What was once a dream is now reality. The ride around the Santa Ritas is complete and it was a roaring success. We were presented the opportunity of a good day and we took it. It turned out to be the perfect day.
The preparation for the ride was extensive:
The preparation was also half the fun. We knew the routes and knew the options. When it came time to finally make the attempt we chose the most challenging route. No pussyfooting and no quarter.
| 12.5 | Number of hours |
| 12000 | Vertical gain (feet) |
| 67 | Miles traveled |
| 70.254 | TopoFusion Difficulty Rating |
| 10,000 | Number of rocks larger than baby heads contacted |
| 0 | Number of flats/mechanicals |
| 0 | Amount of whining |
| Confirmed | Status of reservation in Hoytsville |
We rolled out along Madera canyon road at 6:30, cold in the morning air. There was just enough light to see the road and the challenge that lay before us–the Santa Rita mountains. My feet promptly froze on the downhill one-lane bridge dips, but we were soon climbing toward Proctor road. I doubted my choice in clothing since I was quite cold. But this doubt kept my mind from doubting the ride itself. I did wonder how it was all going to come together. The route seemed like 4 or 5 different and disconnected worlds. I had done rides (all difficult in and of themselves) in the 4 or 5 areas before, but had no real way of relating them. This would all change today.
The first challenge was one of my favorites: Elephant Head, the remover of obstacles (Ganesh). Rocky and technical, this ride has reduced strong riders to tears and is often regarded as a deathmarch. Indeed, I’ve brutalized myself sufficiently out there in the past. Today, however, I was spot on and feather light through the rocks. It just flowed naturally and came easily. I surprised myself by cleaning the climb over the ridge, one that has given me troubles in the past. I looked back at it, smiled and knew it was going to be a good day.
Chino canyon was shrouded in the shadow of Elephant Head, towering to our left. It was still cold, but I enjoyed the lack of pounding Arizona sun. It is such a beautiful canyon and the ride up was very enjoyable. It quickly gets difficult as baby head rocks and ruts make their appearence. I once again found myself riding beyond expectation, cleaning everything to the singletrack. I questioned the wisdom of spending the energy so early in the ride, but I just could not resist and things just kept rolling for me.
A brief hike-a-bike to the saddle followed, which seemed easy compared to the trails and hike-a-bike that I had mentally prepared myself for on this ride. We gained a view of Hopkins and the ridges of the south side. I looked to the west and watched a giant version of me roll through the shadows of tall ocotillos. A giant Lee followed through the same ocotillos.
We cruised down Agua Caliente, then opted for the Devil’s Cashbox over the paved road. It proved to be a nice climb as the sun warmed us up. As we dropped to the Hopkins road, a world was linked–Elephant Head to Hopkins.
We climbed at a nice conversational pace up the big hill. The road was so smooth that though we climbed 2700 feet, it felt like one of the easiest sections of the ride. The views are incredible as you climb up. The previous and next three hours of our route were visible from the top of Tia Juana ridge where we took our first real break.
At 7200 feet, we dove off the ridge on a snowy Tia Juana. Recent quotes from the SDMB list about this downhill: “The only thing worse than the climb was the descent.”, “…should be avoided like the mall on Christmas Eve. Rode it once, that was more than enough.”
It wasn’t too bad, but some walking was in order. Lee was right though, a good rider would just drop his seat, get back and hang on for dear life. Where is Stevie A when you need him for a challenge descent? Well, we walked some, and strained our hands and backs holding on for dear life on others. It was not as bad as I remembered, and certainly not as bad as the pooh-poohers claim. We soon found ourselves in Josephine canyon, linking another world.
From here the route gets a little sketchy. Let’s just say that there is a way to get from Josephine to Temporal, but it is neither easy nor really a trail. It is quite beautiful and very worthwhile. It does include the beast of a 4×4 road, Mansfield canyon. Nasty is the key word here. I failed in the middle of a rock field only to watch Lee bounce around me. He had found the line of a brave ATV rider, cleaning a section we had deemed unrideable on a previous recon ride.
As we climbed a few puncher hills on top of the Mansfield ridge, it almost seemed to easy. We were making solid time with a steady pace. We sang the tune of “Nobody does it better”, and I started to think the ride wouldn’t be too hard. I got the sense that the worry was not about completing the ride, but about enjoying it before it was over too quickly.
Soon enough, I was successful in changing this, burning myself out on steep granny gear climbs. I nearly cleaned a very relentless, Salt Lake style climb, but the cost was high. I was seeing stars when the traction on my 2.25 tire finally got the best of me. I stood in the shade of a tree, happy to wait for Lee to push his bike up to me.
We pushed and rode (mostly pushed) our way up the rest of the climb. The singletrack is 1000 feet of climbing in 1.1 miles. And to say it was rocky would be a weak understatement. This was the most difficult part of the ride, with 9000 feet of climbing and some correspondingly brutal downhills behind us. We both started to unravel a bit, but we held it together with enough energy to continue on steadily. Lee disappeared into the forest, riding sections we walked on the recon ride, impressing me with his skill.
We found a nice spot to pump water, filling our camelbaks with cold snow melted water. The water pump idea turned out to be solid gold. I’m not sure 100oz + 2-3 bottles would have done it, and it was very nice to ride light through elephant head and the early stuff.
Eventually we hooked onto the Arizona trail, riding through the foothills of the east side, through Kentucky Camp and all the way out to Box Canyon. These trails seemed easy, flat and smooth. The enjoyable riding helped bring the strength back to my body and I started feeling quite good again. We choose the high line of the AZ trail, tacking an extra 600 feet of climbing at the end. Then we made the left turn onto Box Canyon road, destined to close the loop.
We watched the sun set red behind Bobaquivari peak, framed by dark swirling clouds, as we spun down the canyon and out towards Madera. We had just enough daylight to spin it down the last hill towards the cars and completion: an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and of frienship. A dream had become a reality, a major goal completed, and we could not have asked for a better day, or better luck. This would not have happened without Lee’s energy, vision and knowledge of the area. I couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out.
It was one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult, rides I have ever completed. I have been far more tired and exerted myself much more (during 100 mile races, for example), but the route itself is very hard to beat. We have a new contender in the race for most difficult ride, according to my new “Difficulty Index” : Ride Around the Santa Ritas checks in at 70.254.
Scott, I am planning this exact trip for march of this year. How tricky is the jump from Josephine to Temporal? Any info would certainly be appreciated.