Upside Out

bag of rocks

2012-01-16T12:22:00.000+13:00

spiker made it up from the old pueblo so we done organized a ride. up national from pima canyon past telegraph pass to the newly renamed pyramid trail, down to gila, a short ride thru a hood to desert classic and back to the cars. good times.

flagstaff

2012-01-09T15:35:00.000+13:00

2012 sub24

2012-01-03T13:25:00.000+13:00

First ride of the new year with the boys out for some riding and celebrating.

sonoran preserves

2012-01-03T12:46:00.000+13:00

some sweet new trail out in nw phoenix

number 5

2011-11-27T14:11:00.001+13:00

flight of the pigs that is. i almost didn't do it but i knew i'd regret not doing it.

at the velo cache i was planning on throwing in the towel. legs not cooperating and some serious chafing only made worse with a late application of chamois butter. but as i started to pedal home the break and the beer managed to mask the pain of the chafing and the thought of not finishing bummed me out so I opted rejoin the group and i was glad i did. i even managed a bit of a second wind. or maybe it was just the tail wind.

nov somo

2011-11-05T16:59:00.000+13:00

got out with a random assortment of folks in an attempt to avoid work and ride.
it worked out quite well.

tin foil hat tour

2011-10-31T16:03:00.001+13:00

we went on a gnome faith inspired bikepacking trip.
sedonuts to the verde hot springs.
epic in its awesomeness.

shortly after this the wheels started to come off for me. fighting a cold all week i took the easy way out and rode 7 miles to verde valley to get my car and play sag wagon down to the springs. it was a wise call.

mexico

2011-10-24T16:31:00.000+13:00

trip to the playa with cholla and crew. a much needed break from the day to day operations with just dad and the two kids in a foreign country with a narco war. what could go wrong?

mrs cholla was nice enough to watch my hellions while mr cholla and i went for a nice 20 mile ride

cholla was on it. i was still a little fuzzy

high pucker factor

into town

200k - high country brevet

2011-09-12T11:42:00.001+12:00

it was time once again for the the 200k high country brevet. john and i did this one last year for the first time and enjoyed it so much we opted to go again. weather reports prior to the ride spoke of rain and storms but we figured it was better than riding in the 110 degree stuff we have been all summer. we were right and the weather cooperated for the most part.

start out riding into the rising sun

starting out relatively low

somewhere around here some random old dude (who wasn't doing the brevet) on a squeaky le monde an absolute jersey, no helmet and a few teeth missing slowed up to chat. i couldn't understand most of what he said and eventually he pedaled off leaving us in his dust. funny stuff.

late breakfast in springerville

snacks leaving greer

i forget how long the climb is out of greer to the turn off for sunrise. just as i was about top reach the top i was greeted with a painful hail storm #1 and john with a flat.

the road to sunrise was paved this year which was really nice.

hiding from hail storm #2. shortly after this i got bit/stung by something (an ant i think) on my leg under my shorts. not fun and now on antibiotics.

the ride from sunrise back to show low was fast with a few quick stops

we wrapped it up in 10 hours total and headed to payson for steaks and a martini. good times.

mingus

2011-08-28T11:27:00.001+12:00

headed up to cottonwood early this morning for a little mingus mountain recon in advance of the coconino 250. two years ago mingus was my undoing so i wanted a better idea of the lay of the land. i rode up and then around and came down what one normally goes up in the coco250. it was a beautiful day on the bike.

mission for the day

found some water

realized i had lost a chain ring bolt 40 minutes into the ride

found more water

climbed some more

almost ran this little guy over

found some trails i've never heard of

found more water (and filtered some)

sub par

2011-08-27T11:42:00.000+12:00

listen. i know things have been slow around here.
heat and life have made motivation and time in dearth.
so here are some photos of recent rides. it's too hot to type much more than this.

