his brother is 2 months younger so he's at least #2). Not having completed a 200k he is not an official Randonneur of course but as of yesterday, he has results recorded in the annals of RUSA.

A few months back I determined that although the R12 was a bit of a stretch for this time in my busy life as a father of 4, the P4 was absolutely doable due to the fact that many of my Saturday rides are over 62 miles. With the advent of the shorter 100k rides and my determination to keep up the younger three children's interest in cycling, I signed Joseph and Josh up in RUSA owing to the fact only RUSA members can ride permanents or ride with someone riding a permanent.

Originally I had my doubts about being able to ride the whole way and keep over a 10 mph average with a kid on the back. In the end, despite complaints about sore backsides, we made it with an hour and a half to spare even with the heat rising.

5 am is pretty early for a 9 year old but Joe was eager to go. We couldn't find his bike shorts (need to order some more before we do this again) so he wore normal shorts. 5:20 found us at the store and getting some donuts for our receipt. The first ten miles are all uphill so you have to work a little to beat the clock but we made it with 15 minutes to spare and were on our way back down where we discovered we would have headwinds out of the south.

Heading east to the Superstitions we ran into the Two Wheel Jones group watering up. I chatted with one of them and mentioned Joseph was going to ride for the junior team this year and he said it looks like they might have 40 kids and a real coach this year. That's psycho. I think a little structured training will be good for the boys. Their average speed has been increasing lately but on some things they need a second person giving them the advice for it to sink in.

Turning south Joseph wasn't sure about things and wanted to head home but I convinced him to keep at it and this morning and even yesterday at the end he was glad he did. I wonder sometimes how much of the headwinds he feels on the back of the tandem. Up front they are annoying but the wind gusts don't slow you as much on a tandem due to shear weight. He was contributing but not a whole lot at this point. We managed to hold 15 -19 most of the way across the valley down to the San Tans. I went ahead and turned music on on my phone for Joseph as the section down Ironwood gets a little tedious except for the motorcycle track where folks were out jumping and racing much to the delight of Joe.

Pushing back through the hills to San Tan park was difficult for Joe and his backside was really hurting but I promised a long stop since it was the last control and it would be good to stop and sip some cool water. I must say I was starting to feel it a bit in hear. It's one thing to ride a 100k but it is an entirely different thing to ride 100k with an 81 lbs 9 year old on the back. By the time we were heading into the final stretches of Ellsworth I was feeling it and felt like I easily had 100 miles in my legs. I must make a note that it is possible to get satisfactory training in and spend time with the kids at this point. Just have to be careful not to burn them out. I think I'll wait another year before stepping them up to 200k. We'll let them do the full Tour de Tucson first.

After finishing of course, there is nothing like a big cup of frozen custard to get the body recovering. There are not too many times when it is safe to do the custard thing but after a ride of 5 hours or more I have no qualms and must admit it is a powerful motivator for me. We ended up doing 112k with a moving average of 14.3 mph and over 1200 feet of climbing. Not too shabby for a guy and a 9 year old I think.

Some things can't be shared.

2011-07-10T13:02:00.000-09:00

Lightning

Lightning striking and playing among the clouds at night for one, is something that cannot be shared. A camera might catch a piece of it but the full experience must be witnessed to be realized to it's fullest. So too is the first rainstorm in the desert. The smells cannot be duplicated, the sounds of your tire splashing the water as you ride through the gathering torrent, the silhouettes of Saguaro's flashing in the lights of the midnight storm, none of this can ever be recreated but is a piece of a moment.

Occasionally life's wonderful moments coincide and create an evening like tonight. After the storm had finished showing off it's big haboobs the time had come for me to set out for my evening ride (didn't get a morning one as I took the kids out for a ride with them). I thought it might just be bunch of dry lightening but sure enough after a bunch of crazy winds the rain started about halfway up the hill as I reached the edge of the city lights.

What a cool opportunity to be out in the first rain of the monsoon on a bike climbing Usery pass with lightning flashing all across the valley and occasionally up on the mountain. Also cool was the descent and the rain stopping but leaving the temperature at a nice 74 degrees. I'll take 74 over 95 any night. I could hear the wind rustling the creosote and saguaros after I turned around and started my repeats of the backside. Lightning would flash over four peaks and over the top of the pass and out in Fountain hills about every 10 -15 seconds. It was truly a great night for climbing and enjoying one of the few Summer nights that was absolutely pleasant.

On my way home I would come up to the top of Las Sendas and way out over South Mountain the giant moon was setting behind a curtain of rain from a distant storm. It was a very sublime moment and I stopped and leaned over and rested on the aero bars and just soaked it in for a few minutes.

Adela at the river.

Here are some pictures from earlier in the day when I took the kids out on a ride to the Salt river along the Bush highway.

Boys waiting for Dad.

It was well over 100 degrees by the time we were back to the car. Fortunately the river was cold and we had a good soak before we got back on the bikes to head back.

Is it time for ice cream now?

Two Rides, Cool and Hot

2011-07-03T07:38:00.000-09:00

The Layton Train

So I slept in Saturday, to 6 am. I decided since I was planning on going long on Monday I'd take the kids out and then do a Usery loop after that. It's amazing how more excited kids are to go riding early in the morning if they went to bed before 10 pm. Lately I've been trying to get them to up their pace a bit by offering them a shake every time they notch the average speed up 1 mph. Wednesday they hit the 11 mph mark and today they did 12.2. Of course it was pretty flat but still....

Happy Stoker

So the destination was Freestone park. For some reason the kids like the rides to the parks even if they don't have a lot of time to play. They haven't been too hip on doing usery loops lately but then again they haven't ridden a lot lately so flat and to the park it is.

Yeah, I eat 18 mile rides for breakfast

I had orginally thought we wouldn't be back until after 9 so when the kids got back just after 8:30 I was surprised and glad I might have a chance at doing the loop before it got too hot. Ha. Although there was wispy clound cover in Mesa, Usery Pass was in full sun and the temperature was a lot higher up there and on the other side. Usually it is the opposite. There were a few people ahead of me but it was the time of diminishing returns and most cyclists were heading in to call it a day. Can't say I blamed them. I was suffering a bit heading down the Bush Hwy and almost stopped at Granite Reef to get in the river to cool down. I made it though, but I was pushing it.

Dad pays the piper after the kids ride. 115 degrees on the bike computer. It was probably around 105 on the backside.

Shhhhhh, Don't Jinx me.

2011-06-30T11:42:00.000-09:00

So lately Mrs. Randocommute has taken an interest in cycling. Nothing crazy mind you, it all starts with that neighborhood ride and an easy going attitude riding with all the kids. From there, a query is made about perhaps crashing onto the end of my Tues Thurs workout on the tandem. Pinch me. This morning I cut my workout to an hour, got home, adjusted the backseat of the tandem for my sweet Randocommutess and then we were off, and not just into the neighborhood either, She asked if we could ride up to Red Mountain Park. This is kind of cool because when I first started riding again, and arguably my first serious roadbiking, this was my staple ride. It's only 8 miles but 8 miles for someone who is not a cyclist is quite a start. I remember being quite proud of that 8 miles at the start. Eventually that 8 turned into the 26 mile usery loop with a scorching time of 2 hours and 30 minutes, I was very proud of that at that time. Not too long after that I bought a road bike. She mentioned a desire to go up Usery someday but wants to start with Las Sendas. The funny thing was, we didn't go as slow as I thought we would when climbing up to the park. I think something good might be happening here. This tandem might be worth the money. Slow and steady's the rule.....can't jinx this.

Tortilla Crisp

2011-06-25T21:43:00.000-09:00

Sunrise behind the Superstitions

With a forecast of 110 degrees and a need to get another 100k populaire done for the month of June I was determined to get out of bed at 4 AM. I actually made it at about 4:07 which wasn't too bad. I didn't get to the start until 4:40 ish though. Nice thing was, there was not even a breath of wind out. I was able to keep the speeds over 20 most of the way back to the Sups which is really good for me. Seeing as it would get hot pretty quickly once the sun was up fast was good.

Either I was out really early or the guys with the speedboats were lazy but there was not much car traffic to speak of. That would be different on the way back of course (doesn't matter as much when I'm going the other way). I was also stunned to not see any cyclists out. I think I was just out early. Temps in Mesa were a toasty 80 degrees before dawn. In Apache Jct. we would almost get down to 70 before we got to Canyon Lake.

Yours Truly

The Marina was closed still when I got there before 7. The guy in the watch house said I could use the water spigot fortunately. You can't get enough water in you on days like these. The folks at the Marina are really nice to let us get water. Heck, I'd even pay a couple of bucks for water if they wanted it but so far they have been really good about letting us have water. I'll have to take D'Net on a steamboat ride there or something one of these days.

For some reason I actually felt really powerful this morning on the hills and I made good time. I got passed by at least a dozen motorcycles climbing up to the end of the pavement. One of them would not be going home I would later seem, which is unfortunate as most of the sport bikers gave me a friendly wave. Not that it wouldn't be unfortunate as well if it was one of the harley/cruiser types but they weren't as friendly with the waves this morning for some reason.

Is it just me, or is this cactus giving me the bird?

I was very surprised to arrive at the end of the pavement without having seen anyone else out cycling this morning. Usually I either see someone heading back the other way or someone catches up to me. I wouldn't see anyone until I was heading down the hill and I would see some of the Two Wheel Jones riders coming up the hill. I figured they would catch up to me on the way out but they never did.

Climbing the hill was warm, after the turn around things started to get hot. I got pretty hot climbing out of Tortilla Flat and the sun was putting on it's chefs hat for a full day at the bakery. Fortunately, I had that water spigot at the marina I could use. Where there is water, there is life. At 7:30 in the morning it had already passed 90 degrees and was heading for 100. So I downed all the water I could.

He went that a way!

Climbing out of Canyon Lake I had a doofus in a silver pickup run me off the road. Thank goodness I had my mirror. He was 1 of maybe 4 cars that would pass me on the way out. It wasn't like I was blocking traffic. Anyway, some people are just stupid and there's nothing you can do. Their stupidity 24/7 probably causes them more pain than the few moments you get to experience of them.

After dropping down to the weavers needle overlook, I was stopped by police directing traffic around an accident scene. One of the motorcyclists had missed a turn. He's lucky (assuming he lived) he didn't goof up a few turns back where the cliffs are. Since the Ambulance didn't pass me until I was well along Brown road it took them a long time to get him loaded up.

You know, for all the whining and complaining I hear from motorists about cyclists being dangerous on the road to canyon lake I have yet to see an accident involving cyclists (other than silly rainy day mistakes). So far I have seen two motorcycle accidents, and a mini-van that went over the edge on a missed turn. I also have seen many cars lined up behind folks towing boats but hardly ever see folks lined up behind a cyclist. Anyway, just a few thoughts. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but thought I'd share em anyway.

A tall cup of ice water and a cherry shake were very much enjoyed at Sonic where I was joined bv a guy on an expensive time trial bike and his (I assume) girlfriend. She was wearing tennis shoes so I figured she was probably just getting into this biking thing, although she might be one of the folks who refuse to go clipless and uses the toe clips.

I weighed more when I got home than when I had left so I did good on the water. I ended up with a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes which isn't too bad for a solo effort for me. It's not my best time, but it isn't too far off. I'll take it.

Midnight Special

2011-06-12T01:10:00.000-09:00

Yours Truly Headin to the North end of Town

Occasionally, the busy desert dweller finds a night ride necessary as a result of busy lives and the heat of the day. Night rides are good for the soul. Especially once you leave the city lights and the clock moves on and clears the roads. It's you the moon and your headlights out in the desert with the crickets and night birds.

The dashboard at night

Passing the Salt River Recreation building, the daytime anthill is quiet. Across the street at the Sherriff's branch station all the Breathalyzers are tucked into their beds for the night. There is not a soul on the road. Down at the parking lot by the river all is quiet but memories of a run in with a man on the beach making threats about having a gun spook me and I am heading back up the road into the safer solitude of the anonymity of the open desert road. I pass sillouettes of saguaros backlit by the moon which illuminates the desert.

Usery Park

Cresting the pass there is a vast array of city lights making sillouettes of the foot hills of the mountain. Moving on, the residential areas are all dark and silent with the occasion of the occasional dog registering their opinion. I wander through quiet back roads along the front of the goldfield mountains. Then it is time to return. Good night.

Sharp corner, slow down blind dude..

Video of 28 C's Kelvin Permanent

2011-06-01T22:52:00.000-09:00

28 C's Kelvin

2011-05-30T21:39:00.000-09:00

Picketpost Mountain

They say, at least in Phoenix, if the high temp on Memorial day is going to be less than 90, it is indeed a federal crime to not do a long ride. Not wanting to go to Levenworth I decided I would ride to the end of the world and back, but as I thought about it some more I thought I would just go over the end of the world to the Florence Kelvin highway and ride my 28 C's Kelvin permanent. I've always wanted to ride this but never got around to it. Was it foolish to walk in to a 200k ride with 5300 feet of climbing with 1/3 of it on a 20 mile stretch of dirt road on a lark without training for it? Maybe, I have a good healthy hurt on right now, but half of that is my ribs which are pulled or cracked or broken (gonna check in with the doc tomorrow, it's been 4 days and they're not getting any better so it's not a pulled muscle). The other half is a good hurt although it would likely be less so if I had re-applied sunscreen at lunch.

It would be 4:30 by the time I got my receipt at the start. I'd put a time of 4:15 on the card so I hoped I wouldn't need those extra 15 minutes. Turned out I was fine. I purposely skipped putting a control in Florence to give folks that might be a bit slower time to catch up if they haven't made up the time from the slower portions on the climbs and dirt road. Truth be told, I had plenty of time in Florence even.

Even on Memorial day there wasn't a whole lot of folks out at 4:30, of course I guess most folks sleep in on Holidays. Not your avid cyclist in a Phoenix summer though, we have to get out in the cooler parts of the day like all desert creatures. I was annoyed to find part of my route was detoured due to construction but that wasn't unexpected. What's an extra mile or two between friends huh?

East Apache Jct brings a fun set of rollers on the way to US-60. The Superstitions loom large and are beautiful with the Sun trying to peak out from behind them. On US-60 the sun would come out for good as I rode on the shoulder avoiding the expansion cracks on the shoulders between cars. Traffic was definitely picking up. Folks were heading out of town to recreate at their locations of choice in parts east of the valley. I bet all the folks that went up to the pines for camping were freezing their tookus's off. I was. It was 52 degrees, can you believe that? This has not been the typical May in the Sonoran Desert. I almost wished I had brought my wind vest and knee warmers at a few spots.

I pulled into Superior sometime after seven and got my receipt at the Circle K. I had an hour in the bank for the next section. We had the climb up to the end of the world and then all the glorious dirty fun of the Florence Kelvin Hwy.

It was a beautiful morning east of Superior. The birds were chirping, traffic was light, the temps were cool, all was right with the world. Of course there was that 10% grade before the long downhill. I confess I walked part of it. I was determined not to blow myself up before getting to Lord Kelvin's piece of work down below with multiple 10-15% grades.

When I finally got to the bottom of the big hill (drops 2000 feet in 8 miles with several 10% sections), It was time to take my piece of the Florence Kelvin Hwy. The town of Kelvin was as bustling as ever, with a dog barking as the only sign of life. Below Kelvin the Gila river was flowing pretty good. I stopped for a picture and stared at the daunting task of the next mile which looked like a wall at the end of the bridge. It's a nice stretch of 15% grade. What was it with these miners/stagecoach roads and their love of steep grades? At least the first bit was paved. I have to feel for those poor horses of yesteryear.

Me and the Gila River at Kelvin

At the top of the hill and the end of the pavement I stopped to pull a little trick an old mystic medicine man taught me.... lower the pressure in your tires for dirt for better control. Having 28 c tires on the Coy Mistress meant I could go down to 70 lbs without fear of pinch flats and I must admit it was a nice ride. Nicer in fact than when I rode this stretch on my commuter bike awhile back. The vibration absorbing technology in my carbon frame and the large tires made for an awesome combination for absorbing washboards and other dirt road fun. The 28c's were a close fit but I had about an 1/8th of an inch clearance and knowing I had an Aluminum crown on the fork I was good.

After the first hill, you scrub off all that elevation you climbed and go right back down to the Gila. You don't get a chance to look at the Gila of course thanks to the Diamond Ranch and their private property but you lost all your hard earned elevation nonetheless. Descents on dirt are slower on a road bike by nature, at least the nature of not wanting to biff it and comb rocks out of your skin. It's tough to make up your time on the descents.

From the Diamond Ranch there is a 5 mile climb that rises around 1400' and has multiple sections of 7-10% grades. Being on dirt makes this a little harder even. The country you climb through though, is beautiful and you can see mountain after mountain behind you rolling out as you get further up the grade. The road seems to go on forever as I work my way back and forth across the road seeking out the parts with the most firm surface.

