Golden

I haven’t been over Golden Gate pass for over 6 months – not since before we spent the summer in Colorado. Hidden Canyon and the new entrance trails have been keeping me busy, and long rides have taken me elsewhere.

I left from home on the Behemoth, rode through the University, then climbed A mountain.

The climb challenge (hard right after the first lefthand switchback) doesn’t usually call me. It causes pain, and usually I save the pain for the Tucson Mountains. But not today. I gave it a good effort and got within a rocks throw of the top before failing to marshal enough resources to execute the ‘crutch’ move. I walked back down a bit, struggled to get started again (STEEP) and cleaned it.

The fence is still repaired, so the upper switchbacks are off-limits, but the descent was a hoot as always.

I also haven’t been up through the ‘Wildcat’ subdivisions (San Juan Rd) for 6 months. So I pedaled that way.

A new sign says “no trespassing / TMP access only.” OK. This is a good climb. Rock Wren is better, but I’m glad this is still here.

On to the Starr Pass Valley, but a right turn leads to “Tech Pass” (first pass north of Starr Pass). Recently described by a mountain biker as “oh that one that there isn’t really a trail to follow, just a clearing of rocks.”

Yep, that one. I managed to clean it up and down, signaling that this was going to be a good day.

Following singletrack, I turned off to climb Golden Gate.

Someone created a cheater line between (and crossing) the stairs. The stairs are cleanable, but today I got bounced off the trail, accidentally landing on the cheater line. So I pedaled it instead, on edge. I gained the pass and the immediate thought was “I don’t come here more often because….???”

Great views from the pass as the sun dropped. I pedaled off down the trail. More reminders of why I need to ride over here more often. I nailed all the hard spots, which is rare for me – a clean run both up and down – of both Tech and Golden Gate.

Thoughts of Brown Mountain, but the sun is falling and a night ride over Gates didn’t suit my fancy. I turned right and began the grind.

This is Tucson. Classic Tucson. And this climb always hurts – there’s no excuse for not standing on the pedals and giving it all you’ve got. Ouch.

Suffering, trying to maintain composure as the miles passed back to the University. I rode a few trails behind Pima CC on the way back down Speedway.

Back just after I pulled out the blinky and switched on the headlamp.

In other news – a new map server for TopoFusion. Here’s today’s ride:

Yep, road maps in TF, great for overviews or when less “busy” maps are needed. The server is quite fast (TIGER census data) so it’ll be a great addition. Zoom in far enough and you even get road names.