White Rabbit

Turn Around at Saguaro

Twas Brillig in the slithy toves and the Two Wheel Jones riders did wire and gimble in the wabe.    Yes twas brillig indeed and all the toves save a few were bedecked in arm and leg warmers not to mention jackets.  I had determined since I found myself with such unheard of nonsense as a few hours free in the morning and having retired early the night before that I would show up to the Two Wheel Jones ride for a ride up to the beeline and back.

Stephen would be the one late,  well maybe not so late,  for a very important date as I chased his taillight in the distance down the rabbit hole of baseline to Signal Butte road.  It took awhile for all the usual suspects to gather but eventually we were off and I mid to rear pack figuring I'd get dropped quick and shouldn't get to A,  but not enough B to yo yo at the lights.   Twas to be a strange morning though.

For some reason the A riders didn't seem to be in that much of a hurry.  We moved along up to Usery and I kept wondering when I would get dropped.    About halfway up usery frontside though some guys at the back decided they had had enough of sustainable paces,  at least for me and took off.   Then I got the "ask Alice" song stuck in my head,  one rider, takes you slow,  and one might lead you fast,  while a guy sucking your wheel,   attacks and moves right past.......    After that the 8 riders in front of me took off and I couldn't hang on no matter how hard I breathed so,  alas,  despite not having trained and gained some weight,  I am still an A- rider,  who'd a thunk it?  Still,   I got to the regroup and had time to chat with Travis before we took off.

I hung on real good along the Bush highway and then we hit Godzilla and of course I dropped back.   I'd spent a lot of energy racing up Usery and so didn't have a lot of oomph left.   I decided since I was in back again and worried about getting back before 10:45 I'd turn around at Saguaro lake.   Turns out I had plenty of time.  Next time I get the chance I'll go all the way.

Climbing out of the boat parking lot I was passed by the Cheshire cat.   I've never seen another road cyclist down by the lake so it was funny getting passed climbing out.  He would be ever present just far enough in front of me to see until I got to the top of Usery on my way home and then he disappeared.

Despite the brilligness of the morning is was a beautiful day to be out in the desert wonderland on a bicycle.   I only wished I'd have gone all the way as I ended up having plenty of time.  Oh well.

Friends in High Places

Cliffs at Water Users Recreation Area

So,  it appears to have been some time since I posted anything bike related on this blog.   Well,  blogs are kind of funny things,  as are cyclists who also may have many other facets to their lives.  Of course this blog has been stuck on my last backpacking trip for sometime,  what a last post to leave the blog stuck on huh?  Not even cycling related.  Well, we're back.   Not entirely mind you,  but I do hope to complete the Mines to Pines  200k at least and maybe the Route 66 thing they are doing.  We'll see.  Anything is progress at this point.

The last week of December I did something I probably shouldn't have done  and I should have known better,   Randonneuring being 70% physical and 80% mental and all.    I attempted to ride my Apache Trail 200k with Steve,  Carlton and Mike of Southern Arizona Randonneurs fame.  Well, I haven't been keeping a record of all the junk going on in my life but suffice it to say I have had some family issues going on with kids in the psychiatric ward for a few weeks and other family related issues.  It was a very tough December and I've decided I'm going to celebrate Christmas the week after Thanksgiving this year so that December will not ruin it this year but I digress.   I missed El Tour in Nov.  too and that was quite a mental blow,  I really do look forward to that as part of my year and so the end of last year dealt me a couple of haymakers mentally and my miles went way down not to mention my will to ride.  To cut to the chase,  by the time we were to Tortilla flat after 50 miles I was totally blasted and the other 3 were nice and strong and I had to bow out.  Just wasn't there physically or mentally.   As an extension,  I had to miss the 200k because my bro. was in town from back east,  I had intended to ride the 300k but bagged it due to not feeling up to snuff,  partially because of my terrible showing at the Apache 200k.  Since my wife's friend had offered to watch the boys for her while I was out of town,  we decided we would spend the day together.   I think it was time well spent but still think perhaps I might have had a nice day riding with the moderate or slower riders at the 300k and could have finished.   Oh well,  we will never know now,  Marriage wise though I think I have come out ahead in the deal, so no regrets.

The most important thing as far as this blog is concerned is that I think my desire is coming back.  My neighbor got me onto this STRAVA thing and though I don't get to ride with others too often,  I get to see kind of how I measure up.    At least along my commute route,  I measure up quite well having 2nd place and a few King of the Mountain's status's.   That cheered me up considerable and has me pushing the heartrate up again.   Of course,  the segments I ride on the weekend which non-commuters / racers  ride have me placing much lower but then again those are hilly areas and I have admittedly gained weight which I have now got some incentive to lose again.

Which brings us to yesterday's ride!  At long last you say,  a blog about one man's demons and his will to bike maketh not the most interesting reading I am sure.    I was orginally going to try and catch the Two Wheel Jones folk at 7:30 but the boys didn't go to bed without a fight Friday night and I ended up sleeping in to 8 AM on Saturday so it was up to me to ride the road alone,  but it was not without friends.

I skipped arm warmers and went with wind vest and leg warmers (shorts and jersey a given of course).   I was the least dressed person I saw with most having jackets or at least arm warmers.   If I did it over I think I would have done the arms.  Anyway,  with the idea of perhaps getting into the brevets this year with the mines to pines I decided to go over Usery Pass to the scenic cliffs at water users and back for a nice 1700 feet of climbing.

