AZ Trip 2011 Day 4-Black Canyon Trail

Cactus Galore!- this part was a like a tunnel and they were big

From Feb.

I have done the BCT everytime I have come out to AZ.  The trail is a great one, it was built by hikers who also bike.  It is in an area that has a bunch of ATV trails, and it is nice to ride on the man-made trails that go up and down and turn like a nice roller coaster. 
This year I rode part of the trail I had never ridden.  I rode from the southern end point of the trail.  I didn't know if you could park where I did, but I parked in front of the gate and hoped for the best.  The first part of the trail was really flat, going slightly uphill.   Wasn't much to it until I got to there more practical end point of the trail where there is a parking lot, tables, grills.  I then rode north to most southern part I had ridden before.  I went another mile or so and then turned around and rode back.  I had a good ride, thinking next year not to do that most southern part(but it is very close to PHX) and try and ride the new northern trails.  The only thing this trail is missing is a loop, right now it is pretty much an out and back.

Huge Wash that I got over at the BCT trail

AZ Trip 2011-Day 3 Quadruple-By-Pass

The Anthem 29 liking the trail

From Feb.

Saw a hare

This is one of my favorite rides when I come to AZ.  This ride reminds me of riding in GW forest where you have a big climb and then a big decent.  This year I brought a GPS with me, but I forgot it for this ride!  I had one of the maps the park makes so I was ok.  The windGate climb was brutal as it was last year.  With the new bike I will say it was nice having good brakes for the descents. I liked this ride more this year, cause since it was so early in the season it wasn't as hot. Also since I had done the ride before I knew what I was getting into.  The tricky part where you go through the neighborhood, was no problem now since I knew where I was going.  I ended up taking a wrong turn on the Quartz trail.   I ended up at a Golf course and knew I had gone the wrong way.  I looked at the map and saw my mistake and then continued to get back to the trail I needed to get to.  I was out there a long time, I started around 11am and didn't finish until dusk. When I was coming over the last pass the sun was behind the mountain.  Also I lost my cleat in my shoe(found the cleat not the bolts), so had to do an emergency repair and rode the last bit with only one bolt in each of my cleats.
Great ride, longest of the trip 6+ hours out there, riding for 5+. 

Highest elevation 3100ft, lowest 1500ft

SunRise Valley Climb

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=217443

A cycleways map of Open Street Map Data, I added the details on how to get out of the neighborhood to the DixieMone trail

AZ Trip 2011-Day 2-South Mountain

From Feb.
I had ridden here every year I have been down to Phx for my little training camp.  The first year I did Coast to Coast which is 40miles and a pretty long day in the saddle.  For this day I needed to be back around 4:30pm to watch Kennedy in a volleyball game.  I also knew I was going to do a big ride the next day so I didn't need to go too deep.  The issue with riding here is that you can really hurt yourself if you are not careful.  There are people on the trails so if I got really hurt I would not have been left for dead.
I did some trails that I had not done before, then I worked my way to the National trail.  I did this trail a lot better then I did the previous time I came.  There was only one little downhill that I think I could have done, but I didn't to wreck and hurt myself.  I met some guys on the ridge we talked a bit, I was riding the rocks really well, too well it seems.  When I got to a saddle to go down to the Desert Classic trail I started riding some sketchy stuff riding the walls of the trail.  Then I when off a 3+ drop-off and over the bars I went.  Luckly didn't get too hurt, but after that I walked down the sketchy stuff on that trail.  Once on the desert classic trail I just chugged along to the car.  Will come back here again since I seem to be riding the rocks better.

AZ Trip 2011-Day 1

From Feb.

