A pint of beer after a workout is better than water

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Hence all the post-ride parties after mountain biking or off-road triathlons. Fat Tire is my beer of choice.

Rincons Recon

Jeff and I went on the south side of the Rincon Mountains to find a way to ride around them. I have already went around the Catalinas (as a prep ride for the AZT 300 last year). When Jeff mentioned the idea, I decided to help him out with the 100+ mile ride that we hope to complete soon, very soon. We pretty much got most of the route figured out, except for a little 6-mile section between Mescal and Marsh Springs. The major problem that we are having is riding across areas that look perfect from the aerial map but are in fact private property. At one private property sign, we encountered a rancher in a truck.

Rancher: What are you boys doin' back here?
Jeff: Hello, we are a little lost.
Rancher: No shit you are lost.


The conversation just went downhill from there. We headed back to the car and drove down to Mescal to see if we could back track. Again, private property stopped us from our proposed route.

Jeff and I continued down the road toward Turkey Creek and Miller Canyon (FR 35). Our goal of reaching Cascabel Road finally seemed to materialize. Now that I am back pouring over aerial photos, it seems we may just have to opt for some track that is next to the rails for 5-10 miles.

Some shots from the recon:

A few hike-a-bikes


Trees are very colorful


Post-ride beer courtesy of coconino bikes

Round the Rincon Ride (r3)

Jeff and I are doing some scouting tomorrow to find a way to connect the Redington Route to the Cienga Corridor. Hoping to do about 80 miles, round-trip tomorrow.

Chops

January 07


October 07


The chops are coming in nice. Pulled up a picture from January to see if they were bigger then.

Sutherland Trail and Baby Jesus

Went out to the 50-year trail today for a quick ride. I got out to a late start forcing me to quit a littler earlier than I had expected. I saw two hikers up on Sutherland, one guy from Ohio and I talked a little bit.

The new tires on the bike are really nice; I have noticed a big difference when climbing or going through sand. Stats for the day:

22 miles
3,062 feet of climbing

My shoes finally gave out today. The entire sole blew out. That should be a good sign, right? I have had them for about year.

Rock y Road 50/50 Race Results

The race went well. I finished in 2nd place, behind the legendary Max Morris. Click here to see all of the results. I was a little to wrapped-up in the race to take more pictures, so I only took a few nature shots. I rode with Jeff for most of the mtn bike section, until he stopped near Bellota Ranch. I continued on down La Milagrosa (the most technical section of the course). Due to hotter than expected temperatures and no aid stations, most racers had problems on Mt Lemon. I had to lay down in a few sections and ran out of water below Windy Point. Great trail and race concept, should be a new tradition here in Tucson. Hope to have around 15-30 cyclists next year willing to take the plunge.

The next race is being planned for the series, Kentucky Camp Epic on December 8th.

PBR Tri/TDF

Ah what a race. The water was great, Red Rock Company a great tri company, and a great turn-out. Here is a quick summary of the race:

I was in the top 10 out of the water today, just had a few problems on the bike. My stans back tire blew out on the first lap of the mt bike portion (as you can see from my mtn bike time below, it took a few minutes to get out all the stan's goo). Anyway, I decided my back rim is definitely broken for good and is causing flats on rocky sections. I am end the market for some new wheelsets, possibly buying some ZTR's. Doing some research this week.

Here are the results from the race. I also ran into an old cross country buddy, Josh Reddoch.

After the race, headed over to TDF for some bikin' and beer in Tempe. New Belgium Brewery Co. put an amazing, green party on (everything from biodiesel to solar energy was used to power the event). All proceeds to the TDF go toward promoting biking in AZ. Met some cool cats during the event before I left early to come back to Tucson.