It was very cold but I pushed hard up Usery and tried to work hard along the Bush highway.   I saw a few of the Two Wheel Jones folks climbing the backside.   Didn't see anyone out on the Bush on the way back to Water Users,   not a lot of folks doing the beeline loop I guess.   I snapped a picture at Water Users but got numb fingers and decided it would be best to head back and get the furnace heating my under clothed body again.

I had an interesting time climbing the back of Usery as I turned after two other guys and was making good progress on catching them when the one must have told his friend he would wait at the top for him and took off.   I soon passed his friend and the person in front of him that he passed.    From then on I would stay about 100 feet behind this bright orange figure who tortured me all the way up the hill.   I was pedally at maximum sustainability and couldn't gain on him.   We just pushed like that all the way up the hill as though he were taunting me.    Well,   after we passed the NRA pit I finally made a final push and caught him and upon saying hello I discovered it was David from Southern Arizona Randonneurs fame!  He mentioned he'd done the 300k last week and knowing I kept up with him up the hill gave me some hope.   Maybe I could have finished it.   Anyway,  we had a good chat and I asked him about his rides and how they were going and I mentioned my intention to do the Mines to Pines.    It was awesome to have run into someone I know out here,  and even a randonneur at that!   He had to wait at the top for his friend and I headed off for home.

Really funny how running into someone you know can make the ride so much better.    I may not have placed very high on the segments out on that route compared to all the racer fold but I think I did pretty good for me and am quite pleased with the results.

Royal Arch Route

Ok,  this is not technically cycling related but it does fit into the "Wanderer/Adventure"  side of Randonneuring.  This is the record of my trip around the Royal Arch Route in the Grand Canyon a few weeks back.



View from South Bass Trailhead.



Here is a brief (well ok, not so brief) report of my trip in the Grand Canyon via the Royal Arch Route.

I've had my eyes set on the Royal Arch Route for a long time. Since I was 14 actually, when I learned there was a trail in the Grand Canyon with a rappell on it. I use the word trail loosely here. There is a footpath much of the way but easy walking it is not. Last year I spent 3 rainy and snowy days in the canyon with two friends and upon learning that they would like to do another backpack trip in the canyon after that was over, well, I thought perhaps, here are two hardy fellows who wouldn't laugh me to scorn if I suggested the Royal Arch Route. They didn't, and were even enthusuastic. I realize of course that introducing two guys to canyon hiking with first, a long trip across the tonto from Grandview trail to the Kaibab trail, and then dumping them into the Royal Arch Route might not be the standard way of getting people into canyon hiking, but hey, I had waited a long time and I knew their pain tolerance was high from the first trip so it was a go!
Tues the 23rd of Oct.

We met at Jamie's house after a flurry of last minute preparation which I thought I had already taken care of. Our 5 PM departure turned into a just before 7 departure. Still, 7 PM is a lot earlier than when we left last year. We had a long way to go. I should break in here with a list of who our band consisted of. Originally we were going to number five but a few nervous wives dropped the number to three. Quite frankly it's probably not necessarily a bad thing for one of those. This was a gruelling trip. Very rewarding, but gruelling and the three of us were in pretty good shape.
Not much was open in Flagstaff at 10 PM so we snacked at Sonic and stopped for gas along Fort Valley road where we would get one of the 2 theme songs for the trip stuck in our heads. Yes, we had Bob Dylan's, "Lay Lady Lay" etched into the grey matter as the last song we heard before embarking on a 4 day Backpack trip. Dan, also got us going with Disco Inferno which he had stuck in his head most of the time as well.

I had always heard it was tough to navigate to the South Bass trailhead but honestly, if you don't muck about with entering the park and just take a left on the dirt road before the park entrance, the road takes you straight there (just about, maps are still your friend though) with a right turn made a mile or two after entering the Havasupai Indian reservation. We got to the trailhead between 1:30 and 2:00 AM with 1 truck in the lot and decided to take a "Nap" before we started the day's hike.
Wed. 24th of Oct.

Absolutely Gorgeous day. Sun was up, sky was blue. Highs in the 60's lows in upper 40's. No complaints to the weatherman this trip. Had a breakfast of Pop Tarts and then got all packed up and ready. We were on the trail before 8 and in not too long were down at the well marked trail split. The South Bass trail may not have signage like some of the other backcountry trails I have hiked but folks have setup rock paths and Cairns well to mark the junctions of the Tonto and the Apache/Royal Arch route.

Dan traversing the Esplanade.

After Caching a gallon of water (very glad we did that) I put my map in my pocket (had read lots of accounts of folks getting lost as they didn't read their map) and we started our stroll across the easy portion of the esplanade. The trail would be pretty smooth and pleasant for a canyon or two but as we approached the canyon before Montezuma point my fears of a scramble were realized as the flat portion of the Esplanade gave way to the "walk across a landslide" portion of the Esplanade. The last canyon would take us as long to cross as the previous two and then some. There were several places where we momentarily lost the trail but we never got more than 20 - 30 feet from it or burned more than a minute or two before getting back on. This section was just tediously long. The goal was to eat lunch at the east arm of Royal Arch Creek at Noon and we missed that a bit.



We made good time after rounding Montezuma point mind you, we just happened to have fatigued a bit crossing that last canyon. We had fairly nice walking back to the creek intersection but despite our best efforts it was closer to 1:30 when we got there for a well deserved lunch. Lunch made me aware that my knees were getting annoyed with me. All this scrambling was starting to cause pings of pain in my knee so I would baby it for the next bit as we hopped down the ledges of Royal Arch creek. There were side trails that meandered all over the left side of the creek to bypass a few pour offs but we opted right and got to get our hands dirty with a little scrambling and one spot where I had to take my backpack off (the front guy always has it tough as there is no one to spot him).