The really beautiful part of the Florence Kelvin highway is the traffic, or lack thereof. I think I saw a car ever 20-30 minutes or so. Of course this adds to a sense of the remoteness. I was glad for the collapsible water bottle I'd filled in Superior and lugged in my giant seat bag of holding. I was also glad for the cooler temps. This climb would be an absolute beast in the heat and the likelyhood of running out of water before reaching Florence would be high. Even with an extra bottle.

Stopped to take a picture on the big climb

Of course after cresting there is a long but gradual descent into Florence. At this point the wind decided that it was not enough to have hampered my efforts to get to Superior but would seek to frustrate me for the rest of the ride. I think this was the cause of much of the hurt. 5300 feet of climbing plus 100 miles of headwinds. Ugh! Still, the beautiful countryside made up for it. I made really good time heading down towards Florence. The frame and the tires were absorbing an incredible amount of shock and I was able to maintain 17-20 + mph most of the way to the pavement after stopping at the information control.

At the pavement I re-inflated my tires and headed off for the long headwindy stretch to Florence. The first bit of pavement was almost rougher than the dirt humorously enough. I would play tag with a large truck pulling a trailer and another pulling a tricked out Jeep. Tthey had to stop and add some gas at one point so I passed them again.

The stretch down into Florence seems to take forever. Especially when one is hungry and there is a burger and fries waiting somewhere down there. I knew there was a McDonalds but if I stumbled on a Sonic perchance, I would be a happy man. I gotta have my Cherry milkshake.

Delicious Florence

I sat down for Lunch right around noon. There was a Sonic and I had a wonderful lunch but I should have got the single burger instead of the double. It would haunt me down the road an hour or so. Heading out into the farms North of Florence I got really sleepy and a little nauseous. I overdid lunch I think and perhaps I was just a touch behind on water. The water issue I could deal with, the other I would have to ride out.

This section used to have a lot more farms but Anthem and the lads decided it was just the place to put a master planned community. Of course the master's didn't plan on a housing bust. Anthem seemed to still be in business but the lads to the North lost their shirts. There are whole neighborhoods fenced off with streets and streetlights, parks with play equipment, but no houses. Ghosts that stand as a reminder of the housing bust. I could never figure how these neighborhoods so far from any jobs could ever succeed anyway with the price of gas being what it is. If I went rural, at a minimum, I would not want a homeowners association.

It seemed to take forever to get to the Gantzel market. When I did I was please to note I had several hours until the control closed. The headwinds had really taken their toll on me and I admit I really wanted the ride to be over at this point. Still, there were only 20 pretty flat miles left so off I went into the traffic and monotony of south Ironwood road. This course is 80% awesome. This last part of course is the miles you need to get back to the car after experiencing the awesome and of course is the price you pay at the end of a long day. Still, it is not without it's scenery as you once more approach the Superstitions and tired legs turn on to Baseline road and lead you back into Mesa from whence we started so much earlier in the morning just before dawn.

I would finish 11 hours after I started. 10 hours on the bike and 5296 feet of climbing and 140 miles on the odometer. Tough but beautiful day and another one of my unridden permanents knocked off.

Hills, several kinds.

2011-05-22T15:54:00.000-09:00

Canyon Lake

Tough ride. Really tough ride. It's tough to ride depressed seeing as one of the signs is not enjoying things you usually enjoy. Still I had to do something Saturday. It's been a really tough week and I needed to unwind. I originally had bagged my plans of riding the Tortilla, Lakes, and Hills populaire in favor of a full nights sleep but since I woke up before 5 and couldn't get back to sleep, I was at the start just before 6 ready to ride.

You know it's tough when you start "one more mile" ing yourself 5 miles into a ride. I wanted to go back and take the motorcycle out into the back country but I couldn't go back and take the motorcycle out because the chain needed adjusting. So I continued on. I figured I'd at least make it to the Superstitions. Of course once I got to the Superstitions I had to go to Canyon Lake and by the time I got there it would be dumb not just to go to the turn around above Tortilla flat.

It was a beautiful morning with temps in the 60's but it didn't take them long to get into the 70's. There was a good wind coming down the hills into my face but I had the false hope it might be a tailwind on the way back. Still, hope although misplaced is still hope and any kind of hope when your depressed is good.

I didn't see a whole lot of cyclist's out until I got to the lake and then I started running into groups of them coming back. This was probably the last Saturday to enjoy this ride without suffering in the heat on the way out. The lake was beautiful, but it always is.

The hill heading up to the turnaround was a little therepeutic. We climb hills to get stronger. Suffering makes us stronger. It is upleasant but often necessary if we want to make any kind of progress. Some hills seem endless such as Mt. Ord, End of the World, Mt. Lemon, Mt. Nebo, but we eventually reach the top and feel better for it in the end.

At the turn around I made a note of the information control and turned around. 3/4 of the way down the hill I almost ran over a gila monster sunning on the road. I stopped to go back and get him off the road before he got squished. He had a leg missing and it looked like a bird or something might have picked a fight with him. He hissed at my bike tire as I nudged him off the road. Just after I took a picture another cyclist climbing the hill came over to check it out. We both left hoping he would have enought sense to stay on the safe side of the fog line.

Gila Monster

The return was warm and for the first time this year I needed to stop at the marina to refill my bottles and everthing. I drank more than I thought I should. It was getting warm and I'd need it for the climb out.

All the headwinds of the early morning were now headwinds of the late morning. I hunkered down and cursed the wind and pressed on. At the last turn I stopped at sonic to eat a recovery meal. I still had an hour left to do the last mile or so. The ride didn't help my depression much. But I did accomplish something. I got 100k in and I helped my body maintain it's fitness so when this depression does end, I'll be in shape to do the things I want to do when I want to do them again.

Backup plan Butcher Jones

2011-05-01T12:54:00.000-09:00

Yesterday found me missing the Brumby's by 5 minutes so I decided to head out the Bush Highway to Butcher Jones beach at Saguaro Lake. I like Butcher Jones as a turn around better because you get to see pretty trees and a lake as opposed to a freeway overpass. Anyway, the temps were just under 60 degrees starting out and I confess more than once I reflected on the fact this is probably the last perfect cycling day until October or November.

It was also the last day I could get away with skimping on water as I should have filled up at the edge of town but stupidly pressed on out into the sticks. From here on out the rule is "Never pass up a water source without topping off". I managed ok but I ran out of water just as I pulled up at Sonic at the end. I ran into another cyclist down at Butcher Jones but he was not on his bike, but out with his family.

The beach was beautiful with the huge trees on the side and the birds chattering. The lake was fairly calm, though dotted with fishermen out for the morning's catch. I am often surprised that more roadies don't make Butcher Jones a destination but instead opt to jet right on by in their rush to make a beeline for the beeline. I guess it might be the rough pavement, or perhaps it is the inclusion of another hill.

Here's some video of the highlights of my ride, I think I finally got the helmet cam mount more stabile-

Mother Road.....300k....windy, but..... beautiful day.....Burma Shave.

2011-04-25T19:56:00.000-09:00

Video and Ride report

(Sorry about the shaky video, I need to get the helmet mount more secure somehow.)

Hmmm, where to start. This was my first Brevet of the year and also the first getting there by motorcycle. Yes motorcycle. Now I know there are many reasons not to go to these things on a motorcycle. Where do you change, where do you snooze if you get sleepy driving home, where do you put all your extra clothes to wear at the finish, how do you chow down as you are driving home, where do you put the bicycle? Well, I managed to have answers to most of those but today still finds me unable to chow down on the bike without going astronaut with a camelback..

3 am came pretty early, interestingly enough I woke up before my alarm. Due to a last minute fix I had to make to my homemade coroplast pool heater (so it wouldn't leak all the water out while I was "out") I didn't get to bed until after 10. 5 hours sleep is not optimum for driving 2 hours in the wee predawn hours I know. The excitement of getting back into brevets and rocketing along at, uh, ahem.... 75 mph... with the bike on the back kept me awake. Lest you think I am a speed demon I should probably add that I have a KLR and it is not designed to be a speed machine but it does do at least 75 up the hill to Sunset Point which is good enough for me. I was happy to note that my bike and rack affected handling much less then a passenger would and was hardly noticeable.

Brevet? Oh yeah, that is what I am writing about isn't it. Well, I got to the start line about 15 minutes before start and found that it wasn't enough. Next time I need to shoot for 30 minutes early. It takes a lot more time to setup and stow gear with the Motorcycle than a car. Lonnie "Epic" Wolf and Steve Atkins were there. Of course, being co-veterens of the "Epic" 400k of years gone by, a little wind is not a deal breaker for them (or snow,rain, hail, nannies with umbrellas, or grouchy old ladies on bicycles flying through the air). Also from Utah was Robert Owen and Pete Dusharm would bring our total to 5. Five? It seemed like a few more signed up. Hmm what was that I saw in the forecast last night about 50 mph gusts and 20 mph winds? Na, that couldn't be it. I have to say I did have a little pause about the wind though.

It's been about a year since I rode anything this long and I haven't been on the bike nearly as much as I'd like due to family issues and I'd become a little self concious. Well, dang if that memory of the hellacious 400k of yesteryear didn't come to mind with the thought of perseverence conquering all though. I figured I'd just ride at an easy pace and trust to my ability to endure a bicycle seat for long hours. A good long ride along once forgotten roads among infinite vistas spread out beneath a deep blue sky dotted with clouds, was what I needed to erase the stress of weeks of overwork, worries of kids that are working out psychiatric issues, creeping malaise and all that junk.

I got out of the start about 5 minutes after all the other guys and figured I'd be alone most of the day unless some of the no shows were just slow shows. I don't mind riding alone really. A lot of stuff comes out of the ether over an all day ride. You become yourself again. I am no longer Paul the guy who has to deliver projects on time and fix critical issues by working all night, the guy who supervises the pro wresting arena that our house seems some nights when the kids go at it, the guy who wants to help everyone yet can't say no when he needs to. No, I am the Paul that rides across the open roads of Arizona. I'm the Paul that knows wind only has power to slow you and only you, let it accomplish anything more than that. I am the Paul that is alone with his thoughts and humorous observations of the many quirks one notices while penetrating the full experience of highways from the seat of a bicycle.

Alright, enough waxing philosophical (yeah, it's built up after all those months of no big rides). We got a nice tailwind out of the start and the climb up to Ash Fork wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Through this section I almost caught Pete multiple times. We would go down a roller and I'd get in the aero bars and almost catch him and then we'd hit a hill and he would muscle away from me. It was mighty tempting to give chase but I had a commitment to take it easy since it had been awhile and it's better to be conservative and powerful than bonked and weak.

The pavement didn't help our case much, but I did find the fog line to be quite smooth which made up for it. I made really good time up into the pinions and junipers where Ash Fork lies. I think I got there just after 8 which is about what I had planned on. The surprising thing was that the gang was all there still. Every last one of them.

I hurried and got my card signed, a bottle filled, and then headed out with everyone for the exciting ride down I-40, the vast expanse of passionless asphalt. Ok, it was smooth, I'll give you that. I suppose there is something to be said for smooth. Unfortunately, garbage, pieces of old tires, auto parts, and bottles of urine strewn across the shoulder take away some of the that smooth "magic". I'm afraid folks don't respect their interstate as much as old roads full of dreams and childhood journeys. Not that that respect amounts to a smooth surface mind you, I suppose the patched expansion cracks and bumps are all just part of the dream.

The interstate in addition to being a vast land for ruined tires and a menagerie of unwanted refuse of every kind, was also where the wind became noticeable. Pete dropped off a bit as the crosswinds negated most drafting benefit but I held on most of the way along the interstate. We regrouped at the turn on to good old 66 and I confess it wasn't long before I got dropped as we started to climb. I had no issues though. Most of these guys had a full brevet series under their belt already this year and I was just jumping in after a moderate hiatus. I was just happy to have stayed with them this far.

We had a pretty fierce crosswind coming up at this point and I was a little surprised to find what I thought would be rollers was actually a good healthy hill. I also discovered in here that I had lost my brevet card when Jim Pettett handed it to me from the side of the road as I rode by. Thanks Jim you and Robin were awesome.

The most notable part of the section was the hill with the Juniper and the basalt cliffs alongside the road. Also of note was a poor squirrel who just couldn't get away from me as I chased him for quite aways along the road before he found a nook to dive into. This was where the Burma Razor signs started. I looked them up on wikipedia and although Burma Razor no longer advertises, they advertised heavily in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. They were known for signs with progressing messages you read as you sped by them. Today these signs stand alongside this part of route 66 as monuments to nostalgia of years past, of those who rode in the back of station wagons and eagerly looked out the windows to make a message of the ever present signs strung out alongside the road when travel was magic and not a chore. I must confess in the context of riding a bike along the road I had a sudden urge to look behind me when the sign spoke of Death drafting. I've heard he's a horrible wheel sucker, but I've also heard it's better to let him draft than to let him take a pull.

Seligman is a very colorful town. I must confess I was thinking Winslow when I originally thought of Seligman. Yeah Winslow will rise again I am sure. It's just that last time I was there I could see why a guy standing on the corner would get into some girl's truck sight unseen to get out of there (I kid I kid, but there is a bit of truth in there). I was very surprised at Seligman and will have to get through there again when I have more time. Seligman was reinvented awhile back as they found a way to harness the nostalgia of a generation. You could say this town was rebuilt on nostalgia but that wasn't why I was there. I was there to set my sights on the infamous "Road Kill Cafe" of which I have yet to taste of their fine cuisine.

I arrived at the road kill cafe which was on the opposite end of town to see that the whole gang was still there. I needed a few minutes there so I let them go. I needed sunblock and ibuprofen, the latter was for my back which sometimes gets a tinge in it. Still I didn't stop for long. Had a PB & J, filled the bottles and I was off into the wind.

The road to Peach Springs is a long one. You pass a butte that looks like it came right out of southern Utah and then you are on the edge of a valley that goes on forever. You can see the road go straight out and turn into a tiny speck of a line far off in the distance. Much like Picacho Peak it also seems like the far end of the valley just sits out there and never gets nearer. Strong winds only accentuate this effect. Just before entering the valley I spied a water bottle on the road and picked it up to give to Jim when he came by again so whoever dropped it would have it. This was a long windswept and lonely place and to be caught with only one water bottle would not be good.

I was amazed at how green it was. Yeah I know grassland is supposed to be green. Well, that's not always the case in Arizona. Sometimes grasslands only turn green after the summer or winter rains which are sporadic at best. I looked at the sky and thought how awesome that stretch of road must be with the stars out. Other than the occasional car I really only had one encounter with people out there which was with Jim and Robin when I gave them the water bottle. I guess I also waved at the touring cyclist who went by but that was about it.

The set of rollers beyond the valley got really tedious. The wind was howling in my face and I was getting tired of the endless rollers. After passing Grand Canyon Caverns and the turn off to Havasupai I eventually did find myself peaking over the final drop into Peach Springs only to see Robert, Steve, and Lonnie just cresting on their way back. I figure I was about 30 minutes behind them. I did not relish the thought of climbing back up that hill, but the thought of perhaps getting a little downhill and a slightly less in your face wind were tantalizing.

Pete was still at the control when I pulled in and after a cookie and a refill we were off and he promptly dropped me climbing out. I Figured it would be easier going on the return but I still had a long way to go and a sore knee. I'd raised the seat a little bit awhile back but the cat was out of the bag now and I had to baby the knee.

Things did in fact go a lot faster on the way back and several places I actually could actually see Pete out ahead but never caught him. By the time I got to the butte above Seligman I had a strong tailwind blowing and I cruised down into Seligman at around 30 mph. Excited by the tailwind I was determined to make it a short stop and so I did not join the guys at the roadkill cafe so that I might take advantage of this fickle wind while it was favorably disposed towards my endeavor.

I made really good time heading back and only saw the other guys aways behind me as I got onto the interstate. This stretch was the one where I almost hit a bottle of urine and dodged a lot of other garbage. Smooth pavement isn't everything I'm afraid. By the time I got to the control in Ash Fork the other guys had pretty much caught me.

We hung out there and talked for a bit and let Robert take advantage of Jim's floor pump as he fixed a flat. We left together but it wasn't long before we hit a hill and I got dropped not wanting to push hard still. I kept pushing through the rollers heading up knowing that anytime I'd hit the top and the rollers would tend down from there for a long time. When I finally did get over the hump I passed Pete heading down one of the hills. He looked pretty tired. I am sure the headwinds weren't helping at all either. I was down in the aero bars and was enjoying the downhill even if the wind was bleeding the speed off.