This year I decided to do my trip earlier then I had ever done it before.  I figured that Febuarary would be a great time to be in AZ since the weather would have to be nicer then in DC.  While if you go in March it is nice and warm in AZ, but you will still have 60 degree days in the DC area.  My parents were in town the week before, and AZ had record lows in the 20’s in the morning.  By the time I got there the weather was nicer with 40’s in the mornings and then up to 60’s-70’s in the afternoon.  Interesting thing with this trip I didn’t get on the trail until almost midday for every ride besides the last day where I needed to catch a plane.

Day 1


T-100 West Side.  
First Mt. Ride with My Garmin, it lost signal or something.  Cause I didn’t go 12,000 miles!  I had a good ride, and ended up getting there late in the day and rode until almost sunset.  I had done this part of the park like 3 years ago, so This time I made sure to go up the fire road climb.  Got my heart rate to 186, but didn’t know the heart rate thing was working at the time.

T-100 West Side
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 10:34 AM added by lovedabikes

Biking in the Everglades

Being down in Florida and looking at the available routes near Pompano Beach/Fort Lauderdale, I noticed that I was pretty close to the Everglades. I looked on the usual sites (mapmyride and bikely), but no one really had routes that went into the Everglades. Upon further investigation (looking at the satellite pictures), I saw that there were service roads that were somewhat close to the suburban area near Sara's parents' Florida apartment. The issue was that it was 13 miles to the Everglades from where we were staying by the ocean. I didn't want to bike 26 miles there and back in addition to doing the ride, so I was able to convince Sara's father to drive me out Atlantic Blvd. to take off 13 miles of pure road biking.

I started out from a church parking lot and worked my way along the toll/exit ramp to a dirt side road. I took that to a gate that said "no motorized vehicles" and assumed that I'd be able to ride there.  Once on the service road, I found nice gravel that paralleled the highway to my left, with a canal, service road and the Everglades to my right.  I road this south, then veered west, then turned north and crossed the highway to pick up the service road.  Then I crossed the highway again going east through the airboat recreation area to the service road that went back to the starting point. The next part of the ride was the most desolate, with the Everglades on each side. I was able to see many cranes, fish and buzzards as I road along.  It was an interesting feeling being out there, as I could see civilization in the distance but was fairly isolated. It reminded me of the feeling I had out West in the desert. The weather was pretty hot. It was 80 degrees, but around 90+ degrees with humidity (I was basically riding next to a swamp). I noticed that I was getting sunburned on my arms. 

 I got back to where I'd started and wanted to continue onward back to the shore/coastline while continuing to stay as off-road as possible.  I had seen during my satellite recon that there was a canal that had a path on it and some service roads.  Unfortunately, the end of that path was near the toll road entrance ramp, so I had to hop a fence to start the trail.  The trail was nice, but kind of more of a jogging/walking trail since it was cement instead of asphalt.  Eventually, it ended and turned into service roads once again.  I had an interesting encounter during which I almost hit a 4-ft iguana that then ran in front of me and jumped into the canal.  I also had a funny little dog jump a 4-foot fence to run after me, but it knew to stop at its house's property line.  Eventually, I ended up biking on grass on state lands near the canal near people's homes, and it was slow going.  At one point I ended up having to go back to Atlantic Blvd., which is a major road.  I went on the road, but it was pretty interesting since people were trying to enter and exit I-95 at some points. I was able to take more side streets after that and got back to the beach.  As I got closer to the beach (about 4 miles out) I began to feel the temperature drop, so I knew I was getting close. 

Notes:

• Florida, no matter how you cut it, is pretty flat biking.
• In the future, if I could have a car, I'd prefer to park and ride just the Everglades for more mileage without riding on the roads.
• From the research I had done, it sounds like there are some park trails that would be good for biking. With the non-technical nature of them, a cross bike with bigger tires should be fine.
• Considering it was 80 degrees and 90% humidity, I can't even imagine riding in Florida during the summer. It would be very uncomfortable.

Riding A1A on New Years Day

Rode the Jamis with 28mm slicks, only CX bike I saw

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to bike in new places.  It seems to give me the ability to actually visit a place more completely since I've seen more of the area while riding around.  A popular place to ride in South Florida is A1A, which goes along the coastline. 

