Sunday, January 11, 2009

Bloodsucker Wash

Jason and I were both looking for an epic ride and what better way than hit up the beloved Arizona Trail north of Oracle. Few have ridden this section of the trail, which is a shame. We had another brave soul, Jay, show up for the ride also. The course, Antelope Peak Challenge with the proposed bailout up Bloodsucker Wash (which is about 25 miles into the route).



And the classic Arizona Trail sign, each time I do venture out to Antelope Peak, this is one of the best moments.
If you click on the picture below, you can see Antelope Peak in the far background under the sign.


The cairns are still in pretty good shape from last year, some sections seem to be more eroded. Those without a GPS need to have a keen eye for seeing cairns. Here is Jay showing off his ability to nail a super steep switchback (picture taken after switchback)


A few more shots of the singletrack on the Arizona Trail

Jay and the gasline road, the path of Antelope Peak (shown in background)


The gasline eventually leads to Bloodsucker Wash, where we headed west until the next gasline road over. I had never ridden this section of the gasline. My conclusion: it is like every other gasline road, very steep and rocky. I guess that is one of the flaws with just looking at aerial photos, here in the comfort of my house, I say to myself, that looks fun, let's ride that.

A flat tire break near the gasline/Bloodsucker intersection


My legs were a little tired today, so I was ready for some road when we finally got to Willow Springs. We had some major flat problems (mostly due to a sidewall gash) that put us a little behind schedule. The adventure was limited to discovering the bailout at Bloodsucker (although I would recommend that anyone trying to bailout from the AZT to Willow Springs just take Bloodsucker all the way until Willow instead of taking the gasline) and heading back on Willow Springs Road to the car.

Great day on the bike, about 6 hours of good fun with Jason and Jay. Next up, a possible jaunt to Anza Borrego next weekend.

5 comments:

ScottM said...

Great ride. The ride coverage here at Chad's Mountain Bike blog has been stepped up as of late. I, for one, am happy you got the new camera and are putting it to good use.

Haven't ridden with Jay for quite a while. Funny to see pics of him here.

cookiedough said...

Yes - great post and pics - especially the one with the straight line road to Antelope peak, looks like it goes on forever

Anonymous said...

A possible jaunt to Anza Borrego next weekend eh... that'll get your mojo rising.

hmmm.. pondering the timing of all this. I'll be in the neighborhood, but (I hate to admit it) probably working or packing a truck.

have fun!

SSIDYLLWILD said...

kinda my neighborhood.... actually doing a ride very close to that this coming weekend

Chad said...

The camera gives endurance riding a new meaning, employing it on the trail allows us to motivate those on the couch.

I will be in Anza all weekend hiking and biking, stop by if you can!

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