Neglected

A sure sign that fall is officially here in Tucson is when you can begin to start riding late in the morning. Today, I woke up at around 8:30, enjoyed some coffee and began to get my bike gear ready. For the past few weeks, I have been curious to see how the trails over in the Tortolitas have held up to the recent rains.

Why the Tortolitas? Well, I consider myself an expert on neglected trails. Silly as it may sound, I get delight in solitude. Also by definition, these neglected trails are inherently harder. A good day is when you ride a rugged trail, sessioning those hard sections, sweat is dripping down faster that your pedal stroke and (above all) you have the trail to yourself.

Not a soul in sight for today's 2-hour spin...

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I went up Wild Mustang to Upper Javelina. Any golfers recognize that green down there?



I took the snap a picture as you ride trick from JennyJo. She seems to be the master of doing this on her technical rides.



Yeah, to be honest, I am not very good at this. Maybe I should have brought a tripod.



This is one of the hardest sections of the climb. I tried it several times without success. Perhaps another day.



Here is the same climb taken in the previous picture, only opposite view. Do you see a rideable line in there somehwere?









The legendary Alamo Trail and the Catalinas in the background.






And, of course, some B-lines that help you in some tight sections.










It appears I may need to work on my solo, technical picture taking skills. They seem less than perfect.