Down time

Down, but not out.

Ankle rehab has been slow. After struggling with it, believing that the damage wasn’t as extensive as it is, I finally accepted that it’s just going to be a while. At first, I was plotting an AZT 300 reload, or other multiday routes. As much as the rest of me is ready and rearing to go… my ankle is not.

The most surprising thing, to me, is how something that really didn’t hurt that much could be so damaging. Apparently pain is not enough of an indicator, neither for the initial injuries nor afterward (like racing 30 hours in the AZT 300). What is more concerning is soreness/tightness that refuses to improve. So I finally took some time “off”, which initially meant easy spinning on the road.

And my ankle got worse! I started getting a throbbing ache on a tendon that I had never experienced before. Fie!

So I actually took some days truly off, and luckily that went away. And now I’m working with a physical therapist and building back up, still on smooth surfaces only. Making progress, if slowly.

Luckily it’s been a pretty good time to be living vicariously through others adventures. The AZT race wrapped up, with Kurt Refsnider and Mark Caminiti wrapping up their rides, both amazing in their own way. ‘Organizing’ the AZTR was indeed a good idea, and this year was certainly very rewarding, as a “race director.” Both of these guys were seriously pushing the envelope out there, racing the AZT full bore, maximizing the experience. I love it.

On the trackleaders side, I’ve been following Peter Heal’s attempt to break the record for riding around Australia. Australia is a big place — the route is some 15,000 km. That’s over 9,000 miles! Current record is 51 days, and he is so far on pace, heading into day 15 on the road. Yeah, this isn’t a mountain bike thing, it’s roadie, and recumbent at that, but still self supported in the same style as our MTB races. Inspiring stuff. His tracker is here:

http://trackleaders.com/aroundoz

Yahoo groups for his followers:

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/PoitAroundOz/

I also got to meet Stefan, aka Alpenzorro, who is off on a pretty ambitious singletrack-ish bikepacking trip across the US. Stefan is from Germany and it was pretty fun to exchange ideas on bikepacking as well as mapping and software. I was able to help him plan the AZT portion of his trip. I wrote a bit more on bikepacking.net, including a link to his frequent live postings, translated from German. A good number of Germans are getting a taste of the AZT, following along Alpenzorro’s ride:

http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,788.0.html

A few pictures from a week of ‘smooth’ riding.

Night ride with Mark Flint. It’s good to see him getting into good riding shape again, and it was a beautifully warm night.

There are a few nice spots in Tucson that I rarely ride when healthy. Sabino Canyon is one of them. Super pleasant road (closed to cars), especially when it is warm out. I always save it for when I can’t ride trails, making it something to look forward to.

This sign always cracks me up. I love how the dude taco’d his wheel.

Very hazardous!

What’s this? My trail sniffer led me to freshly benched trail, right near town. Not much, but a few switchbacks to fail on, only to unclip and hurt my ankle coming down. D’oh!

Cactus blooms are out of control right now, even along roads. I’ve been enjoying plotting out random routes through the foothills, the only “destination” being places or connections that looked interesting on TF aerial photos. It’s hard to get anywhere in the foothills without using the major (traffic choked) roads or without already knowing the way. But 5 minutes of drawing lines beforehand has yielded some interesting routes I may incorporate into future rides.

As always, my trail sniffer is on overdrive, looking for even the tiniest suburban trail or wash that might be rideable.

This is a nice time of year to be stuck on the road. Warm days means you can get up early to avoid traffic, but not be forced to pull out layers and layers of warm clothing. Self generated wind means it’s never too hot, either. Not yet, anyway.

So, it’s nice, and there’s something simply beautiful about hopping on the bike and pedaling around those first few (pain free!) corners away from my house. Yet, my soul burns for something more, something bigger, and perhaps most of all, for that feeling of being ‘out there’, alone and lost in the wilderness. Soon enough, I hope.

Otherwise, I’m really enjoying finally digging back into TopoFusion. I have a lot of ideas and not near enough time to pursue all of them!