Dan walking down Royal Arch Creek.

We passed pools of water in the sandstone periodically which gave me reassurance. In hindsight we should have filled up at one of them but oh well, hindsight is what it is. It was a rather nice combination of walking interrupted periodically by fairly easy scrambles down pouroffs until we in late afternoon arrived at the "Impassable Pouroff" the NPS talks about in their leaflet. A lady at REI had told Dan when they went down a few weeks previously that despite their best scouting efforts they could not find the route on the right that bypassed the scary Ledge on the left. I knew that the secret was looking for the cairns 50 or 60 yards upstream from the pouroff and they were easily spotted and we got onto the easy (er) bypass on the right without so much as a pause and quickly climbed up to the next band of cliffs and arrived at the familiar "Rabbit hole" I had seen in pictures.

Dan coming through the "rabbit hole"

We passed packs through the rabbit hole and after I accidently stepped on/bent Dan's hiking pole and a quick photo op of me on the ledge (the bypass ledge, not the tippy toe one), we were off to hunt for the cairns that led you down to the bottom of the canyon. These were a bit tricky to spot but since I was looking for them we didn't miss them but if I hadn't been on the watch, it would not have looked like a way you could get down if you didn't see the little cairns.

Dan and Jamie sitting down canyon of the rabbit hole.

There is a shoulder height drop or two to a largish ledge and then a short walk back under the cliff and you then find yourself looking down a cool looking crack that takes you most of the rest of the way through the cliff band with one or two more shoulder height drops down to the talus slope, none of this is visible from above on the rabbit hole ledge though so watch for those cairns!

Paul standing on the Sissy ledge just past the Rabbit hole.

It's pretty straightforward following the cairns to the canyon floor from there.
The sun cast it's shadow on us as I waited for the others to get down and we would spend the rest of the afternoon in the deep shade of the redwall narrows of Royal Arch Creek. Somewhere in here the walk turned into a death march. This canyon went on forever! I swear it seemed like it was twice the listed mileage as we meandered through the canyon narrows scrambling over endless boulders and rocks, downclimbing periodic 20-30 ft high dry falls. Wondering what we would do for water. We did pass a fetid pool or two but the others weren't willing to drink it and we pushed on hoping to see the cairns that marked where the route left the creek so we could setup camp. Just as dusk was starting to get serious we found a spot which coincidentally was that last camping spot before those cairns but we did not know it until we had dropped the packs and I looked ahead and saw a trail up on the canyon wall on the right a few hundred yards down canyon.

Jamie in the "Crack"  below the sissy ledge.

Since we had enough water to make dinner I suggested we get water in the morning on the way to the arch and then eat breakfast when we got back from the Arch. This was agreed upon with very little dissent as everyone was footsore and just wanted to climb into bed and lie in misery after consuming a quick meal.

Dan descending a waterfall in the Redwall Narrows of Royal Arch Creek.

Among the boulders there were patches of sand large enough for a sleeping bag or two here and there so we were seperated by 5-10 feet and Dan managed to find a tent sized patch over a largish boulder and down 10ft from where I was at. I was able to hang my hammock off a boulder and my walking sticks.
It was a gorgeous night. The few times I woke up I just stared at the brilliant stars until I could get sleepy again. Within the band of sky visible between the tall canyon walls (after the moon set of course) I could see 6 of the Pleaides quite clearly as well as make out the orion nebula as I rocked gently in the evening breeze in my hammock.

Thurs 25th October

We managed to get behind on our schedule on Thursday. Of course, this trip was slower going than originally expected but I had confidence we could still finish it in the 4 days alloted. First order of business was of course water. I scarfed a pop tart and each of us gingerly made our way down the canyon to water and not too far further, Royal Arch itself.
Being semi-fresh after a 11-12 hour sleep, the morning's hike did seem to go a little faster than the previous evening's death march. We very thankfully did hit the spring that feeds Elves Chasm at around 45 minutes of walking down canyon. We sat down and filtered and drank, and filtered and drank some more, and filled all the bottles full of water.



Dan and Jamie in Royal Arch Creek just below the spring.



The Arch of course was magnificent but I can see how people could walk right under it and not see it as the best view is from down canyon where things open up a bit and let you get a nice view of it. It towers over head and right next to it is a massive monument which has the unfortunate conincedence of being located next to the largest arch in the Grand Canyon so it really doesn't get any of it's own top billing though it is a rather impressive spectacle itself. The area from the spring down to the arch/natural bridge is one of the most beautiful stretches of the trip. Theres just something relaxing and energizing about gurgling water and creekside foliage and hanging gardens.

Monument below Royal Arch

Oh, I forgot to mention, scrambling over boulders in this section I split 1 of my two pairs of pants on this trip wide open. Yes, the long hours of sliding down boulders on my butt on day 1 had taken it's toll on my backpacking pants. I was happy Dan decided to go pickup his sewing kit before we left when I asked him about it (mental note to self, toss a sewing kit in the backpack). Fortunately, there was not a soul in this part of the canyon. We would actually not see anyone until day 3 and that was a few souls from a river party.