When I got to Paulden the sun was dipping below the horizon and I turned my lights on blink for safety. I knew the finish was basically uphill from there. Not too long after that I pulled my sash out of my seatbag and put it on, finally admitting I wasn't going to make it before sundown. I wasn't too far from Chino Valley when it set though. I was rather annoyed at the number of stoplights in Chino Valley and the person who decided to build a hotel on the wrong side of town. I finally arrived at 1 minute after 8. I didn't beat 14 hours, or my best time of 11:57 which I got down in Casa Grande last year but I believe this was actually my second fastest 300k time when all was said and done so I am happy. I'd be happy anyway, it was a beautiful day.

I guess I left one of the motorcycle questions unanswered, How do you snooze on the way back? Well, you pull off at the Black Canyon City exit, turn off on a non-descript road near a trucker doing what you are about to do, find a spot out of the way and discover how comfortable motorcycle clothes are to sleep on the ground in because of all the pads. It was like wearing a sleeping pad. I didn't intend to sleep for long but I was so comfortable I was out for an hour and a half!

Tortillas, Canyons, and Hills. Paul is back in the Rando business.

2011-04-16T11:47:00.000-09:00

Went out today to start my P4 award. The R12 is a bit tough for me right now with my kids being at the stage in life that they are but I find the P4 is made of rides that are about the length of a good training ride. So today I started with the one I just put together that heads back to the end of the pavement above Tortilla Flat and back. Was it foolish to do a ride with this much climbing the week before the Mother Road 300k ride? Well, I haven't been able to ride a whole lot the last week and a half and if I didn't get out I'd just bust. So there you have it. Am I up for a double century next week? Probably. It won't be my slowest time I am sure but neither will it be the sub 12 hour time I got last year. Anyway! This morning's ride was great. I actually managed to get to the information control with enough time that if it had been a real control I would have easily made it. I thought that was pretty cool considering how much climbing is involved to get there. Couldn't have been a more perfect morning, temp was 60 when I started out and 80 when I got back. Hope the folks doing the high country 300k don't get too hot this year. It's funny to think there was 10 inches of snow up there last week and this week it will be in the 70's to 80's up there. Anyway, I took some video of today's ride and will link to it below. I am sure it wasn't my fastest time but if you subtract the stop at Sonic on the way back and the late start, I finished in about 4 hours 20 minutes. Officially it was 5 hours and 3 minutes. Not too bad for having headwinds both ways with a few tailwinds on the way back before the wind shifted.

Tour de Mesa

2011-04-16T11:21:00.000-09:00

I forgot to blog the Tour de Mesa a few weeks back. I did make a video though and will link to it below. It was a good ride and the boys did really good. A bit warm but a beautiful ride nonetheless.

EOP

2011-03-26T19:26:00.002-09:00

I was going to do the Tour de Mesa route with the Brumbys today but my alarm didn't go off and by the time I was up it was too late. So, I decided I'd head up to the end of the pavement to get some control questions for the new Populaire I am making that goes up there. Here is the video from my cam.

Paul's new toy. A day in the life of.

2011-03-24T20:08:00.000-09:00

Got a new helmet/handlebar cam with my REI dividend. Took some videos of my morning workout.

Mines , Hills, and Wind.

2011-03-20T08:18:00.001-09:00

My Bikes

Well hey there howdy partner. This here's the entry on the Mining Country Challenge. No dad Sasafrasit. The MINING country challenge, not none o them normal country challenges to be sure. Saturday was a great day to saddle up the mule, load the tools on the back and head up to the mines. Did I mention there were some humdinger no good dad gummit quad whacking hills out there? What kinda miner would I be if I couldn't climb a few rootin tootin hills. You know, there's copper in them thar hills.

So's I gets to the gatherin spot early and many a claim jumper is spying and asking about my mule carrying my other mule and that there special doohickey that holds them together. I must admit I'm right proud o that doohickey. It's not perfect stranger, but it holds the old mule tight with no funny business. The good folks runnin this stampeed checked me in and gave me some of the best dang fangled arm warmers I've seen. Then I was off to saddle up and hit the high road. This here Stampede was supposed to start at 8 but at 8 the start line was as dead as Downtown Mesa late on a wednesday night. Them darned dad sassafraset no good claim jumpers all started early. Well, it don't matter a lick, with all them hills I figured a paceline wasn't that important anyway.

Climbing to Top of the World.

I head out and spot some hombres up ahead and follow them. Funny thing them fellers though, I could swear they was leading me down to Winkelman. Dang, I could a sworn we were moseying up to Globe first. DOH! Them ornery varmints was more o them cowardly early starters, but for the short ride at 8:30! They was on the short version of this here stampede! It's time to turn this old mule around and backtrack through this old one horse town and head up Devil's Canyon and not down one of these here sissy girly routes where ya only climb 2 big nasty hills instead O' three.

Yours Truly

This here hill I tell you about is one big dad dern lilly libered pile a mule pucky let me tell you. The old mule and I were hard pressed to keep our pace up this hill and not blow out the tanks every time some o' them young bucks would blow on by looking so high and mighty with their fancy duds and fresh young horses and all. I aint pretendin to be in stellar shape I tells you right now. I aint fast, but I is tough as nails and you let me plug away and I'll take any old dern tootin hill you throw at me.

Top of the World

Gettin up towards the top I caught the mean hombre I'd chatted up down below. He was on one o' them weird contraptions called a recumbent, bein a bit O' a gadget man meself and having dabbled in that alternative bike style, I know'd what he was goin through on a no good hill like this. Quads a iron folks, that's what he had Quads a iron. Aside from this here hill he'd be ahead o me most of the day.

Is there ever so purdy a sight as that sweet and blessed crest of a hill folks? Ya get on up there and look all over the almighty's creation, and his creation of a downhill layin out in all it's beauty before ya? Thars the gold lads. This may be copper country but there is gold in these here hills. Well durned if I wasn't appreciative o' them arm warmers I got. I'd thought it a bit funny O' them fellers down at the old Assayer's fer handin em out with us being on the cusp of that dry and dusty melt yer hide summer comin on but much apprecated they were on the way down into that old codger of a mining town they call Miami.

Climbing El Capitan, The top? I think not,.

What kind a idjut designed these here twin towns o' hills and rollers. There werent a flat street nowheres. I caught a few fellers and lasses through here and didn't quite have the gumption to pass until one o' them amazon'n lasses lost a chain and they had to pull in to resaddle the beast (the mule I mean, gosh dern but that could a been taken the wrong way!)

Up the trail a piece there was some o them thar organizers that had setup a waterin hole with a privy out back. I was much obliged and stored my warm gear and had me some o' their vittles before I figured I'd best be moseyin on out to take on that no good, gol dern, claim jumpin, donkey kicking, hill they call El Capitan.

View from El Capitan Summit.

That high falootin feller on a recumbent passed me in here. Partly that was due to the headwind that was kicking up. That no good, spirit kicking, smile wiping, dad gummit sas a fras, no good lousy, kick sand in your eye wind. This here section reminded me of the gale force winds on that ride up above that old waterin hole Tortilla Flat a few weeks back. My quads were burnin like a load a bacon on a bonfire folks! It seemed like that lilly livered hill just kept getting steeper and the wind was just punchin me in the face like a no good cowaredly cur the further I got. Just as it seemed I'd blown the tanks fer good I pulled up to the top alongside that recumbent feller and It was time for a break at another one o them convenient waterin holes setup by them good folks of PMBC.

Sag Wagon on El Capitan

The wind was a wailing across the top o' the pass but there was a long hill down into the little town most folks call Winkelman. I suppose the first bit was a nice descent, as not even this rip roarin mule snortin wind could put a halt on the drop. By and by though the hill got less steep and that ornery wind made me pedal old Bessy when we shoulda been livin the high life a coastin down all this wonderful downhill we'd bought with so much pain. Somewhere in here we passed the town o' Christmas but all I saw was a few houses. Hmmm. Not much of a town really, but I'm sure it's their own slice o' heaven so to each their own.

This proves it

On down I pedalled. Seems like that goll derned Winkelman would never peak itself out around the corner of this infernal canyon where a fella could go downhill but pedal like he was going uphill, crazy country. Good thing it was perdy. Me and several other hombres and womenfolk was spread out through here workin our way through the wind as best we could.

Along the descent into Winkelman

Just when I was ready to call out infernal confounded tarnation I got to the bottom of the canyon and the large smokestack of Winkelman came into view. Also in Winkelman was another one o' them PMBC waterin holes but where was their Privy? A waterin hole aint no waterin hole without a privy. They said the privy got dropped off a pace down the road by mistake so I figgur will have to forgive them since they did have subway sandwiches. Mighty tasty vittles they was pardner!

For rent!

The stretch out of Winkelman with the wind again in our face. Derned fickle wind. Make up yer hootin tootin dad garnit donkey dung mind. Is you gonna blow out of the south or northwest? It was like it was trying to spite us and spit on the grizzled old faces of these here hardened fellers and gals out fer a ride in the hills and mines. It took me to a bad place it did. I hunkered down and grit my teeth and swore at that claim jumpin, dog kickin, baby slappin wind that was kickin up the dust into the air and makin my derned excersize induced asthma kick up.

Nice turqoise tailings

Along in here some angels in spandex happened along and towed me along for a mile or two before I couldn't hold them and me and bessie had to slack off. Around in here Bessie's hind end started to get all wobbly and I looked back and the goll derned mule had thrown a shoe. I look and looked but couldn't find why so I threw my extra shoe in and used the helpful sag pump to get it all set and I was off. Off into more o' that dern tootin wind! Seemed like this stretch was a neverending pack o' suffering my friend. The wind was bad, the temps were climbin, and to boot there was no light at the end of the tunnel with that there End of the World hill at the end of it.

Asarco Smokestack

Just outside O' Kearny old Bessie's backside was a wobblin again and I'd be derned if She hadn't thrown the same old shoe. Luckily I had my patches to fix that old shoe up. First though I had to find that goll derned thing that made the whole mess in the first place so I had to dig out my good old trusty cartridge action peacemaker and blow the thing up. I had my pump action but it was so small it was only for emergencies.

I finally found the no good snake in the grass. It was one o them nasty bit's o wire from the wheels o' one o' them buggy's the city slicker's drive all around these here roads. So I patched and the nice feller in the sag waggin gave my good old tire a pump and I was off. I has to tell you I got passed by a whole posse o' folks while I was fixin old bess. Still we were up and runnin.

Asarco Pit mine

Then came that mean ornery pig stealin, well dunging, dirty rotten hill I'd been a fearin all day. The hill that made strong men cry and weak men die. It was the end of the world. As Bess and I struggled up the bottom I had nothin left but told myself to keep pluggin along and we'd stop at the top of the pit. Just keep a goin bess. Keep them pistons fire'n Paul. That gol derned hill seemed to last forever when suddenly what should I spy? Well flap my jacks and lengthen my johns if that weren't one o' them lovely PMBC waterin holes up ahead with a few tired folk restn' their guns slung back in lawn chairs.

They were a sight for sore thighs let me tell you! What's more they was given out payday's. Nice touch that. I jawed for a piece with the good folk and then I was off. I didn't know what I'd be able to pull off in the next stretch. There were some mean spirited stretches up ahead and no mistaken it. The end of the world had slapped me silly before and today were no different. I had to make it further than I had the first time though. Toil as I might I did make it up to the second bend in the road so I did beat my first try. I still had to walk a piece though. Lordy my legs hurt. There weren't no more bullets in my guns pardners! Even walking it took the guy behind me awhile to catch up. I figure he was going half a mosey faster than I uz and I waz walkin! I hopped back on for a piece behind him and then had to walk again. Just before the next waterin hole was visible, I figur'd I'd keep my dignity and hop on for the last piece.

Finished at last!

I skipped that lovely waterin hole. I knew it was a short piece to my other old mule and I could smell the barn. Pretty soon I passed those hombres that flamed themselves out by ridin the whole hill. I'd climbed her before and had nothin to prove by not walkin a bit. I was feeling strong and was past the big terror of the day. That ornery skunk of a hill was at my back and I waz comin home!

Day and Night where the pavement ends.

2011-03-06T20:07:00.000-09:00

Snow on Four Peaks

This week I have had two rides which were quite different but on the same pavement pretty much. Monday's was to the End of the Pavement above Tortilla flat on a cold blustery day, and the other was on a balmy evening in the dead of night.
I had the day off Monday and decided I would take a good training ride in the morning, and work on organizing my Dad's study contents into boxes for processing once it comes time to clean my Mom's house out. I determined that rather than ride up into Apache Jct on a slight grade, I would drive out to where the serious climbing started and go from there.

The drive out was beautiful as there was a lot of snow on the mountains from the Superstitions to Four Peaks. Once the bike was on the road I realized two things. One, snow means cold. Two, it was windy, real windy. I'd even go as far to say as it was a bitter wind coming down out of the mountains as I struggled up the Apache Trail fighting it. I can't say I felt horrible spunky. I couldn't tell if it was just my lack of fitness (which is getting better bit by bit), or if the cold and wind was just that bad.

Snow on the Flat Iron

I popped up over the first hill and found myself freezing as I dropped in to Canyon Lake. The wind was really roaring. Along the lake road that I usually cruise along I found myself struggling into the wind. The only saving grace to all this was I thought I might see some snow up at the top of the hill above Tortilla Flat.
The climb into Tortilla flat wasn't too bad. I did have to pedal very carefully as I tried to work my way across the creek that was flowing really good so I wouldn't hit any potholes and discover how long it would take a wet cyclist to go numb in these conditions.

The climb up to the end of the pavement was brutal. I was going anearobic in my lowest gear most of the way up. I wondered if it was that I was out of shape or if it was the wind. I haven't climbed that hill in over a year at least so I really can't judge. I just knew it was brutal. It seemed like I fought into that wind a long time. On one of the switchbacks near the top I turned so the wind was at my back and it pretty much blew me up to the next turn whereupon the pain would come back in full force.

Snow by End of Pavement

Before I got to the end of the pavement I did in fact see snow. The patches that were left were melting fast as it was in the low 40's. The wind chill was well below freezing though. By the time I got back to the car I was pooped. I really hope the mining country century is enough to get me ready for the Prescott 300k.

Tortilla Flat at night.

So, fast forward to Saturday. I had to campout with the scouts on Friday and Saturday so Saturday morning and afternoon was a big no go for training. After my daughter's piano recital I had to take my boys to see Tron Legacy at the cheap theatre as I had promised to do that and I don't think the movie will be there next week. So, 9:30 PM arrives and I still need a training ride. The Mining Country Century is the week after next and this ride is a critical training ride so it was going to be a good night for the generator light.

At 10 PM I told my wife not to stay up for me and I headed out the door. It worked out pretty good that way actually. I managed to pass all the bars while they were still open and on the return they were all closed, so that minimized drunks. I decided to do the whole Enchilada from my house to the end and back which would make it a nice Metric Century with almost 4000 feet of climbing. That's about 2/3s of the climbing on the Mining Country Challenge which I think will be enough to let me finish. I won't finish fast but I'll finish.

Traffic was sporadic going through town out into the east valley and climbing up towards Lost Dutchman state park. After I passed the turnoff for the park though, traffic all but died. I think I saw 4 cars over 3 hours. The sounds of the desert came alive with crickets chirping in the brush on the side of the road. With no moon the sky was dark and I could see the Superstitions and numerous cholla and saguaro cacti sillouetted against the starry background. Behind was the brown glow of Phoenix but it was dimming with every pedal stroke.

Your's Truly

I was just on the border of sweating and my windvest was working wonderfully as I controlled my own personal climate with the zipper. I kept pretty good time up the hills as my generator light generally stayed pretty bright. One or twice it dimmed slightly but that wasn't much. I did have a spare light I could use but that light causes my bike computer to flatter me rather severely so I leave it off if I can.

Dropping in to Canyon Lake I hit several pockets of really cold air. Fortunately these were not the norm. Far across the lake I could see the lights of the Marina, and other than a few cars parked along the side of the road, there were no signs of life. There was the gentlest of breezes and I found myself cruising along through the night with my light brightly illuminating all before me. Crossing the two bridges was a bit sureal as it is odd to see only the beams of the bridge shining brightly against a black backdrop. On the second bridge an SUV came up behind me and I got a little apprehensive but he would stop at the Marina and turn around.

Last time I was in Tortilla Flat at night there was only a streetlight and two vending machines lighting things up. Sometime since then they had put red lights on the trim of the buildings. I thought maybe they hadn't closed yet but there were no cars there and the interior lights were out other than the neon beer signs inside the old Saloon (after all the old west was big on neon beer signs you know).