double bypass

2011-08-08T06:58:00.000+12:00

aka: riding around the mc dowells. 25 miles and close to 5k ft of climbing. started at 5:30 am and finished at 10:30. things got a little rough towards the end and i had two of the most painful leg cramps i've ever had, spilled most of my soup but survived and no one saw me standing awkwardly in the trail unable to move and cursing loudly. i also had a beautiful ride and some of the nicest trail encounters i've ever had, including a low 5 as i rode by one stoked hiker.

july

2011-08-07T17:53:00.000+12:00

mogollon rim

2011-07-18T08:30:00.000+12:00

we headed north this weekend to beat the heat. east of clint's well to an area we are getting to know pretty well.

dropping into camp is steep. damn near ate my clutch on the way out.

back in the heat and the ac is still on the fritz. should have stayed longer.

we the people

2011-07-07T13:06:00.001+12:00

the right to bear arms

promote the general welfare

and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity

june

2011-06-20T09:56:00.000+12:00

wednesday i had a rare break from meetings so i took a mental health day and hit the somo shuttles and then later wet-n-wild with the boy. it was an ideal mental health day.

thursday night was hot so we kept it local and hit some watering holes downtown.

father's day had us waking up at 2 am with a sick kid. my wife intercede but i never really did fall back asleep before my alarm went off at 3:30. i was rewarded with a beautifully cool morning.

rim job - utah day 4

2011-06-03T15:53:00.000+12:00

for our last and final act we opted for a 20+ mile loop above town on gem, rim trail and some others i don't readily remember.

and with that it was time for packey leavy and 8 hours later we were home.still buzzing on the trail goodness.

guacamole and a side - utah day 3

2011-06-02T15:05:00.000+12:00

plan for the day was an easy sessioning ride on guacamole followed by a night ride back on gooseberry mesa.

we stopped off in hurricane for some repairs at ote and some lunch at lupitas. neither disappointed.

back at camp the wind destroyed a few things.

night ride time

little creek mesa - utah day 2

2011-06-01T15:53:00.001+12:00

day two found our intrepid group a little hungover but with a hearty and dangerous breakfast of beef and pork chorizo burritos all was temporarily well with the world.

we played lots of bocce

and eventually we made it out to little creek to ride

back at camp things fell into their normal pattern. including the fuggin gnats from hell.

merry wives - utah day 1

2011-05-31T15:50:00.000+12:00

after too long of a hiatus i joined the fellas for the spring trip. gooseberry mesa. 4 days of binge riding and fun.

day 1 found the az groups waking up near jacob lake

we met up with the prick on the mesa and bestowed gifts for him and t-rashy

camp was set up

muscles were unwound with some bocce ball

ride 1 - gooseberry mesa

followed by dinner and such

thuggish ruggish

2011-05-16T13:48:00.000+12:00

gordy and i headed north to do half of the casner mountain dirty century.
in no semblance of order, i present the photos. mostly in reverse order. ish.

flagstaff: for every driveway a subaru

keeper of the shire

see gordy?

crazy switchbacks coming down casner mountain. can you find gordo?

hawes thnr

2011-05-08T15:47:00.000+12:00

gordy and i made our way out to hawes to join cholla and maad for a ride, tequila tree discovery and all around good cinco de mayo. part of the thnr tequila tree exchange program.

whats the name of this race?

2011-05-02T17:42:00.000+12:00

Whiskey Off Road!!!!!
(credit: dirtybiker)

The family joined me in Preskett for the Whiskey Off Road. 25 miler single speed version for me this year.

We stayed at the Hotel Vendome which was just south of all the action and had an awesome breakfast. Parked the car upon arrival and didn't have to touch it again until our departure. Beautiful.

We got out just in time to see the 50 miler folks getting sum.

I was honestly a little apprehensive about my number plate.

I rallied with different Cirrus folks through the day. I'm the one with the nice butt.

I hit it too hard and paid with cramping quads most of the race. I was slowly moving up the last climb and there was dirtybiker with a bottle of whiskey which he offered and i hit on the fly. the folks from sunday cycles followed up with a chaser of beer. i have to credit those folks with helping me reel in at least a dozen people on the descent to town.

While I went out too hard and payed the price, the family had fun.

Eventually I made it back with a load of lactic acid.