Dan and Jamie under Royal Arch

At camp I heated up my scrambled eggs and thoroughly enjoyed them. By the time all was said and done we didn't get out of camp until around 11. Garnet canyon was pretty much a no go at that point and we decided we'd just camp at Toltec beach below the rappell. That would take a lot of stress off of day 2 and allow us some recovery sort of.
Climbing out of Royal Arch Creek was interesting. THere was quite a bit of exposure, which we were not new to of course, having completed day 1. The path wandered among rocks and slopes on a ledge high up on the canyon wall as it worked it's way over to a slope above the tapeats by Elves Chasm. When out on the slope, after getting out into the sun we almost stepped on a Rattlesnake which warned us he was there and then quickly moved off into the brush. Glad I didn't step on him. He was about 4 feet long and a pretty impressive looking snake.



Rattlesnake



We hit the rappell later in the afternoon and took our time negotiating it. I made everyone wear a backup chest coil belay, using the rope we had brought, in case the primary rope or harness failed. This worked pretty good. It was a bit of a safety ninny measure I'll allow but this would be a very bad place for an accident. Not a lot of rescue options.
We had a few more shoulder height drops to get down to the talus slope from the base of the rappell and then we were on our way to the bottom. Dan lagged in here for some reason which I can't remember. Jamie and I cruised on down to the beach and dropped the packs and started getting lunch out.
After a late lunch we hung the food up and decided we would make a go of seeing Elves Chasm before dark as it was 4 PM and a 1.5 mile walk to the Chasm. 1.5 miles of scrambling mind you, not normal walking. We ended up doing it in aound 50 minutes there and pretty much the same on the way back. It was interesting walking in places where bits of the vishnu Schist and Zoraster Granite popped up into the strata to make things interesting and add variety to the journey and give you a break from the sharp rocks that were otherwise the norm.

Waterfall in Elves Chasm

Elves is in the top 10 of prettiest places I have been. Partly because it is such a chore to get there which makes for a ready soul once one arrives. The pink rock and the hanging gardens next to the cascading waterfalls and travertine is just beautiful and to see it in the early evening was just a perfect time of day for it. The pools were tinted turquise and reminded me a little of havasupai. I tried to wade in past my knees but the water was frigid. I managed to snap a nice picture of it before we headed back to camp.
Back at camp dark set pretty quickly but we had a much better evening as everyone was not at the point of collapse this night and good conversation and sewing projects ensued. We also discovered the mice of the beach were not very timid and had no qualms about searching packs while being watched. Fortunately we hung the food up. Unfortunately the branch of the tamarisk bush holding my food snapped during the night and the mice would get a a good portion of my wheat tortilla's. Still there was plently left after I ripped off the part the mice had got and stored the unspoiled portion in another ziplock baggie.
It was another beautiful starfilled night in the hammock by the colorado. So glad I didn't leave the hammock behind on this trip. Between boulders and my Walking sticks I really didn't need any trees and not having to sleep on the ground was very nice for an aching body.

Hiking poles and a boulder make great hammock anchors.

Fri 26th Oct

The hopes of finally getting to a trail that offered some semblence of a walking surface was a big motivator on Friday. We got off fairly early so as to keep options open, and we would need them. In the section between Toltec and Garnet (which seemed to take forever) we ran into a few river runners that had hiked up to the trail to check out a rock with fossils on it sitting by a salt encrusted pool of water. We didn't stop long. I had hung some of the underwear I had washed that morning on my pack to dry and had I been thinking about it I would have stowed it before we got to this spot. People probably thought I was weird.

Anyway, we wandered along above the river on the small footpath that went around and over every large boulder in the way, and slowly climbed up to the base of the Tapeats by the time we finally got to Garnet canyon. There wasn't much in Garnet. I'm kind of glad we camped at Toltec. in fact, were I to do it again I think I would do it the same way.

The climb up onto the Tonto was interesting as we climbed the shoulder high ledges just at the top of the cliff layer that had to be conquered to gain the tonto Platform. Once on the platform we did in fact have a trail which gave us some mighty fine walking. No more scrambling over boulders and such, mostly nice walking with a few spots of exposure for good measure.

Dan and Jamie at the extreme west end of the Tonto above Garnet Canyon

I remembered folks tend to mistake other canyons the tonto meanders through for Copper canyon before getting to it so we did not fall for that. We were looking for pools of water as we had decided not to hike down to the Colorado for that night's camp and in fact were even considering Copper Canyon. We found a pool but the filter which we had broken that morning was unfixable and we decided to move on to something without mosquito larva in it.
We hit Copper Canyon about an hour before dark and one went upstream and two of us went down in the search for waterpockets. I took my bottles plus 2 garbage bags and about 30 minutes down the creek at the edge of the inner Gorge I found a nice set of pools with good size frogs in them. I filled my bottles and scooped 3 or 4 gallons of beautiful brown water into my garbage bags and was just getting ready to head back when Jamie found me. Since he was quite a bit more spry at this point (he's a personal trainer) I let him carry the garbage bag.
We found a nice spot to camp just above the trail and setup for the night and I pigged out on everything resembling dinner in my pack, since it was the last night after all.

Incidentally, Dan didn't find any water upstream, but lots of copper/turquisish colored rocks he tells us.
That night I got to use a combination of a boulder and a tree and the walking poles to hang the hammoc and it worked pretty good. The foam pad I put under me sure kept me nice and warm. Another night of brilliant stars after the moon sunk behind the redwall.