I discovered that the end of the pavement seemed hard the other day because of the wind as it was much easier to climb this time around. I was breathing hard, but not outside of my aerobic range. At one point I heard an owl hooting and then a bit later he flew through my headlight and freaked me out a bit. He did it again further up the hill (or maybe it was a relative of his) but I didn't freak out that time. I wonder if I was rousting out little snacks for them to go eat as I passed.

The EOP hill is always a beast which is what makes it so good to train on for these hilly rides. At night it is big enough to put you in that Zen climbing state where you forget how far up you are and how far you have left, there is only what you see in your headlights and the shortness of breath and the burning in your legs. Oh, I forgot to mention that thousand stars above your head in all their splendor. Stars aren't something that are that impressive down in the valley, up here on the hill out in the boonies, they are something to look at. I have seen the milky way up here in the past but couldn't make it out tonight as there was a slight cloud layer.

I actually felt pretty strong on this ride. Amazingly so. After telling a guy and a girl in a car how deep the water was at the crossing at Tortilla Flat I would head into the second to last climb of the night which I popped right up and headed over to the big hill out. After the steep section at the bottom I was starting to feel just a bit of fatigue. I really wouldn't feel tired though until I was cruising down University. I figured I would have a tailwind but I had a crosswind and all I could muster was 19-20 mph with the muscles in my left leg screaming for mercy. I had been pedalling in a certain position with my left leg tonight to figure out the optimum position to eliminate knee pain and my leg had finally tired of doing that. I had no knee pain but the muscles used to hold that position were pooped.

So, 4 hours and 22 minutes for 62 miles at night with nearly 4000 feet of climbing. I won't say it's my best time, but it is definitely not my worst by a long shot. It was a good ride. I'd even say it was worth the sleep deprivation.

Be honest, does this triangle make my butt look fat?

Night on South Mountain...

2011-02-24T22:02:00.000-09:00

Octotillo and Towers

It is shortly after 6 pm. I am standing in the parking lot just inside the entrance gate to South Mountain regional park. I have to pick up my brother at the airport after 8 PM, but now I have time to fill. The Coy Mistress has waited patiently in the car all day. She is excited. I have taken bicycles up the mountain before but thus far, she has not had that opportunity until tonight.

With little ado we are off climbing the light hills which wander among the desert hills and pass the historic building of the inner park entrance constructed many years ago when this area was made into what would become the largest city park in the country. Traffic is light and I am occasionally passed by a car but mostly it is the setting sun and the falling hush of evening keeping me company as we move up past the turn to San Juan. San Juan will come later if there is time.

Into the main climb and I am feeling amazingly strong. Much stronger and faster than I was last time I climbed this. I'm a lot lighter now, and I have been doing a lot more hill work as of late. It is an enjoyable climb as I start to warm up and as I move through the saddle I start to breath heavy as the grade increases for the next mile to the first crest. Above the tower lights come on and are not particularly radiant as the sun has not completely given over to night yet.

Radio Towers

After a few rollers I am at the bottom of the first of two final hills. Two rather steep final hills. I work my way up and have to stand for the last bit as the grade gets steep. The glow of sunset is nearly snuffed out. There is only enough light left to sillouette the cacti and Ocotillo against the sky as I pass by. After a quick picture I am into the last throws of the climb and the grade has shot up to 10% and I am breathing heavy. Soon it is over and I am at the top looking down at the lights of Chandler and the many couples who have driven up to see the lights. Above our heads the blinking towers reach for the sky and scream their messages in inaudible waves to the masses below.

As I turn off of the radio tower road I am suddenly surrounded by the calls of Coyotes out among the rocky hills. It is a pretty cool moment. Coyote calls all around, the stars above, and the city lights below.

At the Lookout before I drop off the mountain I stop to look at the city lights spread out to the horizon out in the blanket of night somewhere. Cacti and desert brush are sillouetted against the lights of the city. As I drop off the mountain I look up and Orion is tip toeing across the tops of the radio towers in a celestial game of hopscotch.

My light glows brilliant as my descending speed increases. I am conservative though as I don't ride here often and I have never descended this at night. Far behind I see the light of the cyclist I passed up by the towers coming down behind me. He won't catch me but he passes when I stop to consider going down to San Juan. I have 25 minutes to kill and I decide to see how far I can get.

The road is closed to motorized traffic and the stars shine brilliant above as I place the glow of the city to my back. The road has some cracks in it but overall it is in good shape. I do not make it to San Juan, but I do get over 3 miles down before I turn around and head back up. First I turn off my lights (except my taillight). The glow of the city illuminates the road well enough for me to climb without the aid of a headlight. It is only me, the sounds of the desert and the mighty hunter in the sky looking down on me.

When your rich...no one can hear you spell.....

2011-02-19T21:27:00.001-09:00

So, once upon a time, in a desert far far away, there was an area on the side of a mountain known as the Hawes trail where good old Mountain Bik'n boys had their fun in the dirt. All was swell, until one day.... someone thought that would be a great place to build a collection of ritzy housing developments. How ritzy are they? Well you know it's a high class area when they don't spell things like the common folk, for instance, take the word park. That's just a good old joe term for something quite simple right? Not a lot of places to go to make the word park sound glorious right? Well, you just don't know nothin man! Take a look at this fine example of the sophisticated possibilities for this seemingly common word---

Desert Foothills Parke

I didn't realize what a country bumpkin I was until this morning when I chanced upon this parke' . I knew folks in this neighborhood were pretty flush but I didn't know they had there very own parke' .

Then, after I had finished my first trip up to the top and was on my way down the other side I stumbled upon the high and illustrious "Pin Cle Poin". I think it's french or something. Kind of felt silly riding past all these ritzy digs on my bicycle. I felt like I should maybe be styling a suede seat, a sealskin tire, or a mink helmet or something like that.

The famous "Pin Cle Poin"

After climbing bottom to top three times I figured I ought to get my white trash keister out of this haven of exotic and sophisticated spellers, and make my way over to do some repeats of the backside of Usery Pass (yeah I overslept again, it's been a rough week)

The Amazonian Mountain Maidens of pedalling fury.

So, I notice there are quite a few people climbing the other side of the pass. Come to think of it, there are a lot of female type people climbing the backside today (um, perhaps I could reword that). At the bottom is a global bikes truck with a mechanic out tuning up some girl's bike. Yup, I'm pretty sure this was the "Girls Gone Ridin'" ride I had stumbled my way into the middle of. What a day to do repeats. Most cyclists of the female persuasion are very nice people (with the exception of the one that called me a moron on the indian bend bike path when I was with the scouts a few weeks back). All of them seemed to be in good spirits despite the occasional rain shower here and there.

I didn't mention the rain did I. One of the reason's I had a tough time getting out of bed was the weatherman said the rain was going to be coming down in sheets and the wind would be blowing nanny's through the air with umbrellas, and other mass carnage.   So, figuring the Brumbys would not be out anyway I stayed in bed a little extra. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and found dry pavement outside!   At least all the good folk on the brevet would get to start with good weather. We got a good 3 hours of fairly good weather. Whats a little rainshower here or there?

I decided to call it quits when I hit 3000 feet of climbing and got ready to glide all the way home down the big hill between the top of Usery pass and my house.   Hmmm.   Hill isn't too spunky today. I was only able to hit 17 when I should be well over 25. What? What's that you say?   I can't hear you with all this wind in my ears, oh, maybe that has something to do with it. Yup. I toasted my legs and hadn't counted on the strong winds that fought me all the way home so I did get a better workout than I had intended. What's the only thing worse than rain and strong headwinds?   Rain and strong headwinds when you have 240 miles ahead of you.

Incidentally, I should add that I have signed up for the Route 66 300k.   I guess I will be doing some brevets this year after all. This stuff just gets in your blood. I need a good epic ride in a bad way.

Casting off the shackles.....

2011-02-15T20:58:00.000-09:00

The last few days have not been conducive to cycling much less life. Work has reared it's head in most parts of my life. Deadlines approaching, multiple projects trying to push their individual versions of code into the system at the same time. Checking, and double checking and removing and adding others code from mine. Critical issues abound.

I had determined this morning I would take a long ride before starting work to make up for the late night. Well, I made the mistake of checking in before I left and before I knew it it was 2:30 and my daughter had returned from School and I still had issues to watch, though the lion's share of the work was behind me and moving into someone else's bucket. Still, I rued the fact I hadn't gotten out for a ride. There was pressure inside this cooker and the steam had to come out.

Around 7:30 my wife told me she could put the kids to bed and sent me out into the night. what a beautiful night it was. No wind, the air was still and 60 degrees. Gotta love 60 degrees after 8 at night. I needed to drop all this stress and a rather large dinner in the hill country. I decided I could get 3 repeats of Las Sendas in and back before 10 so I went for it.

Climbing at night is peaceful. Yeah your sweating, yeah your breathing hard, but it is just you your breath and the night. You are more aware of your body and your mind is free to contemplate the universe out there in the night. The slow speeds of climbing are conducive to states of mental sightseeing. The mind wanders here and there as your body climbs up through the night. Occasionally it is disturbed by the cars but in general, the brain can slowly take a breather and let the body do the work. One can worry about what the sound of one hand clapping is (it's a zen thing I'm told).

The end reward of course is a good healthy tired and a pretty view of the city lights from up on the side of the mountain. Tonight I can actually see a brown cloud over Phoenix despite it being night. Yikes. Glad I live up in the east valley.

Save the knees!

2011-02-05T21:37:00.000-09:00

Q-Factor. Nope I'm not talking about some goofy grown up musical with Muppets gone wrong, nor am I talking about a show where a right wing conservative talk show host gets a little happy, wink wink nudge nudge say no more say no more.   Nope I'm talking about space. Which space you ask? Seeing as this is a blog about bicycling it likely is not hyper space, or inner space, or anything like that. Nope this is the space between one's feet. Some poo poo the idea of Q-Factor being a major player in bike fit. I admit I have not thought much about it until now. As many of you fair readers may know, I have struggled over the last few years with a left knee that is a little contankerous. At the behest of my Orthapedic doc I went and got a $400 dollar bike fit and pedal stroke coaching session which increased my speed dramatically and did help a bit but the pain was still there although not so pronounced as before. More recently you know I have been experimenting with shims under the cleat to angle my foot a bit and you know that this has also helped. But the other day I read something interesting on the internet (yeah I know you can't believe everything you read on the internet) and it seemed to strike home.

The gist was this, folks who ride with their knee splayed out, often do this because their feet are too close together. Hmmm. To believe this cockamamy theory you would need to of course believe the silly idea that everyone's hips and feet were not identical and perhaps need different configurations of pedals and cranks. What kind of crazy half baked idea would that be huh? Well, being the type of guy who occasionally opens his mind I entertained this idea and again revisited the idea of a product called knee savers. Supposedly, by moving the foot out from the crank, the knee and foot get better alignment and the knee actually goes in. Yeah right! I'm going to move my knee in by moving the foot OUT..... yeah, like that makes sense. Still, not wanting to be called a Q-Prude I decided that perhaps, on a dark morning, when no one was looking, all by myself, I might try one of these knee savers. Just to keep an open mind you know, then no one could call me Q-Phobic.

Friday night, after the kids went to bed, and my wife was away with her Mom doing Scrapbooking girly things, and I was finally alone, I snuck out into the garage, pulled the large manilla envelope off of the work bench and pulled the odd little steel adapter out of the packaging.  Then I did something a little different.  I held it in my hand, and searched for about 15 minutes for a pedal wrench. Of course, since the fitting goes over the end of the pedal spindle it takes a larger wrench which I eventually figured out (hey it was late).   Then with a little tapping and a minimum of swearing I had the pedal off the bike and was working the fitting onto the end of it. It was a tight fit but tight is good with pedals,  lets just say it is nicer to watch Tchaikovsky's holiday ballet then live it when your pedal suddenly pops off when you stand up to hammer a hill.   So I screwed the pedal in and left my bike in the garage overnight to get used to it's new Q-Factor orientation.

Climbing was in order. Lots of climbing. Climbing climbing climbing.   End of the pavement sort of climbing. Uh, well, the alarm said end of pavement, but the snooze  said Usery Repeats (and maybe the cold morning had something to do with it too) . Usery repeats it was! Just for flavor I decided to climb through Las Sendas first though. I am pleased to say that a trip up through Las Sendas to the very top will get you 400' of climbing and if you are me with increased Q-Factory, no knee pain.   Hmmm. Can't believe it. Better go try a few repeats on the backside. So up the front and over the back I go. I push it hard and still no knee pain. On the second repeat my back is starting to twinge a bit but it is not the left side of my back like it usually is, it's centered now. I discover that if I sit on the front of the seat that this pain is greatly reduced. Down and up for another repeat.

At 3444' of strenuous climbing in under 35 miles I was a poofed Paul. I haven't climbed nearly that much since last July when I did the Dirty Mogollon Madness permanent with Mike Sturgill. I am pleased to say, that although by any stretch of the imagination my knee should be twinging after a workout like that, it wasn't. In fact, at times when it felt like my knee was splaying out because it felt natural I would look down and find that it was right where it should be. Huh....who'd a thunk it? Moving your foot out to move the knee in. Crazy. Anyway, maybe it's still too soon to tell, but I think the knee saver on the left pedal might be a keeper. Even it does look a little Q----factorish.

Cool city, get your Rando on.

2011-02-03T06:12:00.001-09:00

Oh toe warmers of warmth, protect those oft neglected miniature digits within my shoes. Oh leg warmers, work with your friend the tights to keep the legs and nether regions alive and funtional. Oh wondrous microfleece jersey, long have you waited in my drawer unused and neglected it seemed, you did not fail me at lake Utah, you did not fail me in the Grand Canyon, I have saved you for this moment and now it is time for you to shine and trap my warmth deep inside. Ski gloves of fatness, fight off the wicked cold that has descended upon our poor village and tortures our flora and fauna. Oh skyline buff from scout camp long ago.....Skyline buff? Yes, skyline buff, I have been sabatoged by a child of mischief who has lost my balaclava, all is not lost for you are here to warm my face and ears. Last of all, helmet cover of goretex! Many a dark brevet you have kept my head warm, through rain, ice, and wind. Fail me not now for the temperature is dropping as we climb into Las Sendas. Yea, the bike computer doth register 26 then 24 then 22 and now it has plummeted to 19 degrees! Fail me not when the hill does and keep the toasty warmth within my soul through the wind and speed that lies between us and the warm home that awaits in the glow of dawn. Lo, it is not a lonely morning, not a cyclist in sight but I am riding inside a vast array of friends who fail me not.

Re-Groupie

2011-01-30T15:41:00.000-09:00

Evening on Red Mountain

In February the Brumbys are organizing an informal time trial over Usery Pass. So, it stands to reason that many of them have a desire to train on the backside of Usery theoretically. Sterling sent out the plan on Friday that it was to be a double loop on Saturday. It's not typical of the Brumbys to double ride anything but that's what they decided and it fit into my training schedule good. It goes without saying that I woke up late on Saturday though. Well, actually I didn't wake up late, I just got out late so I had to meet them along the route. The other thing that didn't go as planned was my attire. How can it be such a warm Friday night and such a cold Saturday morning? Perhaps I should take the advice to put a thermometer outside my window. Anyway, I opted out of the tights and long sleeve jersey for the arm warmers, vest and tights. It was to be a cold cold morning. Yeah, I can hear all you guys up north playing violins.

I was able to get to the point they usually turn off of McDowell before they did so we hooked up and Sterling welcomed me to the group where I took my place at the back. I am still trying to get back to where I was last year at this time. Sure enough I held them until we started to go uphill and then the fast guys dropped the hammer and raced to the top. I said goodby and figured I was gonna ride solo most of the morning. Interestingly enough, they waited at the top for everyone to regroup. What a classy bunch of guys.

After swooping down Kong (packs roaring along at 40+ mph always make me really nervous so I hung back a bit). We cruised along over to the bottom of little kong and I figured I'd be dropped for good this time, when what was this? I passed Sterling, and then a guy named Frasier (who I would ride with much of the morning). So perhaps, I am not in as bad shape as I thought, perhaps the January guys are mostly diehard racers. I suppose the fact I've dropped 6 pounds in the last couple of weeks doesn't hurt either.

Fascinatingly enough, there was another re-group at the top. I was two for two. On the backside Sterling told everyone not to bother waiting at the top. I pulled ahead of Sterling and Frasier (but they would stay in view all the way up). I watched the fast guys eventually fade from sight and got into my own mojo, I figured now at last, the group would go on but at least I had Sterling and Frasier to ride with. Wonder of wonders, there were a few guys that came back my way as I neared the top. I figured they were going for a repeat but as I crested, it turned out that I had again made the regroup and they were just going back to see where Sterling was. I am climbing stronger lately, perhaps I will be able to finish the Mining Country Century in March after all.