We rolled it up and rolled out only to miss lots of festivities. Next year we'll go for the whole weekend.

san tan wheelie jam

2011-04-24T16:54:00.001+12:00

san tan brewery has been around for a few years i believe. they managed to put together a nice event this weekend with bikes and beer and stuff and a few other sponsors. right up our alley. folks rallied at the homestead and we all rolled over.

afterwards a little pool time hit the spot.

a great day. thanks everyone for playing.

good thnr

2011-04-24T16:37:00.000+12:00

the post azt300 thnr was a good time. jason, alex and john were able to join the fray for idiocy and the planting of a new tequila tree.

jason reminds me that sessioning is always to be taken advantage of.

stop one. welfare check and a refill.

stop two. beer.

more sessioning.

good ride. good company. good thnr.

AZT300

2011-04-18T16:25:00.002+12:00

i had made arrangements for the pops to pick me up at picket post trail head (the end of the race where i would leave my car) and transport me to the start of the race at parker canyon lake. we picked up one other wayward soul, andy s. from flagstaff who joined us on the trip to the south and a bonus night of camping.

i intentionally got to picket post early so i could have a moment of silence.

on our way down my dad was intrigued by something he saw on the way up.

eventually we made it to the start which we shared with some livestock and their salt lick. the bastards kept me up all night and i swear i could hear them licking the salt blocks.

the morning came after many short bouts of sleep. mistake #1: going to bed at 8 pm and not drinking water until i got up at 5:30 am. but it sure was purty in the morning and i was happy to be.

see? tim captured the optimism and i left at 7:50 as soon as i got my spot. i knew it was going to be toasty and i couldn't stand waiting over an hour to start, so off i went to chase down andy who left a few minutes prior. i was keen on having company for as long as i could.

not long after this andy informed me he accidentally erased all the tracks from his gps. damn. but he still soldiered on ahead of me picking up some bonus miles i believe. never saw him again until a brief glimpse in patagonia.

don't be fooled by the pretty pictures - the canelos are a beat down, pure and simple.

not 5 miles in my chain jumped the cassette and lodged between the hub and the cassette. after many attempts and finally brute force, i got it out in one mangled piece and continued on always shifting before needed to.

i think andy and i were the only ones to see the non-insignia federale with the automatic weapon and bandoleer with clips. nice guy. interesting job.

back to the brutality of the canelo hills.

not long after canelo pass the fast guys came by like i was standing still. managed one shot.

got a nice grease stash from my chain suck fun...

i was almost out of water after canelo pass and was eying some nasty stock tanks but then i remembered cott tank. simply a small oasis with a spigot and cool clean water from a solar operation. i didn't even bother to treat it and it was delish. i took a time out in the wash and had had some summer sausage and jalapeno cheese. all was good until i saw a wasp crawl into my helmet. then i looked up and saw all the bees and wasps in the blooming tree above me. time to move on.

less than 1/2 a mile from harshaw pass i heard a telltale hiss that signaled a sidewall slice on the rear tubeless tire. i had one tube. after a sewing session, booting the tire, injecting the tube with my one run of stans, i was off....again.

let me preface this next section with the fact that i am a firm believer in karma and such ambiguous notions of luck and faith. i hit the store in patagonia only to be accosted by max asking if i wanted to share a pizza next door at velvelt elvis. i had planned on a minimal stop but the reality was i was dehydrated, fighting cramps and unable to absorb/put down the calories and water i needed. max was hurting too (having started from the border going for the full race to utah) and his suggestion was what i needed. thanks my friend. after grub i took off to sonoita knowing he was going to catch me.

max and i met up again in sonoita and picked up food (and for me a beer to celebrate my birthday - can't imagine a better way to spend it) and then we headed back into the santa ritas with the thought of stopping at kentucky camp for the night.

i was cramping and in pain but i wanted to get to water for the night and luckily we found water and a great site in gardner canyon.

we had one racer from colorado come thru and chatted for a bit but we hit the sack at 9 in hopes of bringing things back together the next day. no sign of the blokes from asheville we met in patagonia.
a lazy up around 5 and departure around 6 sent us on our way after a brief headset adjustment.

