Krein

I might argue that I have one of the best commutes to work....ride up Golder Ranch Rd, ride the 50-year Trail to Catalina State Park. Brilliant way to start or end my day at work. Last Monday, I brought the camera to take a few pictures and took the above picture from 50 Year Trail.




Tuesday was the usual Tuesday Techy Taco Ride, only this time people showed up. Max, Scott, Jonathan and I rode up and down Ram.








This ledge was one of the hang ups, although a few managed to get it.





It's great know that it is cooling down. Scott had some Mt Graham on the brain, but I had to stay local. We compromised to do some Starr Pass from home....



and ride up Krein, aptly chosen as Scott's MTBR handle. More importantly, people were riding this beast of a trail even before I was mountain biking. I love how the rating is "sick fun." That is exactly how I would describe it.



Some sections went, other did not. I did have some tire and brake issues that slowed the ride down.















I honestly can't remember when I rode this trail last, perhaps 3 years ago. Starr Pass is a pretty diverse place to ride



Brilliant ride lines, eh? Great ride for a (somewhat) hot Saturday morning. Thanks Scott.

Fall Colors

The colors are slowly starting to come to Tucson. The ocotillos out at 50 year trail were nothing less than stunning. Ty and I did a fast, late afternoon ride from my house. The lighting really provided for some beautiful moments. Multiple "wows" and "sweets" were said as we marveled at the pleasant mix of ocotillos and setting sun color.

At one point, Ty mentioned that these were "fall colors for Tucson". Well said. After a brief cooling trend last week, we have heated up a little bit.








A second attempt on this line was successful for Ty.

Picture by Ty Brookhart

Picture by Ty Brookhart

Picture by Ty Brookhart

Picture by Ty Brookhart

Picture by Ty Brookhart

A fast ride on Lemmon was my thinking when I asked who wanted to go up and down Prison-Bugs. Six people showed up at Le Buzz to ride up Catalina Highway.







There was a bit of discussion on how to clean some moves and switchbacks before we even started the ride.










And guess who decided to join us?!



Scott Morris! This line nearly conquered everyone....I think 3 of us ended up riding up it after a few attempts. The line has seen a bit of work on it as it is now doable.







After a bit of rest at the Hoodoos, we bombed down Bugs. At the expense of Ty, we had a little laugh as he tried to do a line that only caused a wild endo. Classic. Of course, we had to laugh only after we realized he was fine.













Near the end of the ride, I had a little tire problems. One of Scott's plugs fixed that problem right up. Dave had a water and gatorade stash that was a godsend. Great ride, despite the high temperatures.

It's great to be back on the bike. I expect many more rides as the weather begins to (slowly) cool during the next few weeks.

Coconino Loop Race 2011

It's good to be back on the bike for long rides. After more than 5 months without doing a 8+ hour bike ride, I logged 3 long rides this weekend during the Coconino Loop Race.

As you may know, this race is from the collaboration of Scott and I. After riding the Grand Loop, we decided that we could come up with a singletrack-filled loop in northern Arizona.

This is the result...

Good food is a staple for this ride....pulled pork!

The old faithful...Don Miguel. Turns out we grabbed some frozen ones. Very bad idea when you want to eat it on the way up Mingus.

Brad Mattingly cheering us on during the Sand Flats climb.

In honor of Lee....Country Fried Steak

Wing Mtn

New AZT singletrack to bomb down into Flagstaff