I really wanted to climb over Las Sendas Mt. this morning and was tempted to let the group go so I could cut through Las Sendas the hard way when lo and behold, they turned up Hawes. Sterling bid goodbye as he had to head home, but Frazier and I climbed in the back and watched the strong racing types muscle up the 8% hill that is the top of Hawes. Again they waited at the top for us, I could get used to this riding the whole day with the group thing.

Interestingly enough rather than head straight around Usery again they opted for a Las Sendas loop. When it looked like they were going to do another I asked if anyone wanted to do another Usery loop. Around six of us split off to head onto the usery loop. Frazier and I held onto the back of them and amusingly enough we weren't that far behind them when we got to the top. At the top we compared bike computer notes and found we had climbed 2500' this fine chilly morning. By the time I got home I was further surprised to find I had gone 54 miles. I hadn't intended to go that far so I could save something for the afternoon ride with my kids.

Sometimes you gotta walk.

I have to say I was a little tired after cleaning the back yard and hauling a giant truckload of trash out to the dump but what matter wounds to the body of a knight errant? For although he tires he will rise again, and woe to the hill that shall try to oppose him! Of course, I'd be towing my youngest up that hill on exhausted legs. Still, you have to just do these important things sometimes whether they hurt or not and the feeling was not unlike the feeling one has when they have to get back onto the bike after lunch during a long brevet so it was nothing new.

Today was to be my youngest's first time around the usery loop (on the trail a bike). Lets just say she wasn't too happy with the long climb up the hill, and since she was already upset she decided she'd stay that way all the way down the other side too. Just when I was muttering never again under my breath she decided to calm a bit despite the fact we dropped down into the cool of the river bottoms. By the time we were climbing kong she was pedaling for all she was worth and seemed to be having fun, which was good because I was doing likewise. I have to tell you, an 8% grade is a lot harder when you are towing someone up it. She was a trooper though.

Upon reaching the top I went back down to give Joseph some company as he walked up the hill. I wasn't there to motivate him today as it was all I could do to maintain balance and forward Momentum. He just wasn't having a very energetic day, and the fact he's a little heavier than last time we did this didn't help a lot either. Still, they all made it. By the time we got back to the car I had 72 miles and over 3000' of climbing in the bank and they had 18 miles and 500-600 feet of climbing. I haven't ridden anywhere near that far since last July when I rode the Dirty Mogollon Madness permanent with Mike Sturgill. Needless to say it felt good, a tired good, but good none the less. I signed us all up for El Tour de Mesa earlier this week (the 26 mile version) and I think they are in good shape to do it without too much work between now and April.

Downtown Phoenix at sunset

Saturday Night Fever

2011-01-22T23:34:00.000-09:00

Terrible cell phone picture at night.

11 PM. I have taken the kids out on a 10 mile ride today with a few hills thrown in. It is not enough though. Life has been extremely stressful lately and I'm getting it from all sides. So, a quiet evening alone with myself and the coy mistress were in order. I haven't had her out for a ride at all this week. She has sat forlorn hanging from the ceiling in the garage while I took my son off to a gymnastics meet in Las Vegas, and also while I rushed to get my son's pinewood derby cars done this week (the youngest took 3rd place in both). All work and no play makes Paul a pressure cooker ready to blow. So yes indeed, despite being a little sleepy, I needed some serious therapy.

Upon leaving the driveway I notice my foot is feeling pretty good with that extra shim under the cleat I stuck in it this morning. Any more and I will need a longer screw. For now it felt pretty good though. It's chilly but not cold. Still, I am glad for the long sleeve jersey and tights. Traffic is still a little busy but quickly dieing as America's most boring city (per Forbes magazine) goes to sleep. I climb up Power road heading out to the burbs and hills of Las Sendas. I plan to do a repeat on the main loop and then climb the mountain and head back home.

Turning off of Power things get a lot more peaceful. This is a neighborhood, a neighborhood on the side of a mountain but still a neighborhood. I might add further it is a neighborhood that goes to sleep early too. There is only an occasional car every 10 - 15 minutes. It's just the night, the hills, the city lights, the coy mistress, and me. Despite the hill work I am pleased to notice that I am not noticing my back. I think those shims are working. It's a good climb up the loop and I in fact do loop around for a repeat. It's a beautiful night and I find myself looking for tangents after I climb over Las Sendas Mountain. I pass a road I have never been up before with a sign on the street sign saying "No Outlet". That quite often in this area of snooty homeowners, (well, maybe they are not snooty, but they sure do look rich) put up signs like that to keep people from driving through their neighborhoods.

It's a long dark street heading up into the desert. It's a beautiful night with an almost full moon shining down on the long deserted road. I pedal on and am soon weaving among very large, secluded houses. Theres some cash invested up in these here hills. I weave around and come to a rather silly road block made up of some old beams on cinder blocks. Yup, no outlet. Ha. What is it about folks in snooty neighborhoods that makes them want to put a block across a perfectly good road so they are "seperate" from their neighbors neighborhood? I lifted my bike over it and guess what? The road on the other side was dirt for about 100 yards and then I was back on pavement heading down the hill. No outlet indeed.

Far below I descended to the city lights. It's a beautiful night. All is peacefull. There are no children arguing, getting wrapped up in themselves, whining. There is no stress of dealing with my wife who has been very stressed and tired lately, and bearing with all the things that come with that. There is no stress of having my Mom in the hospital and my father in-law recovering from a heart attack. There is only the moon, the smooth pavement, the hum of the tires, the bike, my thoughts, and myself. I find myself lost in thought as I descend to the house. I know the route so well my body steers me to home even though I am mentally in another world. I wish I could stay out here all night although I need to get some sleep, but I think it will do for now.

Cold morning

2011-01-08T22:43:00.000-09:00

Cold morning on the bush highway. I had to take a bunch of scouts out at 10 so it would be a fairly short morning ride of 26 miles. I'm afraid there's not a lot of rando going on with me right now. Down in Casa Grande all the usual suspects were doing the 200k I'm sure. I wonder if it was 34 degrees for them this morning. It was a lonely road this morning, I don't know if it was the cold, or not. When I hit the climb up the backside there were probably 50 or so cyclists I would count coming down in the 20-25 minutes it took me to climb it. Apparently I didn't get the memo that everyone was training counter clockwise today.

I managed to climb strong if nothing else. I am working on losing weight so losing a bit of power is a given, at least for a bit. I want to ride the Mining Country Century and losing 10 pounds or so will make a huge difference with all that climbing. It's good to be on the bike even if it is cold. Despite the tights, long sleeve jersey and wind vest I am still chilly and would not break a sweat until right around the top of the last climb. I was working really hard trying keep it above 8 mph all the way up. I didn't get passed by anyone so I don't think I did too shabby. On the other hand, it didn't look like too many people were climbing the backside today so perhaps it's all in my head.

I think the metal shims under my cleats seem to be working. It's amazing what a mm or two can do.

See the snow....should have brought leg warmers.

2011-01-04T13:33:00.000-09:00

Snow on Four Peaks

I haven't written in awhile. Just so you know it's nothing personal, I ended up working 12 hours on my 17th wedding anniversary and cancelling a bunch of reservations so it's been a busy holiday. I did get out for a quick lunchtime ride around Usery pass today though. It's the first time I've been on the bike since last Wed. I struggled a bit but didn't do too badly. I've been experimenting with strips of sheet metal under my cleat on my left shoe to shim the shoe counter clockwise to help my foot to push more with the entire foot rather then the outer edge. I can feel the leg using different muscles but the knee seems to be a bit happier and it is easier to keep my foot straight and smooth through the pedal stroke.

I headed out without arm warmers or leg warmers thinking the sun would keep me warm. Well, it didn't. I did work hard enough going up the hills to get kind of warm though. Thanks to a guy who pulled out of Las Sendas in front of me I worked harder than usual as I was using him as a rabbit (thanks for pacing me unknown guy). We played tag for a bit down the Bush Hwy and then I dropped him. I was sure he would pass me on the backside. To my surprise I held onto my lead and kept it all the way up. It was a beautiful day to ride and I was in better shape than I thought. I did 26.44 miles and 1100 feet of climbing in an hour and 36 minutes. I'll take an average speed of 16.2. I am sure it is not my best, but is still ahead of my best before I started training for Cochise the year before last (yikes, it doesn't seem that long ago!). Hmmmm, speaking of Cochise I need a just Paul ride before El Tour without the kids ...... 2011?

Just for the record, I dreaming of the following rides this year -
Mining Country Century (no kids) March
El Tour de Mesa (with kids) April
Mt. Graham? (summer time)
Mt. Nebo? (Summer Time)
Dirty Mogollon Madness permanent (if Sturgill decides to do it again)
Cochise- 90 mile if no crew, 234 if I can find crew.
El Tour de Tucson 66 mi. (with kids)

Whether they all happen or no, time will tell.

Morning Evening Rides

2010-12-19T12:16:00.000-09:00

Four Peaks as the misty morning burns off.

I got two rides in on Saturday plus I got a floor mounted bike rack built so my wife can get the bikes out occasionally. It was a very productive day. I missed the Brumbys because I woke up late but still managed to get 40 miles in out on the wet roads. It stopped raining right as I got out of the garage.

Fountain Hills

Mountains are shrouded in mist and bicycle tires hiss slightly as they kick water up off of the road. It's a cool morning but the windvest is soon discarded as the hills come. The bike will need cleaning but that is a small toll compared to the beauty of a cool wet morning in the desert. I can't give it all I have got as strength will need to be saved for the evening ride with the kids, especially if we use the trail a bike.

Microwave tower above Las Sendas

Still, I elect to throw a climb to the top of Las Sendas in to clock me in at 1800 feet of climbing and take the ride up to 40 miles. I'm late. Fortunately it's not a morning where anyone cares about that. My wife is off on errands and the kids are glued to the computer watching tv. I am glad I took the extra time.

Your's truly.

After a busy day, as night falls, my boys remind me of my promise to ride. My daughter decides to accompany my wife going out to help my Mom with her shopping. It's just me and the boys. Surprisingly there are long stretches where I felt like I was taking a nice leisurely ride at a comfortable pace. Not a slow pace, a comfortable pace... for me. For an 8 year old that's a pretty good pace. I think the boys are getting stronger. I keep telling them night riding gets really cool when you get out of the city and up on the hill. Sadly we don't have time, but we do get a bit of darkness and views of the city lights heading down McKellips. After a dinner at Sonic it is a really cold ride home. Next time we'll bring wind breakers.

Midnight Mountain Mists

2010-12-16T22:35:00.000-09:00

Thought I'd throw this picture up from Thursday night. Missed my ride in the morning by sleeping in, so after the kids were down, I snuck out for a misty midnight snack. Climbed up the back of Las Sendas to Hawes and snapped a picture and then came home. I love riding late at night, when all the cars are tucked in for their long winter naps with visions of fuzzy dice dancing in their heads. When the roads are bare and open for a lone cyclist to ride in smooth silence along good asphalt above the lights of the city that sleeps around 10:30 or a little after.

Breakfast Ride with Two Wheel Jones

2010-12-14T09:50:00.000-09:00

The Sun is up on the Superstitions

Saturday would be my first group ride in many months. It was the Two Wheel Jones holiday breakfast ride (they are a local bike shop and serve one incredible breakfast). I got out of the house late but managed to get there right at 7. I had to gather up some of my stuff before I left the house and pump up my tires with the pump that my kids broke the gauge on (finger checking tends to underfill I find but it's better than overfilling).

The route first went up to the shadows of the Flat Iron (Westernmost peak in the Superstition mountains).

Then down into the rollers descending into Apache Jct. and also to the rest stop at the notorious "Dash In" gas station on the Apache Trail.

The middle hill

There are three out and back hills that go up to the Goldfield mountains that the route follows to get the climbing up to just shy of 1000'. A lot of folks turned around before the top to stay with the pack. I had no pretensions of holding the pack at this point so I climbed them all.

Yours truly in front of Usery Mountain

In the end, they were still just setting up breakfast when I got there. I sat for a minute under one of the heaters and had a breakfast burrito. Then I stuffed a cinamon roll in my jersey pocket and headed home so my wife could get her day started. I guess I am not much of Socializer.

Tour de Tucson, the two faces of Tucson cycling.

2010-11-22T01:02:00.004-09:00

El Tour was absolutely awesome with one ugly exception. First things first though, for an 8 year old 40 miles may as well be 100. They have a shorter attention span for one thing. Then there is the fact that finding a bike with usable gearing in a real event for kid's that size is really hard, although it is getting easier. Fuji appears to be offering roadbikes in that size now without the suspension forks like my kids have. I am quite satisfied with the lads now that all is said and done. There were lows and highs but surprisingly few lows actually.

The expo is always fun, though my boys attention span wasn't quite up to it. Josh lost his T-Shirt somewhere and we had to go get another one, bless the good folks at PBAA who wouldn't let me pay for another one but made him promise not to lose this one. Despite my best efforts the boys were too jazzed to get to bed early but did eventually drift off.

The one thing I really like about the shorter distances is being able to see the 109 milers and the peloton cruise by in the morning. The boys opted to stay in the nice warm hotel room but I went out and watched. I made the unfortunate discovery the night before that the tape mechanism on my video camera was thrashed and I would be doomed to what I could get onto the SD card in lower resolution and 10 second chunks. It still worked out alright though as you can see in the video at the bottom. It's always a rush to see the pro's cruise by as a giant mass ready to consume all before it.

I spent the morning getting everything ready and preparing, it still seemed like we waited forever for 10:30 to roll around so we could meet the guy I offered to give a lift to the 40 mile start, and head up there. I don't like starting a ride that late in the day but I understand the safety aspect of waiting for the faster groups to pass before launching all the guys riding at lower levels out onto the course. It was tough to keep the boys contained and make them sit down for a peanut butter sandwich before heading over to the start line.

Despite being only a forty mile event there were nearly 1200 people there and it was an impressive throng. We lined up in back and there were several youthful riders and groups back there. The boys were funny once we finally were able to start several minutes after the first guys went out. We started off at a walk and the boys kept trying to get into their toe clips but ended up walking some more. At long last we were clipped in and picking up speed. I was pleased the boys climbed the first hills strongly and even were passing people. I constantly had to remind them about proper passing etiquette but I suppose that is par for the course with 8 year olds.

I had forgotten most of the hills along Rancho Vistoso but the boys were patient with me and didn't get upset with my constant "You know, I think that this is the last hill before our long downhill stretch" comments. I even got a chance to shoot some video once the group broke up a bit. It was still a pretty steady stream of riders though, I think there was only one time that we really were on our own for a mile or so.

Heading down Moore my elder son pulled ahead and so on Thorneydale, advising my younger son to stay to the right, and keep riding until he saw me, I bolted off to catch the eldest and make him wait. I finally got him sighted and was pushing hard to catch up at 25 mph+ to catch him when all of a sudden I am heading into the side of a large grey dually pickup driven by a sailor talking Wilford Brimley type, as I go up onto my front tire and vear sideways out into the lane. He is dropping F-Words a dozen a sentence on me when I comment on his driving skills out of pure "you almost killed me" adrenaline. Suddenly, I am surrounded by cyclists swooping in for the attack and Wilford informs them what he thinks of El Tour in similar fashion and spouts off about having to feed his calves up the road. He begins to get out of the truck, like some old fat guy is going to take on 1000 fit cyclists. no offense to old fat guys of course, I just don't like the vocal ones of this sort that perhaps have a bit too much attitude for their own good. Even if they look like kindly old grandpas. Cooler heads prevailed of course but I left with the parting comment of having to take care of my babies too and caught Joseph. Thank goodness he made it past this weed of a human being alive. I suppose I have now finally seen the darker side of the Tucson cycling scene.

Getting ahead of the younger one gave me an opportunity to get some more video of course so that was the bright side of having to speed ahead. Going down Tangerine the boys hooked up with a 10 year old kid from eastern Arizona and became fast friends. We'd meet his family when they caught up just as we were leaving the rest stop at the bottom. I filled up everybody's bottles and grabbed a cookie while the boys were taking care of the results of their appropriate hydration.

Heading around Airline road, I make the observation that the guy on the back of this year's tour jersey has his shorts right over the middle pocket. It's a terrible location for a banana. Later I saw a guy with his windbreaker stuffed back there and that was bad too, looking like he actually won a race with a full set of depends on. Glad I didn't buy it this year. Funny no one caught that before it got into production.

The kids shot up rattlesnake pass like it was nothing, passing several walkers. I don't blame the walkers, this is a really hard part of the ride once you are at 90 miles and the headwinds are really taking their toll. Just before the turn onto Silverbell the lads stop for a drink, and a bunch of team in training lady's have me take their picture. After cycling between 3 or 4 cameras I turn around and the kids are gone. Apparently they ran out of patience. I catch them fairly quickly as they are stopped at the intersection waiting for the officer to wave them through.