I decided that A1A would be an easy ride to do. Since it's an out-and-back route, there are no turns and it's impossible to get lost.  I didn't know how far I was going to ride since I had forgotten to bring the magnet for my bike computer, but I figured that I'd just ride to a certain time and then turn back. Unfortunately, there was a 25-30 mph wind blowing that day.  I went up the coast and ended up seeing around 300 bikers, some in packs of 50+ riders.  At certain points I ended up riding with some bikers I came across, and I ended up riding with one gentleman on the way up as well as on the way back.  I rode all the way up to South Palm Beach before turning around.  Unfortunately, I had a headwind going almost the entire way back to Sara's parents' apartment.  I finished the ride pretty spent and out for a lot longer than I had expected to be. On the upside, however, I got to see much of the coastline of South Florida.   

2010 YearEnd Totals

This year wasn't as bright as some others, but there were a few shining moments. The best ride of the year would have to be the 18 hours of Scouts Honor, where my team got first place and I was able to ride consistent laps without many back problems. The surprising runner-up for best ride was the 9 hours of Cranky Monkey race. I ended up doing it with a broken finger. I'd gotten the injury during a volleyball game. Because of the broken finger and my move into the city with Sara, I didn't have much structured training from mid-May to late-July. The worst ride of the year would have to be the Greenbriar marathon race, where my back was hurting so badly that I basically stopped and didn't go out for a final lap when I could have.

The Moots--2,286 miles

She is now a year older and feels a lot more at home, as she lives in our apartment with us (in the bathroom hallway). I had some fit issues on this bike that I finally figured out by getting some new handlebars. She's feeling a lot nicer to ride now. I enjoyed some interesting rides in Cape May, NJ and I finally did the 4-ridge ride climb I'd been meaning to do in Lewisburg (Sara's hometown). I threw in some OMG Frederick rides as well.

 

The Fixie--1,004 miles

The Atala is still going strong, primarily for bike commuting. Sometimes her wheels come out of true because of potholes.

Jamis CX Super Nova --814 miles

This is the do-all bike, so some of the mileage was from commuting to work, some was from dirt road rides, and still more was from cyclocross. I would say that the highlight for this bike was doing Iron Cross this year.

 

Gary Fisher Hi Fi Pro--300-ish

Had some good races on the GF this year. She was actually riding pretty well, but yet again, she broke. This happened in late summer. The Hi Fi highlight of the year was riding in Arizona and Vegas.

Voodoo Diabla--450

This year, the Voodoo had an identity criss. She went from a rigid single-speeder to a front suspension single-speeder to a 3x9 hardtail suspension bike, and finally ended up as a 1x10 hardtail. Since the GF broke, I had to use the Voodoo as my main mountain bike. In doing so, I set the bike up with full gears and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to ride Liberty Furnace, and Southern Traverse reasonably well without a full-suspension. Once I took off the gearing to put it back on the Gary Fisher when I sold it, I ended up making the bike a 10-speed in back, which works reasonably well with the low 36-tooth cog. Probably the highlight of the year with this bike was, as I said previously, Scouts Honor. It might have even been a better bike for the race than the GF could have been.

 

Tandem--300

Sara and I were able to get some miles on the bike, and I think there would've been more miles on it if I'd have lived in the city the entire year. We were able to squeeze in rides about once a week before work. Hopefully in the next year, we can get in some more riding, but that is looking doubtful given the amount of schoolwork that Sara is doing. The big news for the tandem this year was that I raced cross on it with Matt. I will say that it was a hoot riding DCCX and then Tacchino on the tandem. Riding a tandem on a cyclocross course actually makes the course pretty technical, as it's tough to simply get the beast around the corners. Hopefully next year (if Matt's on board), I will try to race most of the series with him.