Sat 27th
Final day in the canyon. Beautiful morning. All we had to do was walk out of Copper canyon and up the South Bass, sounds easy no? In all fairness, compared to the preceding days, the last day was a walk in the park by every definition of the word, pun intended.
Tonto was good walking back to the South Bass trail and the South Bass was wonderful. Temps were absolutely perfect and the shade in Bass Canyon was much appreciated when we got there. Our goal was to eat lunch at the water cache on the Esplanade.
We spent the remainder of the morning working our way up through the redwall. In the redwall we ran into the only other people we would see in the four days. A group of hikers that originally were going to do the Royal Arch route but due to car issues had to alter their plan and were heading towards Copper Canyon that night and were appreciative of our news of water down canyon.

Good conversation was had most of the way up. Dan fell behind a bit in the last section but we waited for him where the trail topped the Esplanade and once we were all back together made short work of returning to the point we had been 3 days earlier stashing water. We hit it around 2.

I have to say the Peanut Butter, Jelly, and wheat tortillas (what was left of them) really hit the spot. Fresh water was nice too. Not that iodine water isn't the tastiest but cool clear water is always appreciated in the desert any time of year.

Dan said we could go ahead in the last section if we wanted to and Jamie and I managed to cover the last 1.7 miles in 45 minutes. Dan came trooping into the parking lot 30 minutes later. There were quite a few more vehicles in the lot this time around. After a bit of freshening up and stowing the gear we were off for Flagstaff and a giant dinner at La Fonda!

2012 Cochise County Cycling classic.

Spaghetti Dinner before the ride at the Cochise County Fairgrounds,  Joe, Becky, and  Adela

This year's Cochise Classic was a mixed bag of experiences.  It's never fun getting a call while you are riding that your son is under the care of the EMT's with stomach aches and that he might have to quit the ride.   It's also not fun to be in a rush to make a bunch of deadlines like checking in and getting to the start line,  but sometimes life does crazy stuff to us and we have to do our best.   I suppose riding prepares us for such things.

Friday was originally planned to be a nice leisurely travel day down to Douglas, Az.   Perhaps stopping off to sight see in Tombstone.  Unfortunately Adela's birth brother recently was discovered to have a rare heart defect that was genetic and so,  wouldn't you know it,  the only day we could get Adela in for screening was our leisurely travel day.   As a result we didn't get to start our 4 hour drive to Douglas until 4 PM.  Nice.   Since registration closes at 9 that was cutting it close.  I had fears of no spaghetti dinner left for us.

Fortunately,  there was indeed spaghetti left and everyone was even able to get T-Shirts in their sizes sort of (not a lot of kids do Cochise so small adult sizes have to do).  We caught the tail end of the instructions for the 49 and 97 milers and were able to be entertained by the instructions for the 165 milers while we ate our delicious Spaghetti dinner.  I love Cochise.   This ride just has a much more homey feeling than either Tour de Mesa or El Tour de Tucson.  The kids enjoy it too and have grown quite fond of the PBAA staff.

The motel (6) was out of roll away beds (but they did give us half off our room rate to compensate) so I had to duck over to Walmart and purchase an air mattress and fleece sleeping bag liner so I could get some sort of sleep.  The kids had the giggles so it took them FOREVER to fall asleep.   This would put us behind in the morning as it took me forever to get them to wake up.   We still hadn't finished packing everything when we went out to watch the 97 milers cruise by which would have us cutting it pretty close to get to the start line by  8.

I discovered around now I had forgotten my bike shoes but fortunately I was wearing my biking sandals whose cleats are eggbeater cleats but with a little squirming I could get them to clip into the tandem's Time ATAC system.   Amazingly enough,  I told the kids to put their own numbers on their bikes and you know what?   They did it successfully!   So between them doing that and me pumping up the tires we were able to sidle up to the start line right as they started the national Anthem.

Temps at the start were just getting into the 50's when we started so I let Becky borrow my jacket.   I rode with her until we caught up to Joe and his flat tire and then she took off to find Josh.    I had Joe's flat fixed in a jiffy (no thanks to Josh who raided my tool bag in order to stock his own with my tire irons,  not a good thing seeing as I was bike patrol and he wasn't....  grumble grumble).

About 5 miles in I made the mistake of pointing out a water tower in the distance I thought was the first rest stop.    Thus,  by my own stupidity,  I started the "we have to go THAT far????", "When are we going to get there?",  "We'll never make it!",  etc,  etc.   I have a mental note made to never do that again.   Standard answer from now on will be,  "oh,  I think it's a little ways further on" which could mean anything from 2 to 100 miles.

Also around here I got the call from Sheila saying that the EMT's had Josh in their care and he was complaining of a stomach ache!   Augh!   I don't know if I have shared with you fair readers about my son,   but he seems to relish being treated by EMT's and has an uncanny knack for telling them what they want to hear.   Today he didn't feel like he could finish.   I'm pretty sure he went out too hard and overdid it a bit.   Anyway,   I pulled up in a few minutes and got briefed on the whole situation and found the EMT's had got him on oxygen but hadn't taken his heart rate yet.   I reached in and felt his pulse.   A very calm, resting heart rate of around 85 ish for the young lad.    It didn't strike me as being the heart rate of a body in duress.   So my decision was to put Josh on the back of the tandem for a few miles to let him recover and see how he did, while his younger sister pedaled his bike.   If he was still feeling unwell we'd call it quits and head back in.