The boys would each go through a low point between here and the end but a quick bribe of candy bars with a strong finish motivates them. My older son pulled ahead on the frontage road and I let him go. If we hadn't held him back he probably would have finished under 4 hours easily. As is he ended up at 4:07 and my youngest came in 4 minutes later. The evening was fast approaching and it was really pleasant sitting on the grass waiting out the hour until the shuttle came to pick us up. Fortunately the good folks at the bike check said they would hold our bikes out when they packed up all the unclaimed bikes at 6 to be claimed on Monday morning. We ended up finally picking up the bikes around 7:30 and after having the local raving derelict inform my boys about wishing on a star and having Santa give them anything they wanted we were off. I found his instructions a little ironic as it was obvious he either had some disappointed wishes, or else he didn't aim too high.

We made a quick stop along the frontage road so I could change out of my cycling clothes and let my son jettison some unnecessary waste which he stepped in..... barefoot... when my other son pushed him. He had to smell his brother all the way home so I guess justice was served although unfortunately I also paid. All in all it was pretty close to a perfect day despite a few unpleasantries.

They're ready.

2010-11-13T21:23:00.000-09:00

The last picture I showed you of this spot would have had those boys up to their chins in water. It is late fall in the desert and the great thirst of the valley below is somewhat abated and the river is held back to store water for next summer. My sons are still not too disappointed. Our turnaround today has them getting distracted by some guys on the shore catching little guppies with nets and my boys decide that they must do it too. As this was our turnaround I should probably fill in the rest of the ride.

Today had the grand distinction of being the last Saturday before El Tour de Tucson. If we were doing one of the longer distances we probably would have slacked off a little this week but since we are doing the 40 I thought it would be good to get another 30ish mile ride in with some moderate climbing. We mixed it up this week by adding mileage on both ends of our loop. We started at Red Mountain Park to get us a few extra miles at the start and end of the ride, and would add a brisk jaunt through the rollers east on the Bush Highway along those wonderful new stimulus shoulders. Mmmmm Stimulus shoulders. It didn't help my friends keep their house, but boy it sure put some nice shoulders on our beloved Bush Highway.

So I had to coax my son with ADHD up the first long hill a bit (he gets a little intimidated at the beginning of these long rides) but after we got over the top he got into it. My other son suddenly decided he was scared of going fast and so we descended the backside of Usery pass at a tepid 17-20 mph.

Turning right at four corners was a new thing for them as was the wonderful world of rollers. I was much relieved to find my son that was scared apparently had no qualms about zooming down one side of a gully so he could zoom up the other side. They handled the rollers amazingly well. They didn't even give me too much whining around the final several corners before we got to the "Water Users" area where Salt River Rec puts the tubers in the river during the summer.

This was our destination today mainly because it happened to be where those wonderful stimulus shoulders stopped, but the fact it had a cool little spot to go down to the river didn't hurt either. The boys needed something to break the ride up a bit and this did quite well.

We did have a moment or two on the way back, particularly when after a good long ride we were back at four corners again and they realized we still had all that way to go to get to Kong. I finally got the youngest to drink his gatorade (always feed a grumpy mood in ultra cycling, figured it would work here too). Pretty soon we were bombing down little Kong and they were getting jazzed about climbing Kong. The youngest did it today and the oldest had to walk a bit but I figured that was OK. It's tough to climb a steep hill like that at the end of a tough ride.

They ended up with 30 miles with over 1000 feet of climbing. Most of the 40 mile El Tour route is downhill or fairly flat so I think they will finish strong. Excitement will help a lot I am sure. In any case, they are ready and so am I! I just hope they don't run out of shirts for us folks that can't get down to the expo before Friday afternoon (grumble grumble, a few years back, despite having registered 6 months previously they ran out, meaning that the folks that registered late got my shirt! They did eventually mail me one though).

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/az/mesa/702128959069665563

Friends in Low Places

2010-11-10T09:28:00.000-09:00

Riding up Ellsworth the other day I found a little, well, I guess he wasn't that little by snake standards, fella feeling a little left out in the cold on the side of the road. Knowing what it was like myself to recieve the cold shoulder once in awhile I determined I could not leave this poor guy all alone in a cruel cold world. It would be cold blooded indeed. Of course, a person in bicycle clothes is not necessarily dressed to be a snake handler, still I kept my cool. While my friend chilled out I searched the bushes for a long stick to help our friend cool his heals in a safer place. Having found a stick I gently prodded it under my friend hoping he wouldn't lose his cool and freak out. Fortunately he was out cold and I threw him into the bushes to sleep it off.

I guess Snakes just don't do so hot when it is 45 degrees out despite what Midnight Oil said about the western desert (or perhaps they meant celsius). For that matter, without a wind vest and full finger gloves, neither do I. The weather man said low 50's. Apparently his definition of low fifties and my thermometer's definition differ. Anyway, it was a chilly morning. Aside from the snake it was actually a very smooth and steady ride around the foothills of Usery Mtn. I opted not to climb up to McDowell today since time was short. It was a good ride albeit a little underdressed.

Unleashed

2010-11-05T20:57:00.000-09:00

Rescuing the motorcycle with the bike.

My personal cycling life has been in a severe depression the last few months. Probably since my Dad Died I think. Don't get me wrong, I have loved doing the rides with my sons, and I think I am getting closer to finding good ways to motivate my oldest daughter without getting really frustrated from the whining. One of the greatest regrets of my life is not keeping up on cycling with her and I don't think it is too late, but it will be a hard road to getting her in shape and excited to cycle again. That's not what this post is about though.

I have been in a bicycle depression. I have not been commuting by bike, I have not been able to train since riding with my kids is not fast enough to challenge me unless I am towing my youngest on the trail a bike. I maintained my commitment to support the August Brevet but I did not want to be there. Whether it is jealousy or something else, I kind of resent that whole deal as it is not a part of my life right now and it feels like there is a piece missing. I have been suffering a bit feeling that my fitness is falling. Stumbling upon a youtube video that showed me topping the hill on Shea during the Tour de Phoenix pains me as I know I was about as close as you can get to Platinum shape without being platinum. My time would have got me platinum last year. At the time I knew it would be my last hurrah for awhile in the back of my head.
I believe it is worth it in the long run to spend the time getting my kids up to speed on cycling and that I am investing in something that will pay off big in the long run. It hurts right now to miss that other part of me though. I do think I am slowly getting back a bit. I rode my bike to vote earlier this week, and I also rode my bike to pick up my motorcycle where I had left it after I fixed the flat our van had and drove it home (the bike rack I built for the Motorcycle needs a few refinements but it works so far). I am starting to get motivated to squeeze in some bicycle time for me when I can. I think I am adjusting at long last and I do not resent my bicycle anymore.

I got a bit of a chance to escape this morning though as the boys need a rest day before Saturday (at least that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). I asked my wife if she could get the kids to school while I take an hour ride and she said yes. So, after I downed a few pieces of toast and a glass of water, I tucked a few CO2 cartridges and my lipstick pump (my backup, too small to get the tire to full pressure but enough to get me out of a situation) in my seatpack, pumped up the tires, searched for my sunglasses, remembered to put my contacts in, strapped my helmet on, and left. Of course I was not out the door when I wanted too but seeing as I was at work by a quarter after nine it worked out.

It has been weeks, if not months, since I was able to open up the engine and let loose. By the time I was out of the neighborhood I was steaming along like a charger with a lion at his heels. Gingerly I took the turn lanes and worked my way up towards Usery mountain. I was going uphill but stayed above 15mph. I was a spirit set free from a thousand nights of darkness. I could feel my breath start to accelerate the further I got up the hill but I did not slow, I had a moment of freedom and was not going to squander a second. I could ride slow with the kids and would get more of that than I needed, now was the time to release, to push the envelope, to see what was lying dormant beneath weeks of repression and depression.

Turning up towards the pass I move in front of a racer in full kit further down the road. knowing I am a cyclist on the physical rocks, I expect him to blow by me but I wait, and wait, and after a surprisingly long time he passes me before we get to the stoplight where I catch him again. He turns. I am hurting but I hit the hill and though I slow somewhat I am still thrusting every last ounce I have into it.

I turn down McDowell and force myself along with the same intensity as I accelerate up to 30mph. Halfway down the hill I fly by the racer who is spinning down the hill, likely resting between intervals. I don't care, I am riding my own ride and what a ride it is. I have a tailwind but the wind is strong in my face as I pedal down the hill. Turning on to Power I find I am at 17.6 mph for an average and I know I can push it over 18 before I get home.

I squeeze the speed out despite the stoplights which are determined to box me back up. I am cruising at 25 mph between lights and as I pull into our neighborhood I have averaged 18.3 mph having climbed 450 feet over 16 miles. Were I to be able to sustain that I would have gold at El Tour, but I have not trained the distance, nor is it my goal at this time. I am content. I will ride El Tour, albeit 40 miles, but it will not be for me but for my sons and their goals. I will enjoy it. I am greatly relieved to know I have not lost everything for my sacrifices. Things are well today. Someday it will likely be my sons and daughter pulling me.

Pain on the Backside or Choose your Poison

2010-10-31T17:31:00.000-09:00

yep, the start is the easy part.

Once upon a time, I was an overweight programmer with a little used Mountain bike and a desire to make a change. It started with lunchtime visits to the gym in the basement where I worked and eventually graduated from the excersize bike to the mountain bike and then one day I thought I would stop by the old bicycle shop on main street which was full of old bikes in the offhand chance they might have a road bike. There was a 1980's era Centurian Lemans in it that was priced at $100 and I bought it. My last 10 speed was one I found in a snowbank and this one was much better than that as it had index shifting, although it still had the downtube shifters. Anyway, to cut to the chase, that Centurian was the first bike I began to seriously roadbike on.

It was on that bike that I road the backside of Usery Pass for the first time. It was a 12 speed and was not geared for hills but I made do. I remember slaving up the backside of Usery pass and thinking that the hill went on forever as I slowly made my way up the grade that did not look as steep as it felt. I remember getting to the turn around the nob and thinking I was at the top and then dealing with the disappointment of finding more hill behind it, and then after another corner or two, the victory of cresting the hill and the chance to catch my breath.

Saturday I got to introduce my Son's to this great experience since the winds favored riding the loop clockwise. I got to hear their frustration at the hill when they were not quite halfway up. I got to push my older son in an attempt to catch up with my younger one who had decided in his anger at the hill to ride faster. I got a passing roadie to ask him to wait for us and the boys got a break to get a drink and remuster the resolve. This was just above the parking area for the area the mountain bike community calls 'NRA'. At this point the hill is pretty much in the bag as it slowly gets less steep from there. The boys for some reason did not believe this. They only saw more hill and did not notice that they were not breathing as heavy, or riding faster. Near the last corner my youngest just about stopped and wouldn't go on but he pressed on around the corner and got to taste the victory and enjoy the slow descent on the other side thanks to the headwind.

I'll take a headwind going down a hill anyday as opposed to on the flats. The boys did just fine. We managed to get an extra mile and a half in today. I was hoping we would get more but we were extremely busy this Saturday. Next Saturday we'll try and get around 25 miles in, and the Saturday after, I hope I can get them up to 30 and then we'll call it good and head off to El Tour the following Saturday. I got the day off so I think we're going to go down the day before and I'll show them Mt. Lemmon, and then, perhaps we will actually make it to the Bike Expo/Registration before the last 20 minutes when everyone is putting everything away unlike just about every other year I have ridden it.

They Conquered Kong.

2010-10-23T08:54:00.000-09:00

Good morning good readers. The saga of our quest for El Tour de Tucson's 40 mile ride continues with a few new twists! It's funny how there really is no good time to train sometimes. Our Saturday today has the kids doing something throughout the day. Next week will be just as bad for me. So the early bird must get the worm before he gets too busy.

The boys were amazingly easy to wake up just before dawn. Usually during the week it is really tough to get them up. We had a really busy time of it getting everything together and also installing one of my speedometers on my youngest son's bike. I promised him I would do it in the hopes it would motivate him. It did mostly.

When we finally got to Walgreens it was around 7 and I knew we would need to do this loop in under 2 hours if we were to get my boys to their first gig this morning at the church. I kind of figured at this point the chances of being late were pretty high but moved forward hoping it would work out.

My youngest son took great relish in calling out how far we had gone as we began our 6 mile climb up to Usery Pass. I am proud to say we stopped a lot less this time and there was zero whining. We saw several packs of riders cruise through as we neared the top of the pass one guy smiled and made a crack about child abuse which was funny because they were a lot more jazzed this week.

Near the top my youngest gave me his coat again. Not too long after I snapped the above picture I dropped his coat. I told them to keep going (since they were only going about 20 mph I figured I'd catch up quick). After retrieving the coat I peddled like a madman and had almost caught them when my pump came loose. So, after retrieving the pump, I peddled like a maniac again, and this time I caught up much to my son's amazement.

My oldest son conquers King Kong

We didn't have a glorious tailwind this week on the back side unfortunately. Still the boys did good as they were looking forward to dropping down Little Kong. We managed about 10-12 mph most of the way and stopped at the bottom of big Kong to shift them into their granny gears and down some cookies and gatorade. Then we attacked the hill (which holds 9% for a good stretch). I told the boys to go as far as they could and they could walk from there.

My first son was a ways ahead of us when I started out with the younger one. I told him I'd be happy if they made it past the stop sign since that's where the first one stopped to walk last week. I was amazed to see my boy ahead pass the stop sign and keep pushing strongly up the hill. I talked to my nearest son about setting intermediate goals on this hill. Mentally telling yourself you'll make it to the stop sign, then the next power pole, then the speed limit sign, and after that..... the top. I stared on in amazement as they passed each mark and kept going. Just before the top we caught the front son and I was just able to get far enough ahead of him to snap a picture as he hit the canal bridge at the top. But wait, there's more.

I kept up with the congratulations and atta boys as we moved down the road and then a few of the riders that had been approaching from behind caught up to us and asked me how old they were. I confess I about burst my jersey zipper with pride as I said they were 8. This led to an interesting conversation. Turns out one of them was a cycling coach and had a junior cycling team. He said the age cutoff was 10 years old for racing but they were welcome to come train with them if they wanted to in the meantime. Interesting... I might have to mull that one over. My only issue is we don't ride on Sundays and a lot of races are on Sunday. I guess we have a few years before we have to worry about that though huh?

The boys climb the pass...

2010-10-14T15:27:00.000-09:00

The boys ascending the hinterlands

There is a pretty standard training ride around here that is well loved among roadies. I have included it in a number of blogs. I've ridden it with scouts, I've ridden it in the pouring rain, I've ridden it in the dead of night, I've ridden it in the raging winds, and I've gotten heat exhaustion on it in the steaming dregs of summer. Until today though I have never ridden it with my sons. A few weeks back we nibbled at the skirts of the frontside of Usery and since then I have speculated whether or not my boys could in fact make the whole loop without a catastrophic tantrum born out of boredom and exhaustion or even a full stop due to a complete inability to keep forward momentum. So, can a pair of 8 year olds do the usery loop?

Proof Positive, a sign, a thirsty boy, and a smiling Dad.

Seeing as some have finished the El Tour De Phoenix short course in the past it must be possible. I figured we drive to the Walgreens outside of Las Sendas and do the mini-loop which everyone knows and loves. As we pulled up there were three or four other sets of cyclists getting ready to go Mountain Biking. Seeing as one of my boys had slicks on (and the other one got his in the mail when we got home), mountain biking was not an option today. The boys were to get their first taste of a big hill. Well, ok so it's only a 6 mile gradual climb of 600 feet, it's still a daunting task for an 8 year old. Every few miles they would stop for a drink (I have no issues for them stopping for drinks since they don't ride so well with one hand yet). Towards the top they got a little discouraged and I had to keep helping them along. The top of Usery plays mind games with you as it has a bunch of false tops. I am pleased to say that after stopping to take a picture they made it to the top and I shifted them into their big rings on the front.

Not ANOTHER picture Dad!

I didn't have the heart to tell them that 20-22 mph wasn't that fast going down the backside because we had a headwind. They really didn't care, they just had a ball rounding the knob at the top of the hill and then gazing in awe and wonder at the valley far below and asking me if we were going ALL the way down THERE?

Granite Reef on the Salt River, w Red Mountain behind

I found it highly amusing that after we turned the corner we were going almost as fast as we had come down the backside because of a wonderful tailwind that blew us along down the bush highway to Granite Reef where we would stop for their final "airhead" break before they would attack Kong. We actually hit 26 mph heading down little kong into the river bottom. My son's say that was their favorite part.

The woods are long and dark and deep but.......