max's azt750 machine. that dude has a motor.

when i flipped my bike over to deal with the chain suck issues in the first 5 miles i neglected to remove my gps...

in the morning the 7 miles to kentucky camp was excellent except for when max went over the bars and punctured his tires on a yucca....

we saw some fat hawks on our roll up the kentucky camp.

not long after kentucky camp, day two started to feel like day one - fighting cramps and no energy in the legs. max was feeling better and pulled ahead, not to be seen again save for a brief glimpse on the hills leading into the tucson valley.

after the brutality of the hills section coupled with the 90 degree weather, and my physiological reaction i decided to bail. actually i hit the lake and filtered water in the hopes of at least making it to tucson and started to ride but the rear tire felt funny = huge thorn = yuri done. in a perfect example of karma/etc; not 3 minutes after i bailed to hwy 83 a car full of hikers i saw earlier pulled over to offer me their last cold Gatorade. thank you gents - much appreciated. not a minute after that Marshall who had to bail on the 750 saw me and pulled over. he and his friend Dave were kind enough to drop me back at my car at picket post. by 5pm i was back home wondering what the hell just happend.

this was the last place i filtered from before i called it.

80 some miles later my fix starts to come unglued.

regardless of how i finished i still accomplished what i wanted. pushed my limits and had fun. what more can a guy ask for?

AZT 300 tracking

2011-04-13T15:41:00.003+12:00

I start out on the AZT 300 Friday, April 15th at 9am. You can follow along here.

gap analysis

2011-04-11T15:29:00.001+12:00

with some changes to the azt 300 route due to construction on a dam we use to cross the gila river i felt the need to go check out part of the new route and fill in a gap in my mapping mind. plus, chad and scott have been raving about this segment for some time. so, gordy and i headed out after what was a weird late winter storm, even by our standards (be what they may). the temperature in kelvin when we started was a balmy 36 degrees.

after winding up and down ripsey we headed back on route in the car to find a sweet well.

great day on the bikes and found some sweet new backpacking ideas.

mo somo

2011-04-03T17:18:00.000+12:00

i needed the nice grade of san jaun road for some interval work this morning. zipper was running shuttles while the majority was running mingus mountain. some well deserved shuttles seemed in order after intervals. a run down geronimo and a run down holbert and i was cooked.

there was some rotc training and those kids walked all over that road like they were in fallujah

after blurry intervals, time for blurry shuttles/

more than a few flats on the day.

home. time for pool.

somosilentsunday

2011-03-28T16:35:00.000+13:00

the plan was to do multiple rides up to the towers on south mountain on sunday and follow that up with a nice long hike. around wednesday night a virus or other such scum had other ideas. i've felt like crap off and on since. i managed one ride up on the cross bike before i decided some time in the steam room and whirpool might be a better idea for the day.

up top i ran into some dc crew including dirty and felt compelled to introduce myself. unfortunately i had to decline the mimosas they had brought up. nice work.

on the way up i kept thinking, 'why didn't i bring the rip9 and some armor and just human shuttle holbert?" at least i could sample the top section.

i still feel like crap but at least i got a ride in.

testing, testing...is this thing on?

2011-03-22T09:33:00.002+13:00

with an unprecedented opportunity for another urban overnighter just a week after the last one, gordy and i used it as an opportunity to test out new routes into old ones and new places to camp.

we left from central phx on friday afternoon and meandered our way to tempe and a stop at gary's house.

then we found some trail and this nice little mountain on which to lay.

the night started out hot and windy but by the early morning hours it cooled nicely and it was a nice morning except for all the pollution in the sky.

after a little grub and coffee in tempe it was time to head over to the mcdowells.

one of my pedals decided to be a pita so we headed over to rage for a new set only to find they were still closed. oh well, might as well suffer. and do some laps on the pump track.

ah, trail.

after some sweet mc d goodness we decided to beat feet north to a bike shop so i could reverse a tubeless tire i mounted backwards.