Supposedly, 2011 should be a big year. Sara is still in school, so I have plenty of time to ride; we do have 7-8 weddings this year to attend, so that may present some conflicts.

2010 YearEnd Totals

This year wasn't as bright as some others, but there were a few shining moments. The best ride of the year would have to be the 18 hours of Scouts Honor, where my team got first place and I was able to ride consistent laps without many back problems. The surprising runner-up for best ride was the 9 hours of Cranky Monkey race. I ended up doing it with a broken finger. I'd gotten the injury during a volleyball game. Because of the broken finger and my move into the city withSara, I didn't have much structured training from mid-May to late-July. The worst ride of the yearwould have to be the Greenbriar marathon race, where my back was hurting so badly that I basically stopped and didn't go out for a final lap when I could have.

 

The Moots--2,286 miles

 

She is now a year older and feels a lot more at home, as she lives in our apartment with us (in the bathroom hallway). I had some fit issues on this bike that I finally figured out by getting some new handlebars. She's feeling a lot nicer to ride now. I enjoyed some interesting rides in Cape May, NJ and I finally did the 4-ridge ride climb I'd been meaning to do in Lewisburg (Sara's hometown). I threw in some OMG Frederick rides as well.

 

The Fixie--1,004 miles

 

The Atala is still going strong, primarily for bike commuting. Sometimes her wheels come out of true because of potholes.

 

Jamis CX Super Nova --814 miles

 

This is the do-all bike, so some of the mileage was from commuting to work, some was from dirt road rides, and still more was from cyclocross. I would say that the highlight for this bike was doing Iron Cross this year.

 

Gary Fisher Hi Fi Pro--300-ish

 

Had some good races on the GF this year. She was actually riding pretty well, but yet again, she broke. This happened in late summer. The Hi Fi highlight of the year was riding in Arizona and Vegas.

 

Voodoo Diabla--450

 

This year, the Voodoo had an identity criss. She went to a rigid single-speeder to a front suspension single-speeder to a 3x9 hardtail suspension bike, and finally ended up as a 1x10 hardtail. Since the GF broke, I had to use the Voodoo as my main mountain bike. In doing so, I set the bike up with full gears and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to ride Liberty Furnace Southern Traverse reasonably well without a full-suspension. Once I took off the gearing to put it back on the Gary Fisher when I sold it, I ended up making the bike a 10-speed in back, which works reasonably well with the low 36-tooth cog. Probably the highlight of the year with this bike was, as I said previously, Scouts Honor. It might have even been a better bike for the race than the GF could have been.

 

Tandem--300

 

Sara and I were able to get some miles on the bike, and I think there would've been more miles on it if I'd have lived in the city the entire year. We were able to squeeze in rides about once a week before work. Hopefully in the next year, we can get in some more riding, but that is looking doubtful given the amount of schoolwork that Sara is doing. The big news for the tandem this yearwas that I raced cross on it with Matt. I will say that it was a hoot riding DCCX and then Tacchino on the tandem. Riding a tandem on a cyclocross course actually makes the course pretty technical, as it's tough to simply get the beast around the corners. Hopefully next year (if Matt's on board), I will try to race most of the series with him.

 

Supposedly, 2011 should be a big year. Sara is still in school, so I have plenty of time to ride; we do have 7-8 weddings this year to attend, so that may present some conflicts.

 

A Mountain Biker is Born

 

This Christmas, I continued the tradition of giving my nephew a bicycle-related item. Previously, I had given him his first bicycle with 12-inch wheels and training wheels. Next, I got him a trailer bike. Then I bought him a sixteen-inch BMX bike, but Cole was having trouble with balance and continued to need his training wheels a lot. I got him a scooter, which I hoped would help him learn to balance. Eventually, when he went back to his bike, he was able to ride within two tries. Cole has been growing fast, and he needed a new bike this year and so Sara and I planned to get him one for Christmas. I decided to go with a 24-inch wheel mountain bike. I realized it would be big for him now, but he is going to be tall someday, as his dad is 6 ft. 4 in. Also, it should last him a while. Of course, Cole was happy with the present (which we gave to him on Christmas Eve Day), and Sara and I told him that it would be for Christmas and his birthday (in January). Young boys do not know how much things cost.