Both of them had to hike a bike Kong (which I had planned on). I was pleased to see my one son made it 3/4 of the way and he only stopped as his chain came off. My other son ended up climbing about half of the hill. Just between you and me, that's a bit better than I did the first time I tried to climb it.

Dig that stylish jersey.

Final damage? We went 17.3 miles, climbed 870 feet, in about an hour and forty minutes of riding time (we did stop a bit though and ended up at around 2 hours elapsed time). Not bad for 8 year olds. I think they will do fine on the 40 mile route at el Tour. The hills they climbed today are much worse than anything on that section. Maybe I should volunteer for bike patrol? I am a bit of a crossroads. I don't want to jeopardize my son's finishing but we all know I will end up stopping to help people anyway so I'm thinking of riding as bike patrol officially but I'm still on the fence. What do ya'all think? Should I just enjoy this event with my sons, or should I try and do 2 things at once?

Guess who got new gloves this morning?

Start of El Tour training rides.....

2010-09-18T21:19:00.001-09:00

kids after the first "long" ride of training (I told him his shirt was on backwards but he didn't care)

So, it might have been apparent to you that I have laid off the blog a bit lately. Much of this is due to the fact that I haven't biked a whole lot, and it's a bit of a strange thing pulling off of so much riding and refocusing. I've decided to slow down a bit and ride more with my kids. Life is too short and though it may sound blasphemous, I don't think too many people will remember me for all the huge rides I did, but my kids will remember me for all the kids rides we did.

You may recall that I said I signed them up for the 35 mile version of El Tour this year. Well, they upped it to 40 miles. This has caused me a little concern and brough up the need for a little more thought on how one get's his 8 year old boys to ride 40 miles (my daughter has a standing engagement on that day so she won't be joining us). I have devised a training plan. The key is that it can't suck all the joy out of bike riding for the boys.

So, the plan today was to ride 12-13 miles for a starter ride in a longish range for an 8 year old (and a 6 year old on a trail-a-bike but I was towing her so she was just doing backside training). As we prepared to go out the door by son with ADHD had a coniption about how boring it was going to be. I was between a rock and a hard place but then I remembered he loved to work with music going on and I offered to let him put my cell phone in his back pocket and let it play tunes for all of us. This did the trick. In fact, I found myself getting a pretty good workout pulling my daughter and trying to keep up with him.

My other son, despite my advice, did not eat enough before we headed out and got hungry about the time we got 4 miles out. The plan then became to ride to Sonic and back (with a little bit of a detour on the way back). I am proud to say they made it to Sonic, and they also made it back and had energy to spare. We got 11.65 miles in and I wish I had brought my bike computer so I could have seen the average speed. They climbed the gradual uphill very well. The El Tour route will be downhill mostly for the first half, I just have to get them so they can churn those last 20 miles out. We have 9 weeks, I think we can make cyclists out of them yet. I am hoping we can finish in 4 hours or less but I am not going to push them too hard. If we can get the miles in I will be happy.

High Country Brevet and some Down Time

2010-08-22T20:33:00.000-09:00

That's one small step for Paul, and one giant bill for his insurance company.....

Somewhere down below me, there are a bunch of riders on a brevet. How do I know? Well, I started them off. I'd thought the ride started at 7 so it was good I arrived an hour early as it started at 6 so I was a bit sheepish and apologised and got everyone off by 6 after 6. I waited at the first control for them and then was off to go bike Sunrise Ski Area with my sons. I didn't ride the day before this this year. My Dad dieing has shifted my priorities a bit lately and I decided I needed time with my sons. Not dissing shiny little metals or anything but, I think right now I have more important things to concentrate on, so I am working on bringing my kids into cycling more. Since no one makes an affordable road bike for 8 year olds I have been forced to get them mountain bikes and as such, I figured they'd be OK at Sunrise. I've included pictures from the brevet at the bottom.

All I said was "Smile and say 'We're all gonna die!'"

My older son thinks the ski lift is boring having ridden it with me awhile back. My younger son thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread (and we all know how cool sliced bread is). They both are not bored when we get to the top. In fact, the younger one crashes before we even get around the first corner due to loose gravel and he is the one that's a little more skilled at these things. Needless to say they are both a little freaked out as we start down the road which is pretty steep. I keep having to talk my older son through things and I get more than a little frustrated at his negative attitude but I stop take a deep breath and keep working on it. An offer of a blizzard at Dairy Queen if he soldiers through this works wonders and he has found new courage and the folks riding on the lift above our heads can now stop thinking I am the devil Dad as my son has stopped wailing and has started working on getting this downhill thing going.

The boys take on a rocky section of road

I have to admit, the road was steep and was also on the steep side of a mountain. I guess most people would freak out a little. They did good though. In fact, they did so good that they had a good time by the time we got to the bottom and I am afraid I got a little too confident in their abilities and made a rather bad mistake. When we went back up to the top I decided we could try the Fungus trail. It was marked beginner green so I figured it would be doable. Beginner doesn't really mean mountain bike beginner. It pretty much means a person who isn't super good. I didn't have problems with it but it is not as easy as it is made out to be I think. Granted, it's likely boring for the thrill seeking crowd out there but it's a pretty good terror to real beginners I found out.

My younger and more adventuresome son recovering from a most impressive crash.

I told my boys to walk the first few switchbacks and I'd meet them at the bottom of them. Just as I got to where I was going to wait I heard a yell behind me and turned just in time to see my son fly through the air and go over his bars and down to the ground in an unhealthy melding of man and machine. He usually cries until you give him a hug but this time he was hurt worse. I was a little concerned he might have broken his leg but when I touched the other side of where it hurt he didn't have any pain. In the end he just had a pretty healthy bruise and a whole load of shattered confidence. In fact, both boys mostly walked the trail from here on down.

A very frustrated son pushing his bike down the Fungus trail.

It took us forever to get down, occasionally someone would come riding through and give the boys encouragement (and if your reading, thank you thank you thank you). Eventually we got through to the fire road again and I managed to get the boys down. My older son rode way ahead and ended up taking a wrong turn but I knew his tire tracks so we followed him to the wrong lodge where we could make our way back to the car in the lower lot. Once we were in the car all was well again. Mental note to self, less is sometimes better.

The brevet riders would find similar suffering though. The road to the resort was being repaved and so was not paved at all. To make matters worse they got creamed for most of the late afternoon with wicked heavy rain. I have to say if you are not expecting dirt, it could hamper your ability to enjoy the beautiful ride back into the ski area. I hope it wasn't too awful for the riders. Sounds like some didn't have a problem and some did. I suppose it is one of those glass half full things.

Patrick and co. arrive for a signature.

The Breakfast Club

Joey working to catch the breakfast club

Under the Milky Way....

2010-08-15T12:39:00.000-09:00

Saguaro Moon

Aug 13 is a day I'd been looking forward to all week. I made sure to get everything ready when I left in the morning so I'd have it after work and I could go straight to McDowell Mtn regional park for the McDowell Mtn Moonlight ride on the Pemberton trail. There were rumors of a barbeque put on by the Slippery Pig Bike shop with brats and other tasty treats at the end of the ride. The start time was 7:30 and everyone had to be off the trail by 9:30. These times would be harder than I thought to meet.

First thing I discovered was my back tire was flat, but since I was late to work I figured I'd just fix it at the trailhead. I wore my bike shoes to work so I wouldn't forget them and then changed into my work shoes that I keep under the desk for when I bike commute, but this would be all for naught.

I got out of work later than I should have and found myself heading out with an hour to go and still needing to stop by the bike shop. I spent a good 5-10 minutes riding around the parking lot waiting for a space to open up. When I ducked into the shop I found a cheap mini pump quickly (first thing I forgot) and the guys hooked me up with a slime tube to fix my flat. After getting some gatoraid, water and a pack of Dolly Madison doughnuts in Bashas (doughnuts were to replace the gels I forgot to bring) I was off to battle traffic up Shea and then to get lost in Fountain Hills while downing the gatorade to get ahead of the hydration game. In the end I got to the parking lot around 7:40. I figured I was still good but I hurried as fast as I could to fix the flat and setup all my lights and fill my hydration pack (forgot my water bottles, I was fortunate to have had the pack in the back from a campout a month or two ago.

In my hurry I put my main light on and tested it. It was dead. That was why I brought a spare battery which worked. I put on my two blaze 3 watt lights on my handlebars and between my helmet HID light and the two handlebar lights, I was throwing out a ton of light. I then went to get my biking shoes out of the car.... Hmmm, where are they? they were supposed to be here... no, wait, they're supposed to be on my feet since I changed back into them after work right? Wrong. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my biking shoes were still under my desk where they would do a fat lot of good. I was heading into a 2 hour mountain bike ride on hilly singletrack at night wearing my office shoes on Time Atak clipless pedals.

I girded up my spandex, put on a stiff upper lip, and signed in at the register. Then I was off into the night alone. I'd get passed by several others who were late. I couldn't believe I was going that much slower but I was working as hard as was prudent seeing as I had only ridden this trail once before in the daylight, going the opposite direction. It didn't matter a whole lot though as we progressed up the hill a good number of the speedy guys would be stopped waiting for friends or checking out their bike or something else yada yada yada. Guess I wasn't so slow after all. I hate riding in wieners. My motto is stay on the bike as much as you can instead of riding fast, stopping, riding fast, stopping and so forth.

It was a bit challenging climbing the rocky ridges heading up to the mountain and I found myself breathing hard and still getting passed by a few people. Near the top I would pass several groups though. I paused a moment to take the picture above at one point as the moon was about to take a header behind the mountain. It was cooling down around in here and the evening breezes made things extremely pleasant. I started to pass people who honestly admitted they were tired and when I asked one guy if he was ok, he said he was just tired but he would really like my light. I must admit, I was in the lap of luxury. I was throwing out more light than one of my car headlights and rabbits, and desert rats were vaporizing before my eyes. Well, not really, I saw a couple of them though and thye at least ran away from my light.

The rolling hills around the top of the loop made me glad I had all the light as we twisted and turned and rolled around various obstacles. A bush here a bush there...oops, no that should be a cactus here, a cactus there. Did I mention I was really glad I had all that light to help me avoid the "bushes"? Towards the end of the rollers (and I was good and ready to hit the long descent let me tell you!). I passed a lady on a hill and then not too long after that my HID blinked out. I thought it might be the battery but I pulled off to the side and fiddled with it anyway to no avail and she passed me. I figured since my two handlebar lights didn't throw out nearly as much light I'd ride behind her and not pass her again. I held her until we started to descend and she pulled away having the more light to see by. I didn't do too badly though since the trail is wide and smooth on this part of the loop. Still, I had to slow a lot more at the places the trail made a sharp turn since my helmet light wasn't there to let me look at the end of the turn. I got passed by one guy in here who was really cooking.

When I found myself alone again I discovered that you could see the milky way out here despite being so close to Phoenix. There were a lot of stars overhead and several times I hit ruts while I was looking at them and nearly biffed it. It was a beautiful night to be riding in the desert. The temps had cooled off, it was mostly downhill from here, and I was on a bike cruising through the whoopdi doos. I got my helmet light back on through here, not too long before I saw the familiar lights of the parking lot off in the distance.

Upon arriving I was informed by an apologetic cook that they were out of everything but bacon which they were currently frying up since they had an unexpectedly high turnout (140, when they usually only get 100). The bacon tasted really good. I guess with a name like "Slippery Pig" they have to serve good bacon. They did have soda's left too (I think this is because they were giving out beer too and I suspect much of this crowd didn't opt for soda). After I signed out I stowed my bike and then remembered my doughnuts which I enjoyed on the way out. It was a really good ride and I am definitely going to do it next time I can.

As to feeling like I was working harder and not keeping up with other folks? Well, rolling the bike across the lot I discovered my back brake had been rubbing all night. Nothing like some resistance training huh? Tonight may have been the night of the living dead equipment problems but it was so worth it.

Happy boys....

2010-08-13T14:54:00.000-09:00

So, I decided to commute in the other day. I'd been off the bike for two weeks and figured everything was all good to go. Bike...check. Helmet...Check. Shoes....check. Good to go.   I am forced to take the short commute due to time restraints but decide I'll take the hilly route. It's a warm morning and I am feeling weak having been off the bike so long and also lugging the laptop. It takes me forever to warm up. Through the shady neighborhoods of Scottsdale I ride heading in to Paradise Valley. I am starting the hills and as I go to stand up.......... I spy one of my crank bolts sticking out of the crank. Yes.... in my zeal I had forgotten that I had moved the crank bolts from this bike to my Mountain Bike many weeks ago and just left one of the mountain bike ones stuck in the side of the crank loosely.   I got a hollow feeling in my stomache as I thought about what could have happened when I stood up and stepped hard on the wheel. All the guys out there probably get the same hollow gut punched feeling just thinking about it too.   To add insult to injury I could have gone down and broken a collarbone or something too.  It was fortunate I noticed that.

What a wonderful opportunity to practice a nice round pedal stroke. There were about 6 miles left to ride and I had my fingers crossed I'd make it.   I figured the good guys at the Trailhead Bike Shop Cafe would have me covered for new bolts on the way home so if I could just make it to work, I'd just coast down to the bike shop on my way back and be right as rain (of which I wish we would get some, this monsoon is really lame this year, other than the three days after my Dad died of course).

Up and down the hills I was on pins and needles but in the end it turned out fine. I waddled out of the heat and into the health club for a ncie cold shower before work.   On the way home the shop did not disappoint me and I got back to the car without incident.

Passing on...

2010-08-10T09:21:00.001-09:00

My Dad gave me my first bike when I was around 5 or 6. It was a training bike with big fat plastic wheels. I rode it a lot and one day it broke in half as I rode it out of my friend's driveway. Since I was balancing good at that point I got a cool bike with solid tires that had flames painted on it. My friend and I pretended it left a flame trail behind it and put cards in the spokes to make motorcycle noises. Then one day, I was careless and left it in the driveway behind the family car.

My next bike was an interesting no name brand with a bananna seat on it which became almost un sittable after I put a bumper sticker on it that made the seat slippery. I can't remember what the whole draw of bananna seats was. Maybe it was that you could ride double?

My next bike that I remember was one my Dad said he'd meet me halfway on since I needed one for my paper route. We trucked on down to Cosmic Cyclery just south of downtown Flagstaff (this was in the old days of the late 70's) and I had the choice of a redline frame, which wouldn't have done me a whole lot of good or a nice complete Rampar. Rampar is one of the earlier Japanese or Taiwanese brands. Apparently it was part of Raleigh after they got sold to Huffy. It was a BMX bike with a chromoly frame and alloy wheels (which I trashed, still at the stage of learning to take care of equipment).

After this a friend sold me his old cruiser type bike (which he said jumped better than my current bike humorously enough, I was pretty stupid then) for $20 and my Dad shifted my BMX bike to my brother who left it out on the front porch one day to be stolen. I moved up to a Murray Mtn bike after that which I managed to freeze the bottom bracket on after a lot of riding and newspaper deliveries..

Sometime while I was in Junior high I spied an old ten speed that had been scooped up with the snow removal equipment and dumped on the lot where they put snow to melt. I ended up turning it into the police department at the request of my Dad. They told me that it would be mine if no one claimed it and then they stuffed it into a storeroom somewhere and forgot about it. Well, a year and a half later someone was cleaning the room and low and behold, here is this bike they forgot to give back to this kid when no one claimed it. It was poorly painted black with green paint showing through, and I don't know what brand it was but it was a good ride and it was my first real education in working on bikes.

Once I got my drivers license I didn't ride much anymore. Hiked yes, rode no. It wasn't until I got back from Japan with a determination to own a "real" bike of quality that I would start riding again. My Dad (are you seeing a connection here?) took me down to SingleTrack bicycles in Flagstaff to buy a previous years model of a Fila Taos Mtn bike which just happened to be my size according to the salesman who was trying to unload old stock. He also told me it had a sealed bottom bracket. He was wrong on both counts but I rode the stuffing out of that bike and only recently have moved on to another mountain bike with front suspension.

I rode that bike to the tops of the Peaks (well at least to the inner basin) and on nearly every dirt road or trail within 10 miles of the Flagstaff area. I rode it through the desert to the woodbury trailhead and the trails around Lost Dutchman state park and most notable on my failed attempt at the Dirty Mogollon Madness permanent in it's former form.  It was a faithful steed despite times of neglect after I bought a motorcycle or married and moved to the valley. There are many good times put in on that frame over the years.

I bring all of these bikes up as my Dad was related to them all in some way. He used to ride his bike to work all the time and sometimes would take me on his kid seat on the back. Amazingly enough he was able to make it up Cherry hill with me on the back.  He rode an old Raleigh 5 speed. Many is the time I rummaged his bicycle box for tools or parts to fix bicycles or to marvel at his prehistoric frame pump with the hose that pulled out of the handle and screwed on to the bottom. I never rode with him much on long rides or anything but family jaunts around the neighborhood or to the Junior High pond and back yet he influenced my cycling in a pretty big way.

