A sign of things to come

Doing an initial fit on the bike prior to strategically placed electrical tape around the frame to prevent wear.

I think the best part of this set-up is the dry bag under the handle bars; it carries my big bertha air core pad, my bivy and a tyvek ground sheet. In previous trips only the therarest was stowed there. Progress.

I'm not sure how this will workout but we'll see.

bike and hike

With 7 hours to play I opted for a ride and hike to break in my new shoes and my feet.
Preparation for the may AZT ride is starting and with a rim to rim hike in the mix I figured now would be good time to start hiking and breaking in gear.

Some vagrant joined me for the ride.




























A nice day brought out the vintage aircraft in droves.












A brief stop at the 40th St. trail head.


















medicine wheel trail




























I love how you can feel so hidden on this side of the preserves.














In reality you are in the middle of the city.














But back to the remote feeling.














Enough of two wheels it was time to break in the new shoes.














The irregular link seemed like a good way to access the circumference trail.




























































302 (Circumference Trail) links to the Summit Trail to Piestewa Peak for a bit and it was utter chaos. I picked up the pace to get outta there and paid for it a bit later.














much better














Yea, I smelled real nice by the end of the day.































Hammies getting tight.
































Almost done.














A bunch of horse's asses blocking the trail.

el campo de cabra

We made the trek out to the White Tanks to ride Goat Camp. It was a perfect day and a good group.

 























































Where is Waldo?














Obligatory stop.










































































I love this ride.

that is it

Seems like forever since I took the niner out.














A dirt edition of the ThNR.

big agnes

I have heard good things about the Big Agnes air core pads. I picked one up at REI today.
It is a touch heavier than the Thermarest Ultra Light but packs smaller and inflates more.
We'll see how it fares on the urban overnighter at the end of the month, and more importantly we'll see how I fare.



























A little bit longer too with the mummy shape.














Much thicker than the Thermarest. With any luck this will translate into additional comfort at a nominal weight penalty.














Nice ride with the family today too.

bimodal

More of the new light rail.

This view was full of people by the time I got off.
Being at the start of the line usually means a nice warm train to wait on.