Less than a mile or two down the road he was energetically mocking his brother that he was getting beat by a girl.   The heart rate seldom lies my friends.   Learned that one from the Seawolf although I hope I am a much more merciful and loving mentor than the terrible sea captain, but that is a neat trick which works well on Josh.   That kid has been to more emergency rooms lately when nothing turned out to be wrong with him. From this I have learned that cat scans and ambulance rides are expensive,  Josh can act really well sometimes,  and let the kid out of your sight only at your wallet's peril.  That being said, one of these times it could be real so I am always second guessing myself just in case.  This time though,  he recovered quickly from whatever he had, real or not and I am thankful for that.

By the time we hit the college he was ready to get back on his bike, and Adela,  who hates his bike,  was ready to get back in the lap of luxury on the back of the tandem.    One amazing thing was we actually caught a few of the border patrol crew at the stop.  I think it was a husband and wife or boyfriend girlfriend.   He was on a road bike and she was on a mountain bike and they were wearing border patrol jerseys.   He said later on (we'd play tag for the rest of the ride)  that this was only her 7th ride since she was 9.   She did awesome.

The boys took a little inspiring to get  to the next rest stop up at the top of a long hill but they started passing people and that helped a lot.  That and Sheila was on the side of the road periodically cheering them on.   Between those factors and a few "Scooby"  snacks they made it to the top just after 11.   I knew if they could make it this far they would finish before 1:30 which was the cutoff for the 49 mile riders.

Joe.   I love the kid but I wish he would learn how to not ride his brakes downhill.   I think he descends slower than he climbs.    I am sure he will get over it someday so I am patient but darn it makes for excruciating descents!   The border patrol couple left us in the dust in this section as they did not have any issues with fast descending and pedaled along at a wonderful clip.  The last guy even caught us just as we were leaving the rest stop at the bottom,   I think he stayed for awhile though as he finished about 20 minutes behind us.

The last 10 miles were a bit of a slog for the boys but after we turned onto  highway 191 the helpers there said Dan McGehee was on his way and would be passing us soon and that got the boys excited so they started pedaling hard.   Sure enough about a mile down the road Dan came roaring by and yelled words of encouragement to the boys.   The guy has been blasting the watts for nearly 7 hours over 160 miles averaging over 24 mph and he can still cheer on the little guys.  Dan's a class act my friends,  wish all racers were like him.

After that the boys got the border patrol couple in sight and passed them with about 2 miles left to the finish line.  It was funny to see the boys jockey for position down the closing stretch but in the end they crossed the line together at around twenty after one.  I'm a proud Dad.  Waiting patiently at the finish line was Becky.   She had finished an hour and 20 minutes earlier.   I knew she was ahead but I didn't think she'd be anywhere  close to that far ahead.  Her secret to success?  She didn't stop. Not once.  " Except when She fell down" she tells me.  Dang!   Don't get that girl mad fellas!

Cochise Classic Video

of Pulling Teeth, and Watching Them Grow

Well fair readers, I don't know how many of you will have any common ground to this post but then again, maybe you will, it is a post about struggles after all and that is at the essence of successful Randonneuring. Often times I feel like I fall into a small niche. Someone who would love to be a serious Randonneur or a fast cyclist but often finds his responsibilities as a father interfering with training and his ability to ride with others. My number of Brevets I can run have dropped and my number of rides with the kids has risen. Interestingly enough, the challenges remain although they differ in many ways.



Today's kids and tomorrows Randonneurs face a lot of challenges. They live in a world determined to make them Obese and as inactive as possible. Everything cool is aimed at keeping them firmly in their chair and out of the elements or anything active. Part of this is television/ipods/video games and part of it is perceived safety issues and part of it is real safety issues (let's face it, drivers aren't getting any smarter or safer). Add to this multiple school schedules seemingly designed to make it impossible to get a morning ride in and you have setup a number of challenges which could make an otherwise difficult task nearly impossible.



These are the demons I have fought the last 3 months or so. Want to see something scary? Try and get 4 sleepy kids out of bed before daylight so you can get a measly 5 mile ride in before the bus arrives to pick 2 of them up just before 7 am. The 2 that wouldn't otherwise have to wake up that early can be pretty vocal about fairness and how it should allow them to stay out of the whole affair. Many comments ensue about the unfair tyrant of a Dad who tries to prepare his kids so when the day comes for the ride he signed them up for they will not fail to complete the ride in under the 5 hours allotted for 49 miles. Frustration peaks many times after pumping up 10 tires and discovering how quickly the awakened have fallen to recidivism as the clock ticks and the zero hour speedily approaches, as well as any chance for a suitable workout.



I have to say, that training others I have endured more and harder challenges than trying to train myself. I can push myself to the brink without second guessing myself. If I fail to make a workout there is no one to blame but myself and the resentment is processed effectively without fear of damage to relationships or tender feelings. This is not true for trying to help another accomplish great things. One must coach at their pace and mental competence. I have developed a large capacity to suffer and work hard on the bike over the years and often it is difficult to work with kids that have many years ahead of them to learn these lessons and gain this kind of self control. Then there is the self doubt, have I pushed too hard? Have I not pushed hard enough? I fear the former more than the latter and probably err on that side.