 

I took Cole out for a ride, and it ended up being a long one. We got to go off-road for a bit and around the Lake of the Woods development, where my parents live. We had to do the obligatory roll down the hill (without the bikes) that almost made Uncle Darren puke and also stop by the playground so that Cole could race me on the jungle gym apparatus.

 

I ended up biking again with Cole when we visited my sister on Christmas Day. He had been waiting for me to arrive for another bike ride. I took him to Ida Lee Park in Leesburg, and this time we actually went on some hills, and Cole got to understand that gears are good. He also got to understand that what goes up must come down, and he enjoyed riding the downhills. On one of the steep hills, I knew Cole wasn't going to make it up, so I had him go in front of me and jumped off my bike. As I cheered for him to pedal, I lightly pushed him up, but he still did most of the work. As usual, he seemed pretty tired both days. I hope to take Cole on some real mountain bike trails in the future.

Tacchino CX

Big Jim has carved out himself a great race.  I went and watched last year, and this year I was able to race.
 

Masters 3/4  
I got an ok starting position, I was lined up next to Gwadzilla.  I wanted to keep it smooth and see if I could not hurt my back too much.  I got an ok start, and had Bruce B. in my sights.  I don't know if ever passed him, but by DCMTB teammate Brian caught up to me.  I had a bad remount, landing on the tire/brake.  I losed some time there. After the first 2 laps it was just going into maintaining mode, since I couldn't really get any power out of my body.  I got passed by a good many people, but the only saving grace was that I was able to get the guy who caught up to me on the last off camber(almost wrecking there).  I liked the double logs where you could jump them or dismount.  I think bigger logs would be better so it was more of a question.  Reminded me of the Swiss worldcup I watched, the barriers are not as high as the ones we use cause most pros were bunny hopping them and it didn't look 40 inches high.
 

Tandem
There was a tandumb race happening, and this time I made sure the pedal was on ok.  I had Tyler from Family Bikes pack a pedal tap so that I could clean out the threads.  That did the trick Matt's pedals went on fine, and we were ready to roll.  We started in the first row, and were able to get the lead after the first corner.  I knew the Padam team was coming behind us.  They got us on the off camber downhill, and we never saw them again.  We were riding good together, and had our shinning moment/almost disaster when we did a planned move that we talked about in a practice lap.  After a downhilll there is a U-turn then an uphill rise.  The Tom team was in front of us and Matt kicked it in going out of the turn and we stood for the whole hill.  The almost disaster happened at the turn where we passed and hit a root I never saw in the Masters race.  When we hit the root is sent our bike into the tape, but luckly I was able to control it.  We did ok at the barriers, but we were not as insync as we were at DCCX.  After the first  lap we were in no-man's land, but our luck changed as we saw the Toms team have a mechanical with their timing chain having fallen off.  So we caught them at the double logs, and tried to get them at the berm, but we were running out of trail.  We got them on the off camber, and on the pavement for a 3rd place.  We made the podium DCMTB's second podium of the day.

Thoughts:

• Jim put on a great race, cool prizes I got some of the sausage and ate this week-yum.
• The vibe pretty awesome.
•  I found the Elite race a lot more fun to watch since Joe D. started 2:30 down on the whole race, and he came back to win big.
•  The team support was out there today
•  Tandem races are great! I mean pretty cool motivating, and dieing out on the course with a friend.
•  Right now My favorite races for Mabra are Ed Sanders, DCCX, and Rockburn.  I didn't do the one in Winchester, but I have seen the course so I will try that next year. 

An artsy version of a shot I found online