the folks a flat tire bike shop in cave creek were nice enough to lend me a stand and an air compressor. they also recommended a nice patio were a nice beer could be had away from the harley hordes.

after libations it was time to head into the tonto nat'l forest for a camp spot.

the moon was unreal for the second night- super bright. in the morning it was a 35 mile sprint home after a little water filtration.

normally

2011-03-14T17:26:00.001+13:00

It was supposed to be simple AZT300 prep but this last trip felt like more.
Normally my legs fight me. They didn't so much.
Normally I overestimate myself. I didn't as much.
Normally I stress about being alone at night in the wilderness. I didn't at all.
It felt like my metal game and my physical game met and agreed to proceed.
But enough about that. On to the photos.

Nothing like being able to ride from the house and get in 100 miles like this.

That little nub in the distance is Tom's Thumb. Climb for the day.

Left the path and hit Reach 11. It was a beautiful day out and time was just sailing along with the miles.

A little brunch break. Sammie and chips.

Hopefully enough energy to get me to the nub er thumb. Despite my better judgment I went in Gateway TH to get to Tom's Thumb. There was a metric shit ton of hikers out but I had not one bad encounter. Things flowed and everyone worked together. It was really nice.

I was going to filter a little sweet spring water but the bees were out in force and dissuaded me.

The last little bit to get up to TT is a mofo.

Switchbacks galore. See the hiker in the straw hat?

Ah, in sight.

Wait, what is that? Royal Robbins?

Heading down looking SE toward Ftn Hills, Mesa

But my route took me down 128th St. Super fun. Wish I had the RIP9.

See? No photos = fun
Looking back up.

Then it was over to Pima and Dynamite for yes, more sammies and chips.

I was a little spent and P&D gave me a nice opportunity to spin it out with a tail wind.

The original idea was to head out to Horseshoe Reservoir and possible the sheep bridge but I was immediately sketched out about the 6 mile road ride down Lake Bartlett Rd and 10+ dirt miles to Horseshoe after all the idiots I saw on the road down. So I opted for the safer bet of down thru Carefree and Cave Creek out to Spur Cross and then the Tonto National Forest.

How can you not want to camp in a place like this?

I slept quite well. Rare for me.

I opted for the fast way home wanting to see my people.
I had a Stans and Cafee abomination rolling around
in my tire for the last 30 miles. Sucked.

I was cutting the day short as it was so I opted to finish with a little additional trail.

And to think I get to do this again next weekend...sweet!

sedona

2011-03-04T11:17:00.000+13:00

a celebratory wine tasting tour through paige springs, cottonwood and jerome was capped by a night in sedonuts. we awoke to some beautiful late winter scenery.

24 Old Pueblo - Windmageddon

2011-02-22T06:27:00.000+13:00

it was time again for the 24 op. my 8th or 9th. the lady's third and the boy's first.

it was super windy on saturday. destroyed our camp and then the rain came. such is life at the op.

but alas sunday came and as usual things dried out and spirits were lifted.

p and d sub 24

2011-02-14T16:48:00.000+13:00

gordy and i headed out to state trust land for some gear shakedown.

2 x 10

2011-02-09T17:07:00.000+13:00

the azt300 bike starts to come together.

getting everything to work was a little like making sausage.

hey. we just needed a few mm.

revelations

2011-02-07T16:24:00.000+13:00

in an effort to ensure i have a shot at completing the AZT300 i enlisted the the help of lynda w.
i've just completed week two of a twelve week plan and something has stood out. my core is weak.
really weak. clearly i have some work to do.

here are a few snaps from rides this weekend as i dealt with my inferiority complex.

catch up

2011-02-01T16:32:00.000+13:00

things have been a little crazy. i also lost the cable for my camera. this should catch things up.

2010 in review

2011-01-01T16:37:00.000+13:00

It was kinda like this but fast forwardish

tnf urban overnighter

2010-12-06T10:59:00.000+13:00

gnome, gordy and i rode from my house out to the tonto national forest for a weekend urban overnighter.

good stuff as usual. thanks for the ride fellas.