Saturday is the ride (Cochise Country Cycling Classic 49 mile). This year it is 49 miles and after all the miles of training we opted to put my youngest on the back of the tandem, the plan is to let her still ride her own bike at El Tour though (42 miles). To be sure, I feel her contribution a lot more after all this training than in the past when she did all her training on the tandem with me as opposed to riding her own bike, Saturday was her first tandem training ride and we only did that as I wanted to iron out any tandem issues that might arise. I believe they will all finish under 5 hours. I believe that it will be a good day too. The boys are a lot more stable mentally this year, not to mention they ride faster as well. How much of that is riding with the Two Wheel Jones Juniors and how much of that is we have ridden more I don’t know but I think it’s a healthy mix of both. Maybe someday they will ask me to do the 165. A man can dream can’t he?



This year also marks the first organized ride my oldest has ridden in all on her own power. I finally got over feeling bad about neglecting taking her out on the bike for a few years while I tried to be a good rider. My wife told me that whether she wants to ride or not at this point I should just make her go as she needs it. So sign her up and make her go I did. She has been vocal at times, but as of late, she has been almost supportive and agreeable. Strange behavior this is, coming from a teenager. She even had several likes when she posted we had done a 35 mile ride on facebook. Maybe I’m not so overbearing after all, or maybe the bearing I am doing is good bearing.



Anyway, I’m excited to be taking the kids down to Cochise this week and ride bike patrol in support of them and any other riders in need. The day will come I am sure when they are off leading their own lives and I will have all the time in the world to train and try to be the best rider I can. Maybe even get to Paris one of these years to ride the Randonneur Super Bowl de France. They will always have these memories of riding with their Dad and how he would push them to accomplish things none of their friends did, and work with them and teach them not to take the easy way out but rather to strive and push and finish the ride and do their best to have fun come what may.

High Country Brevet 2012

Yours Truly.

It has been a few years since I rode this ride.  2 years ago my Dad died a few weeks previous and I decided I needed to spend more time with the kids,  last year I decided that although that was a noble thought,  I needed my sanity rides too and was going to ride but someone else on my team beat me to requesting that Friday off and my boss had to deny me the day off.  This year,  with a fantastic new route planned I was not going to be naysayed come what may (say that last part five times fast!) and asked for the time off in January.    That's not to say that issues did not arise to make things difficult mind you.  I would not be pulling into Show Low after 11 o clock at night on a rainy night if that were the case.

Rainy nights cause one to reconsider his decision to camp out and save some money.   Reconsider his decision not to bring a tent instead of a hammock.   Reconsider the past......hmmmm,  nope can't change the past.   Future?  Well,   Walmart is open late in Show Low and a tarp to go over the hammock would help salvage at least some of a good night's sleep (although many would argue "some" of a good night sleep no longer qualify's to use the word  "good" in it and I suppose they are right).

Sooooo,  after 5 and a half hours of fitful sleep with the rain pitter patting all night on the tarp and occasional wind gusts splashing my face,  I stopped putting myself back to sleep and got up and off to the parking lot after a quick stop at Circle K for a pre-ride doughnut for a 15 minute late start.

Storms over the high prairie

The streets were wet but the rain had in fact let up shortly before I got to the start.   It was a rather lonely start but it always is at this event for me.   Lonely is good sometimes.   Lonely means no boss,  no Layton kid "Team"  bike mechanic duties.  No flat tires to change for feral kids that insist on riding in the gutter.  No chains to put back on sprockets.  No insescent  bickering.   Don't get me wrong,  I love my kids,  and my job's ok too but breaks like this are much appreciated and I am often too stupid to realize I am in need of them.

The clouds were still thick and the sun was  held at bay much of the day for me as I rode off out of Safeway.   I actually felt pretty good despite the poor training schedule I have.   I figured I'd ride at a moderate pace so as to not blow up before the big hill.   Vernon arrived surprisingly fast and wonder of wonders it was open.  I think they open early on weekdays and open late on weekends.   I bought some ibuprofen for my back and was off fairly quickly.   I knew there were going to be storms today and I'd prefer to at least be off the mountain before they started.

In a departure from years past the valley outside of Vernon was not filled with sunflowers but due to the fact there were cows in the field I think maybe they had become lunch at some point.    Traffic was moderate but not too bad.   I never got honked at or harassed.  It was just a beautiful morning to be out among the rolling green hills and further,  to be heading towards Springerville without so much of a breath of headwind like I had seen in years past.

Rolling into Springerville, the sun would come out for about an hour and a half.   Just enough to nudge the temps up into the 70's for my climb.    I topped everything off at the Circle K in Eager and then was off to the big hill of the day.    I did have to make a mental note in here to correct the cue sheet as I noticed the signs on the road did not match the map I used.    I was bound and determined to climb at a sustainable rate today and not blow up before the top of the hill.   In hindsight I probably could have pushed harder but oh well.   It was a nice climb of 2000 feet in 8 miles which was a little warm near the bottom but things cooled off once I got to the top and the sun went back behind the clouds where it would stay until I was rolling into Show Low.

Steve Atkins, Michael Atkins, Kevin Arps, and Carlton van Leuvan on the Saturday ride.

The ride across the rolling prairies and forests to big lake is beautiful as long as you are not the sort of person who becomes pre-occupied with irritations and pain.   Pain like having a bicycle forcibly rammed into your backside every 10 seconds.   Being easily distracted,  I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery,  and also due to a nearly complete lack of traffic,  I could ride like I owned the road out in the middle too and avoided a lot of the cracks that way.    Hopefully the Saturday folks were able to do a little of that too.

I made really good time across to Big Lake and was pleased to find I had a lot of energy despite having done quite a  bit of climbing already.   It was kind of funny heading back to the big lake store as you keep coming around corners and seeing the store but then find the road ducks back into another little valley instead of sending you straight there.   Of course the fact a lake is in the way might have something to do with that.

