Canelo Pass

A new ride for me today: Mark Flint’s Canelo Pass / AZ trail loop.

Yesterday I got a call from a Lance, who was looking for a ride. Later Mark called and expressed some doubt over Lance’s experience. But he sounded charged and excited to do the ride.

When I pulled up at UofA Liquors to pick him up I got a little worried. He had an older, rigid bike complete with toe clips, frame triangle bike bag and he was riding for team t-shirt. As we headed out of town I got even more worried: he told me he had just bought the bike yesterday!?!

We met up with a large crew in Patagonia, all ready for a challenging ride. The drive out there was a bit extreme for me, but I did have an almost full car. The conversation with Lance and Dave Barger on the way down made the drive bearable.

We started out up Harshaw Creek and Lance immediately rode up near the front. He hit the hills with some vigor, causing me to really wonder what would happen to him on this ride.

We rounded a corner and a climb challenge appeared. I pointed it out to Rudy who responded, “Are you going to try it?” “I don’t see why not…” was my response. It’s always good to have Rudy along for stupidity like this.

Lance and Lee joined us up the hill, too. I dropped into granny as Rudy gained momentum for his attempt. It was a steep sucker, so he did not make it far. I made it slightly further, losing traction in the dirt. We hoofed it to the top only to notice that the road was a dead end. Bushwhacking led us safely back to the road and our compatriots.

After a bit of climbing an amazing view of the San Rafael presented itself. It is a vast high desert plateau and unlike anything I have seen in Southern Arizona. Riding through the dirt roads criss-crossing it was a treat.

I rode with Lance as we moved further and further in front of the group. We had some interesting conversation, and it appears that he is one with, how should I say, the adventurous spirit. I’ve always been a big believer that the rider is much important than the equipment, and he’s yet another example. Rudy appeared behind us as things got a bit steeper. We climbed together and Lance fell off, still riding strong, but not strong enough. Rudy suggested we turn around to climb it again rather than wait for everyone. A novel idea, and one I liked. The next climb we took slower, and, we still ended up waiting for a bit at the top.

From here it was not far to the AZ trail. I’ve heard horror stories about this section of AZ trail–everything from hike-a-bike to deathmarch tales. It sounded good to me! Things began easy and mellow enough, then the climb began. “Brilliant” was all I could think. A couple of tough switchbacks, then I was walking through a maze of rock ledges and loose baby heads. The top was easy enough, where I waited for Lee, Lance and Rudy to catch up, enjoying a new prespective on the San Rafael Valley below me. The downhill proceeded, accented by the first very tight switchback–which I cleaned by a combination of extreme luck and considerable skill. Things were looking good and a giant grin persisted through the next section. It was not too difficult from here and soon we plopped out on a dirt road. Some waiting, some backtracking by Rudy and I, then it was on to the dirt roads. Lance was still riding well, and doing his best to stay with us.

The dirt roads had plenty of steep climbs, and a couple of desperate downhill sections. Rock gardens awaited us near some of the washes. One was particularly nasty, and had Rudy, Lee and I giggling as we muscled our way through it. Too much fun, then we arrived at Red Rock Cliffs–a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy some shade under the windmill. Lee and I inspected the solar powered pump, finding a good source of water for future AZ trail multi-day adventures.

Finally the singletrack resumed from here. Some nice, if slightly overgrown riding, then a very challenging, muscle powered and rock strewn descent, complete with tight switchbacks. Both Rudy and I made some progress, then found ourselves out of luck. Lee was walking. Suddenly, Jon Shouse was right behind us and riding! He couldn’t pull the turns, but overall he did much better than us.

Something got into Lee (perhaps all the waiting), as he shot off like a firecracker. Rudy and I followed, hanging on loosely to his pace. It was fun to watch Rudy ride everything in his fixed gear, though if I were to give him a nick-name it would be ‘wreaking crew.’ He shoots rocks all over the place, skids, and generally wreaks havoc down the trail. He has more bike handling skills in his pinky than I do in my whole body, but the fixed gear riding really takes a toll on the trail.

The last few miles of the trail were the best. Here the real challenges came, though it was not quite what I was expecting. Definitely some nice, tough climbs. Energy was getting a little low, and Rudy was walking stuff–this was granny gear territory! Of course, I was walking stuff too, but slightly less. It was all in good fun. The final descent was a rib tickler, but over too quickly.

We waited for everyone in the parking lot. Lance was in the next group the finish, with solid riders like Jon, Jerry and Dave. He was tired, but he did very well. We then enjoyed some tasty Pizza at the Velvet Elvis. A nice day, some unique country and plenty of challenges.