Kona Big Bike Media Launch

After a few weeks without riding with Ty (busy working two near-full time jobs), we finally managed to ride together. Only this time, it was on the clock (good thing for Ty, better make that 2.5 jobs now). John from Southwest Trekking asked us to help him out leading a ride for Kona Bicycles. The plan was to shuttle everyone from Ventana Resorts to the top of Bug Springs and ride down to Reddington Road/AZ Trail.





An hour of time to spare before departure, we headed on Ventana Canyon until the Wilderness Boundary. That is a technical trail, frankly, it is a gem for any riders that live on that side of town. Only problem is we never saw the wilderness boundary.





Make sure to ask Ty about the sweet section he cleaned right (only to go over the bars) after the above picture was taken.



Ahem, ahem...back to work! Right, right. Sorry about that warm-up on Ventana. We drove up and we rode down.













Even had some time to eat...



....and walk the food off. The Kona guys were coming off the 24 HOP, so it was not surprising to see them walk more than just a few of the sections up Molino. 







Descending was another story....a few of these guys were descending the back side of Molino like champions.





After a regroup, we continued on toward the prize of beer and photo shoots (for the journalists and Kona guys). After the regrouping, I took the sweeper which provided ample opportunity to take pictures.

































At the end of the day, we loaded up the bikes and drank some "recovery" drinks. My only regret is not riding more of the Kona bikes to compare them against the bike test I did a month ago.

Tortolita Popsicle

This past Saturday, I hosted another ride in the Tortolitas from my house. It's a popsicle from house. 50, Honeybee, Maus, Como, Cougar and then return the same way.



















Great ride and good post-ride chatting at the house. Look for this one to be a weekly or bi-weekly event for me, anywhere from a quick 2-hour to a longer 5-hour ride.

Tortolitas

Never thought I would be riding the 'Moth on XC trails in a manner that might be considered "training," but I have to admit, I am trying to get faster. Although, I have only done a pure "training ride" once in the past 2 weeks, I have to come clean and say that I plan to do more (if to only motivate me more by declaring publically). Partly inspired by Scott and partly inspired by my inability to eat my 8,000 calories/day, I am hoping to get at least one "training ride" a week.

Also, I have added a few more races to my schedule to help in the training:

Sedona Big Friggin Loop March 10
Prescott Monstercross April 21
Coconino 250 Stage Race Oct 5
Black Canyon Trail November 3
Kentucky Camp November 17
McDowell 60 Dec 15

APC and Tor de 50

The idea of a "getting in shape race" is an excuse I use often for that really long race that comes around where you are not prepared. That is my reasoning for doing the Antelope Peak 115 this year instead of the shorter 65-mile version.

The camera was going to be left at home for this ride. We opted for a later time this year, instead of the 3am start, it was pushed back to 5am. I felt good (but cold) from the beginning, staying ahead of Ray and behind Neil until we reached Bloodsucker.

I saw Aaron, Kurt and Max all descending from Antelope Peak, so I figured it was my turn to climb the peak also. The rest of the day went by fairly normal. At one point, I got excited when I could see Ray climbing up Ripsey. Although a quick break to send some text messages and some water issues put me farther back. I never saw any rider again after the climb up Antelope Peak. I finished with a respectable 14 hours, 2 hours off my earlier finish with Scott.



A recovery ride was in order, so I climbed A Mountain



and Sentinel Peak in downtown Tucson.



The next chore was to find a better route between Catalina and the Tortolitas. I was pleasantly surprised to find an existing double track that is used by a rancher. A few rides to cut back some overgrowth would prove to make the route rideable for the next event, Tor de 50 from my house.



A friend of mine from Oregon, Steve Westerberg, flew down for the event.





We headed to Starr Pass on Thursday for a semi-techy loop.



The Tor de 50 had 55 people show up for the 54 mile loop.



I led out for the neutral start and was feeling pretty good in the Top 10 before my pivot broke on Upper Javelina. As fate would have it, I met a nice hiker that gave me a ride back to my house. I have really taken a liking to cooking, so it only seemed fit that I would end the day doing one of my favorite things...a few changes in the course and setup for this ride is bound to make this ride a classic. Nothing says a good ride like good grub, especially carne asada tacos. The results hint at the difficulty of the race, as less than 50% finished the route in its entirety.

Great job to all the racers, especially Scott who killed it.