Evergreen, Rocks, Tucson

I booked a cheap flight from Denver to Tucson, to go visit my honeybuns, my cats, and generally check in on the homestead back in Arizona. Though the place isn’t so desirable this time of year, I still miss it. It’s home, for sure.

It just so happened that Jeny had the day off before my flight, so it was obvious how that day was going to be spent.

Riding rocks,

photo by Jeny Ellinger — as are all the rest of the photos I am in

and switchbacks,

and roots,

and all manner of tricky things. You know, mountain biking? Ever heard of it? 😉

The riding in Salida is fantastic, and especially the alpine stuff really captures my imagination (obviously). There’s definitely challenge to riding switchbacks and tundra ruts above treeline, but it’s just not the same as riding rocks in open trail. Above treeline there’s usually not much doubt about whether you can ride something or not (*). So I was definitely in need of an “enduro-sessioning” day, as Jeny coined the term later in the day. Just haven’t got enough this summer.

(*) Then again, sometimes it’s the company you’re with, as to whether you think something is rideable or not, or worth (re)trying.

Jeny is one of those that rides stuff that most wouldn’t even think to consider. She made this line happen, a few months back. And since then I knew that riding it, or trying it, was one of my few goals for the summer. It had my head. When I rode Bergen peak (the trail this rock is on) last fall, after the surgery whirlwind, I eyed the line and half-committed to it. I also half crashed, catching myself on the boulder to the rider’s right.

photo by Jeny Ellinger — as are all the rest of the photos I am in

She didn’t show me how to ride it, but did offer some tips. Over-anaylsis and giggles complete, I started the process of rolling up and almost convincing myself to ride it.

And then it went, cautiously. I watched her ride it without hesitation, then I rode it again. It’s so smooth. Like so many others, it’s mostly mental. Mentally brilliant!

That’s a hard one, and I think the little animation shows it. Jeny won’t let you get partial credit and bunny hop in place to turn around any of them. No hopping allowed! You gotta roll it and finesse it.

We moved on to new-to-me trails, and during a pit stop we eyed some boulders that might be rideable.

I think it’ll go.

Or maybe not! I think the log in between the rocks was for confidence purposes only. I don’t think a 29″ wheel can fall in there.

There we go!

Further on, we found others that already had cheater rocks set up, but it didn’t look like too many people were riding them. Too much fun.

On to the 13 switchbacks of 3 sisters.

This one gave us the most trouble out of any turn, ledge or rock on the day, and I’m still not quite sure why. Just the wrong-WRONG angle once you inch around the turn. You can’t get set up for the rock face on the inside (not without hopping anyway, and that is a NO-NO!). And the crack next to it is just perfect for catching tires. We threw ourselves at it time and time again and seemed to be making little progress.

I rode it with a hop or two, just to claim partial credit, but was offered no congratulations. Back to the bottom, try again.

Jeny assured me it wasn’t that hard, and we were just making it so. After several tries of doing the exact same thing and getting the same result, I tried ratcheting my pedals so that they were in a different orientation than I naturally wanted them. Turns out the “wrong” orientation works! Success!

It was getting late, so we called for a cessation of sessioning and just rode on back to the ranch. I can’t believe I remember this, but there were two jumps in a row that had the perfect ‘table top’ transition to them. Made me think of Winter Park and how I need to get back there before heading back to Arizona.

We covered a mind-boggling 23 miles in 6 hours. Yes, it was just that fun. No way to count how many things we tried and retried, or turned around and rode the other way, just for kicks. By the end, my feet were sore and legs pretty crispy.

But the ride must go on. I had a few hours in the morning before the flight, enough to squeeze in a Red Rocks and Dakota Ridge loop.

It’s a classic and chunk-a-rrific loop, and one I know fairly well from when I lived in Golden. Only thing is, I used to always ride it the other direction (I verified that in the GPS archive).

And though I had my Behemoth back then, I usually didn’t have anyone to ride with, or at least not anyone with an eye for clearing every obstacle possible.

Like the giant staircase on Dakota, which I’m pretty sure I tried, but never succeeded at.

Jeny demonstrated the proper way to ‘pull’ that rock-ledge switchback, but I could not get myself to do it. The photo doesn’t show the exposure off the edge, or give a sense for how abrupt the turn is.

So I got a little creative and.. just.. barely.. rolled.. around.. it, without hopping. All rock, all good.

It was incredibly fun to revisit these trails, especially with someone that knows them so well. Many, many thanks for the enduro-session-y rides!

I made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare, despite the fact that it’s almost in Kansas. Upon leaving the Tucson airport in the rental car I was greeted with giant raindrops and monsoon winds. A nice welcome to the desert!

It somehow managed to hit at least 105 every day, despite the fact that it was nearly September. Wake up early to ride and run? What, are you crazy? We did what any sane person would do, head for higher ground!

We found Mt. Lemmon’s mushroom tree!

Anyone that can tell me where this is (visible from a trail) gets a gold star on their hat. After some napping and general lounging, Paula ran seriously for 1.5 hours (actually a little longer when she got turned around) and I went for a very, very easy spin on the Blue Lev “road” bike. It was just perfect up there. I knew we would regret not bringing camping gear when we got up there, and sure enough, we did. Unfortunately we missed Chad up on the mountain, though we did see him and Kendall rolling back down.

Lemmon sunset. Sadly no monsoon clouds could be find to collect any of it.

We got to eat dinner with my Dad, who was in Tucson for business, and hang out with him at the Starr Pass resort a little too. But mostly we just caught up, cleaned/organized the house and hung out together. It was a good visit, well worth the effort, though my allergies returned rather quickly, serving as a not so subtle reminder of one of the big reasons I left Tucson back in May. It’s just too bad Paula’s school starts so early (though most schools have started now!).

Evening spin back in Evergreen, CO, featuring rainbows,

and front range herds of elk. Never mind that no one thought to bring lights…

Couldn’t resist a short out and back on the CT from Kenosha pass as the Corsica rolled back to Salida. Well worth the quick stop.

What a great trip. Thanks to Ed and Jeny for hosting me in Evergreen, making the trip a lot easier, and for the great rides. I left my Lev for Ed to ride, and though he is a diehard rigid SS kind of freak, he reportedly loved the experience and even managed to knock my bash ring off, something I assure you I have been trying hard to do!