I basically just refilled on water at Big Lake and then was off as the clouds were getting really dark and foreboding.   I managed to ride ahead of the storm but did break out my jacket just past Crescent lake as I felt a few drops but it was off again in a few minutes.   The prairies and forests were gorgeous with the storms forming all around.   Of course the fact the pavement was nearly glass smooth also contributed greatly to the enjoyment in this section.

Michael Atkins, Steve Atkins (and Carlton though he is not visible)

I had decided I was not going to ride hard through the White Mountain section and just enjoy the ride.   Still I didn't make too bad a time even for being in smell the roses mode.   My Dad and I used to camp up here every summer and the memories came back in great quantities.  

Passing the Sunrise General store I noticed I was nearly down to one bottle left but seeing as I had only used 4 bottles on the whole trip so far I figured 1 would be enough to get me back if I mixed in more powder.    It seemed like the section between the store and the highway went really quick and I was soon descending the hill.   A few miles outside of McNary I had good reason to put my jacket back on as I was deluged with an extremely hard rain.   The bright side was all I had to do was to stick out my tongue to get a drink.  That storm lasted about 20 minutes at a really high intensity.  I was tempted to stop for fry bread in McNary just to get under one of their shelters but I pressed on.

The rain let up until the Casino where I would once again get thoroughly soaked.  I didn't mind though.  I mean I live in Mesa where it has been 115+  the last few weeks and rain on a 64 degree day felt really nice,  soggy socks and all.   Still,  by the time I got to Show Low the sun was peaking out and I had outrun the storm.   At least ridden out the side of it.

I felt really good at the end.   I even had enough energy to go swim a few laps at the Aquatic center after dinner so I could take advantage of their showers.   The swim felt really good.

Kevin Arps on Saturday ride

Dream ride.

Looking up at Mt. Graham from grocery store at bottom.

 So it has been a rough couple of weeks.  I've been working on a project that I can't figure out and everyone is on me to get it finished and wondering why I can't.   Well, 3 weeks of no day's off and working night and day do things to a chap so I broke down and determined I would take the 4th off.  I mean really  off.   Kids and everything.   I've always wanted to climb Mt. Graham and so at 4:30 am I was on my way out of town to do just that.  Couldn't have chosen a better morning either.

Glad I left my tandem at home.

Weather was cloudy all the way from Mesa to Safford but the sun was burning most of it off when I got on the bike at the highway junction.   Temp was a very muggy 79 degrees.   The plan was to be to higher elevations before it got really hot and then coast down but the sweat poured off me for the first 90 minutes or so because of the humidity.   Weird thing was it was brown/orangeish sweat.   Can't figure that out,  maybe it was the lighting.   The other annoying thing was gnats.   I had hundreds of gnats attaching themselves to me until I got up the hill a bit.

Entering the forest,  well, technically I guess.

 The hill gives you a nice warm up of 2 percent for a mile and then launches you into your first 5% pitch.   5% is about the easiest there is until the top.  Most of it is 7-9%  with a spot of 11%.

Hill climbing is a very therapeutic endeavor.  You don't need to concentrate on where you are going too much because your speed is slow.   It's just you,  your aching muscles, and the stress which quickly melts away the further you climb and the more accomplishment you develop.

Road construction.

The road was nearly deserted.  I think I only counted 2 or 3 civilian cars on the way up.   7 or 8 convoys of hot shot crews coming down but hardly anyone going up.

I must confess I was sweating so profusely it felt like rain on my legs for the first bit.  I took my helmet off for a bit and let it rest in my Aero-Bars.  As I climbed higher though the temps cooled down and I put my helmet back on.   

Swtichback

Nearing halfway I started to enter the cloud layer and had mists swirling around me.  When I got higher I had clouds racing up the mountain around me.  It was very cool in both senses of the word.

Switchbacks

Around the cabins I saw some people but they didn't even wave at me.  One group at a cabin had a Utah license plate and that kind of made me laugh.  They drove all the way down here to get to country that probably wasn't that different from country up in the mountains above where they live.  Of course their mountains are not a sky island so I guess there is that.  Besides  who am I to judge?  I just drove 144 miles for a 40 mile ride.

Mists swirl all around me hurrying up the mountain to make a storm.

Passing the elevations signs is a huge ego boost.  To folks in cars they are "Well what do you know we are at 8000 feet kids isn't that amusing?".  But to a cyclists climbing a sky island its a "Flip yeah!  Boo ya!  Coo coo for Cocoa Puffs,  Tarzan/Captain Caveman yell"' type moment.

Nearing 9000 feet.

The scenery nearing the top is epic and even the townof Safford is barely a smudge on the vast expanse far below as seen in breaks in the mists.

9000 Feet.  Yay!

The 9000 feet sign was a welcome sign to me.  I'd felt strong until just over 8000 feet but was getting pretty fatigued by the time I hit 9.  The grades going up Graham are steeper than Lemon and the places to rest are very rare.  Temp was a chilly 57 degrees.

A roadie's best friends.

They picked kind of a ho hum place to end the pavement but I didn't really care.  It was nice to be to the top.  I did it.   In the bag.  I accomplished something.  Going down I almost biffed it on several switchbacks due to gravel and the love of speed but fortunately I saved it.  3 hours 29 minutes up and 54 minutes down.  This is my new favorite big climb.

Yours Truly.