The reason I have not posted in the last few weeks is that he died on the 27th of July of a coronary failure. It's been tough losing him. He often would ask me about my Saturday rides and where I had gone. Occasionally he would share concern about me riding alone in certain wild areas where there was no help available, but mostly he was pretty supportive. He stopped riding his bike to work in the 80's and not too long after put on weight which he would carry with him until recently when he was starting to pull it back down.   I haven't ridden for 2 weeks while I have been tangled up with all the details that ensue when a loved one passes away.

It's about time to start riding again. I think though, and I was thinking a bit on these lines before he died too, that it's about time to spend more time riding with my kids and perhaps cut out a few long rides here and there and work on getting my kids in better shape and also get them into a few events like the Tour de Phoenix and Tucson (the 30 mile coarses at first of course). In the long run it will lead to more cycling (maybe with my own private paceline even), and in the short run it will lay a great foundation and relationship with those I love most. Here's to you Dad.

What dreams in madness lie?

2010-07-18T23:07:00.001-09:00

Saturday's ride was so awesome that you need to go read it over on my website where I have it so the pictures can display larger. Here is the link to the ride report-

http://www.cycleaz.com/DMMReport.html

Here is a link to Mike Sturgill's photos from the ride (they are a lot prettier than mine)-

http://tinyurl.com/DMMM-Slideshow

Feel free to post comments back here if you want though.

Pilgrimage

2010-07-08T15:14:00.003-09:00

There are rides one must do whenever they are in the vicinity. A fella in shape with nothing to do on a weekend in Tucson would be criminal to skip Mt. Lemon. A cyclist visiting Mesa would be foolish indeed to miss the ride to Tortilla Flat. Of course a guy missing the Alpine Loop in Provo, Ut would be the same and I must confess I am guilty. In my defense though, I rode up Mt. Nebo instead.

The innocent looking bottom of the climb.

It is a truth universally recognized that a man in possesion of a good bicycle must be in want of a climb. One must have an epic climb a year or they will lose perspective I believe. Epic climbs are different for everybody of course but for the last few years my definition of "Epic Climb" starts at a hill that is over 3000 feet high. That's my loose definition. The two truly epic climbs that I presently know are the Nebo Loop and Mt. Lemon which both climb over 5000 feet. I have heard marvelous and wonderful legends of a hill known as Graham in eastern Arizona but I have yet to seek out this mythical beast and slay it.

Ascending the foothills in Payson Canyon

What is soreness to the body of a cyclist-errant? What matter wounds? For each time he falls...he will rise again... and woe to the Mountain! It is quite true that an epic climb resets our suffer - o - meter. Through pushing ourselves to do fantastic things, we find ourselves capable of the fantastic. The unbelieving body is converted to the faith by the will of the mind as each pedal stroke raises us higher and higher.

The first of many.

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded little canyon. It is in such non-descript places that often enough our epic struggles emerge. They lull us in and let us hope as we smirk at the ease of grade and our excitement of departure is strong. We might even have wonderfull scenery and a few deer to stare at us and raise our spirits periodically.

More Cows

The thousand injuries of Mt. Nebo I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. One must have an almost burning vengeance to attack an epic climb. To such as Nebo is, one must have an undying desire to conquer to keep continually mashing the pedals for hours on end. "There is no spinning here" the mountain scoffs at you! When you are tired and take hope in thinking the next corner will bring a break to the neverending 9% grade he is ever ready to dash hopes and add insult to injury.

A road and a collection of waterfalls.

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of a climb which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. We find that after each disappoinment there is a mentality of resetting our goal to the next corner. Perchance the masochistic Mountain should then again venture upon spurious disappointment, we find there is still enough will for one more corner. Where there is food, breath, and water, there is further fuel for life and struggle and the mind can still command the aching mass of ligaments, bones, and muscles. Not to mention the bicycle which creaks beneath the strain of our effort.

Emerging from a mountain shadow

Towards thee I climb, thou all-destroying but unconquering Mountain; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee. for every mountain bears many false tops. with each our will and morale are dealt blows. Nebo scoffs as the peak becomes visible, yet each corner brings a new pitch to ascend. Several times we descend to pass a saddle between hills on the ridges. The hill seems endless and despair drains the energy from the legs but the mind presses on.

Yours Truly

Reaching for the sky

One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal bike goes snicker-snack! we leave the mountain dead, and with its head we go galumphing back. For at long last one finds the road will no longer rise and if one continues he only descends the other side. There is nothing but sky ahead and the air is fresh and pure and the wind rustles the aspen leaves and all is right with the world and all that is left is to return and record our exploits in the tomes or blogs of out choice.

Mt. Nebo

one of the many knobs one must climb over

Your's Truly

And there was much rejoicing!

A bit of an eye catcher in a small rural Utah town.

Today's post was brought to you with fractured quotes from Edgar Alan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austin, Douglas Adams, Man of La Mancha, Herman Melville, and Mary Shelly.

Wasatch you talkin about?

2010-07-05T11:44:00.000-09:00

I can't believe I visited my sister's house sans bike all those years. Last year I showed you my trips to the Alpine Loop and Mt. Nebo. This year I decided I would try something else since I was going to be bringing my commuter up as I would be getting picked up from work. I decided I would start the trip out with a loop up Hobble Creek Canyon and down Diamond Creek. I previously had not done this as there is around 8 miles of dirt road but since I had 28's on the commuter I decided I'd give it a go. The fact Hobble Creek canyon is less than 2 miles from my Sister's house makes things very convenient I must confesss.

My original plan was to wake up at 4 and ride but I didn't get my contacts out until after 11 and I have to leave them in the fluid for 6 hours so alas, I wasn't on the road until after 5:30 (the fact someone ate one of my moon pies and put the others in a different place didn't help me get out any quicker either). The bright side (no pun intended) was I didn't need any lights (it was around 4:30 for y'all that have enough daylight and don't need to save it).

Right Fork of Hobble Creek just before dawn.

It was a little chilly, but that was mostly due to the wind. The canyons of the Wasatch front seem to always have stiff winds coming out of them in the morning. It was a little annoying I must admit but the further I got up the canyon the less winds there were.

I had been part way up the right fork before but not too far. I found myself pedalling alongside a mountain stream under an oak cannopy. The road "stair stepped" a bit as I climbed up the canyon and I was jealously eyeing the mountains above me as the first rays of sunlight hit them. Still, it was quite pleasant climbing the canyon past campgrounds with folks still fast asleep and the occasional green clearing among the trees when the canyon widened.

Rock formations in Hobble creek

I knew there was dirt road up there somewhere but it seemed like the pavement just kept going up the hill (which I didn't mind really as I really needed to be back by 9). Soon I was riding among fir trees and the canyon narrowed significantly which was amazing as it had been narrow before. Now there was only room for the road and the stream.

Bridge at the beginning of the dirt.

The dirt wasn't too bad when I got to it. It had an amazingly firm surface and I can safely say I have ridden paved roads rougher than that road. Best of all was the ability to stand and pedal without slipping despite the grade being around 8-10%. The road reminded me a lot of the alpine loop without pavement as it meandered up the hillsides and switchbacked up the mountain. Several times it looked like I was approaching the top but found more hill to climb around the corner. I actually managed to get out of the shade of the mountains a few times and warmed up slightly.

Hobble Creek

The views once I got up onto the mountainside were incredible. Off to the north there was a beautiful mountain range. To the south I was getting up into forests and would even go through an aspen grove or two before I reached the pass. Above me in a green alpine meadow smoke hung in the air from a campfire which I couldn't see. The valley below me was lit up in the morning sun and the grades were starting to let up and I could see light through the trees.

Mountains along the Wasatch front.

The top was a very welcome sight even if there wasn't a whole lot of Pomp and Circumstance such as a sign marking my accomplishment like there is on the Alpine Loop or Mt. Nebo. There was just a dirt road that took off up the hillside. As I was running short on time and I was cold I opted to ride over the pass and get on with the descent which I thought was mostly paved but to my chagrin it was still dirt over the pass!

The Pass

I love to descend dirt as much as the next guy but that is with a mountain bike. On a road type bike you have to be a lot more careful and take it slower. I would descend a good 4 miles of dirt before I finally came to the road junction that marked the edge of the pavement. in that 4 miles despite the slower speeds I did manage to freeze my fingers to the point I almost could grip the brakes. Even that wasn't as nice as expected as there was a headwind blowing up it.

Pastoral scene

In the upper portions of Diamond Fork I spotted a bunch of cows (of whom our poor desert cows are probably quite jealous) and a group of deer. So it was freezing cold (in the 30's) but at least it was scenic.

As I worked my way down the dirt road I passed several people out for a walk wearing coats. I had to look quite the spectacle bouncing along in a shortseeve jersey and shorts on a skinny tired bike. I must say I eyed their jackets covetously. One of these years I'll remember a wind breaker and long fingered gloves. It's tough to remember those things for a trip when it is 110 degrees outside though.

Oh Deer!

At long last I arrived at the pavement! The creek on the left was now a river and jostled along next to me as my speeds picked up and I shot down the road at or a bit above the speed limit of 25 mph. Humorously enough I didn't get my top speed until I'd left the canyons. Being a canyon open to the north there were not as many evergreens but the interesting rock formations made up for it. I had to break the descent a few times to snap pictures.

Ah, pavement at last!

About midway down the road and creek wandered into a narrow canyon with towering cliffs on either side. At one spot the road went snug right up against the cliff as there wasn't any more room for a creek and a road together. Just below here the rock started to get red and reminded me a lot of the area above Sedona.

Against the cliff.

Soon I was out of the narrow canyon and wandering among green hillsides warming in the summer morning sun. There may not be as many trees on the Diamond Fork side but the hillsides were quite beautiful.

Yours truly

Soon I was down at the main highway just below the unfortunate townsite of Thistle. Back in the early 80's a particulary wet winter caused a landslide in this canyon during spring thaw. The landslide became a very effective dam and the town of Thistle was submerged in a new lake. Last time I was up there the water had receded enough you could see some buildings out in the water but it will likely never be inhabited again.

Heading down the canyon I am forced in and out of construction zones and onto the shoulders and even some dirt. Still it goes quick and I would get to the bottom of the canyon fairly quickly. At the bottom of the canyon there is a windfarm which stands as a testament of the windy nature of these canyons. The wind which had robbed me of much of my descent but now was at my back.

Spanish Fork wind farm

Dropping out of the canyon down to Mapleton I hit 40 mph. I had never thought it was that steep but apparently it is. After that I meandered across the farm covered foothills to Springville and climbed back up to my Sister's house to arrive at 9:30. A little later than normal but still not bad considering I got off an hour and a half late. I think the route is a keeper.

Paul's Secret Grotto.....

2010-06-26T22:30:00.001-09:00

Entering the Superstitions

Today was the day I decided to return to the road up to the Reavis Ranch trailhead (Roger's. Trough Trailhead). It was a mixture of experiences. Kids kept me up late Friday night and so I woke up late and didn't get to my starting point until just before 6.

Cholla and Buttes

After parking the jeep and taking off I discovered I was able to move much faster than last year due to the suspension. I also discovered that 2 water bottles and a hydro-pack make for a heavy load when you hit 10%+ grades. It warmed up fairly quickly. I only was passed by 1 car in 3 hours (a mercedes SUV). I'd see it parked at the trailhead later and their entry in the registry said they were bound for Reavis Ranch. More power to them, I hope they made it up to the pines before the heat got bad.

Canyon Side

I remember it being quite a hill when I drove it in my jeep years ago but on a bicycle it's a much different story and I confess I did some walking. Only when it got over 10% mind you, but there was quite a bit of that. In fact, there was a stretch of 25% percent near the top. My feet slid on the dirt as I pushed my bike up it (I just don't have the quads to do that sitting down as standing is not an option on that kind of grade on dirt).

Interesting Cactus

I wanted to go over Montana Mountain and descend into Superior on the other side but the hot weather had drained a little more water than I had expected and the day was heating up so I decided to take the route I had ridden before back despite the nice man in the Jeep telling me the road stayed like this all the way to Superior.

Right around where I turned around I surprised some Mule Deer and sure enough up shot the tails to reveal the white butts of danger! When they got to a safe distance the tails came down and all the deer felt safe again. Kind of funny but I guess it helps to keep them all out of dangers way. Glad I don't have a siren on my butt or a strobelight.

Yours truly.

Descending a 25% grade on dirt is best done slowly I have discovered. Particularly when there is a switchback at the bottom of it with a drop on the other side of it. I had a really good descent. The suspension really helps with control heading down hills like this. I went through the five miles that had taken me an hour to climb in under 15 minutes.

Hey I think I can see my house way way down there in Mesa. (South Mountain just barely visible)

When the grade let up a little bit and I was crossing one of the nameless washes my "Paul Sense" went off. I noticed a dry stone waterfull off to my left and a narrowish canyon above it with cliff's on either side. Usually Rock waterfalls have plunge pools around them and I thought about walking a little ways up and seeing if there was a plunge pool.

Jimson Weed, Niteshade Family...Poisonous

After hiding my bike up the wash a bit I carefullly ascended the wash keeping a wary eye out for rattlesnakes. It was turning into a hot day and a cool shadow under a rock is just the thing for a snake on a day like today. Fortunately I did not see any snakes but I did see plenty of deer tracks. That's a really good sign. I also noticed dried algae at the bottom and top of the rock waterfall I had seen. I still had that canyon to check out and I had high hopes.

Edge of the wilderness. No Bikes Allowed.

Arizona Trail sign

Really steep road.

Sure enough once I got up the next waterfall there was a pool of water fed by a trickle. There was also the entrance to a very fine set of granite narrows. I entered another world and scrambled my way up the granite slot from one pool to another until I got to a 20 foot waterfall. I entertained the idea of turning around when I spied a crack to my right and a ledge up by the top of the waterfall with a Cactus growing out of it. After a short consideration of how rock climbing would go with biking shoes I started the climb and discovered my Shimano mountain biking shoes actually gripped the rock pretty well.

Entrance to the Narrows of an unnamed canyon.

Having climbed the crack and stepped onto the ledge I made the mistake of looking down. It's been about 15 years since I did any rock climbing and I confess it gave me a brief pause. Fortunately it was a good ledge and was over it quickly. I had high hopes of finding a pool to take a dip in to cool me down for the rest of the ride back in near 100 degree temps.

Cactus on Ledge by Waterfall

My hopes were a little dashed when I ran into another waterfall but once again I spied a crack that I was able to chimney up and traverse over to the top. It was not too far from the top of this waterfall that I did indeed find a small pool to take a dip and rinse all the sweat and salt off. I also was able to wet my jersey down and my cap too. I even got a bit chilly as the sun was thwarted in it's evil plan to bake me alive and scorche all the water out of this dry desert, by the narrow merciful canyon walls above me..

Paul's secret Grotto

I had to be careful from here though as wet shoes would undoubtedly result in a fall on this granite polished smooth by eons of monsoon and spring floods. I was able to keep my shoes dry but still found myself almost falling into a shallow pool or two. Going down the waterfalls was a bit interesting but I made it without a scratch. It did occur to me in here though that sliding on my butt in lycra was a bad idea as it would likely be easy to rip the backside out of it and that would leave me with an interesting situation for the trip back.

Paul's secret coldtub

Leaving the canyon was tough as it was so pleasant inside but I knew if I didn't get going I would likely fry before I got back to the car which I did a little of. It was definitely cooking now when I got back to the bike. fortunately most of it was downhill but there were still some uphills left that were just big enough to get me good and heated up before reaching the top of them.

Paul's secret Grotto...

Fortunately I had learned my lesson last week and carried enough water. I began to chug it like no tomorrow as my body went into high gear trying to cool me down and avert that terrible condition called heat stroke. I had the definite feeling there would be no more people up this road today. I did see one jeep near the bottom but it still would have been bad to go full stop and burn.

Back into the burning stinging scratching world.

I was really cooking when I got to the car. I had about half a pint of water left that I chugged and then I filled a bottle from my store in the jeep and promptly doused myself so I could cool off on the way back with the wind (the Jeep doesn't have air conditioning at the moment). I managed to chug down another litre of warm water on the way out. It sure felt good to have the wind hit that wet jersey. I passed some cows on the way out and pondered on how much I am glad I am not a black cow in the middle of summer in these parts. 29 miles and 3700 feet of climbing in 100+ heat. Not too bad for a mornings work. Today was the next to last day of the double shake deal at sonic I found out so I enjoyed my last two shake recovery once I had returned to civilisation.

Should have parked under a tree

It stinks to be me.