|
|||||
With all the rain paranoia, I left Friday AM to catch the Bug up on Mt. Lemmon. I was so impressed / enthralled by the descent of Bug Springs last weekend that I had to go back. Meet my shuttle, Nothing like the good old inclined plane to gain some quick …. [Continue reading] 
The challenge is as follows: Ride your bike from Tucson to Mt. Lemmon, on as much trail as possible. – Park at the base of the Catalina Highway (or, bonus points – ride there). (2500′) – Stage 1: Ride up Milagrosa to the AZT (4000′) – Stage 2: Follow AZT over the saddle, …. [Continue reading] 
Last month’s Samaniego death ride (see: Five reasons why Tucson sucks…) yielded a promising piece of information: the top of CDO has been worked/logged/groomed. I’ve had that tiny glimpse of blissfully groomed trail in my mind ever since. It haunted me, and there was only one way to exorcise it. Ride it. The …. [Continue reading] 
Another [W]ednesday [N]ight [R]ide, with no one in the parking lot. All the better as the solo night missions are the best way to lose yourself. Tonight’s mission: be the first (??) to attempt a night ride of the Hidden Canyon ‘hiking’ trail. Hadn’t planned it, hadn’t thought about it, but when I …. [Continue reading] 
I love getting up early for rides. I’m not really sure why, but when you get up well before normal, you know you’re doing something wholly abnormal. I left Tucson at 3:45a, arriving at Yuri’s place with just enough time to assemble the bike and suit up. 5 miles dark pavement led to …. [Continue reading] 
Families sit to dinner as I sneak through neighborhoods, gliding up hills and effortlessly down washes. I write a lot about stripping away. In the dark, alone, there’s everywhere to hide, and nowhere to hide. You are your thoughts. Glowing eyes sneak even quieter around me, seen and unseen. Usually coyote, but …. [Continue reading] Too much computer time last week, so Monday we dropped everything and rolled down to the Santa Ritas to check out the route for the upcoming Kentucky Camp Epic Race on Dec 8th. The race needed a new start/finish and camping area (the place noted on the current GPX does not really work), and I …. [Continue reading] 
Back to the typical kind of challenge addressed in this diary – this AM, my brain was awash with ideas for what shall henceforth be known as the “Antelope Peak Challenge.” In broad strokes: Ride from Oracle to Antelope Peak on the AZT, then head back on Willow Springs (dirt) Road, doing a …. [Continue reading] 
I successfully converted, merged and profiled the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail this week. It’s quite the data set at some 320,000 GPS points. I killed TopoFusion and my computer several times in the process of hastily writing code to wrestle with it. The challenge? The GPS data, once cleaned up, came to some 2,109 …. [Continue reading] 
This weekend was the 1st Prescott Monster Cross, put on by the illustrious ionmuse. I’ve long been looking for an excuse to explore Prescott, and it was long overdue, if the above picture is any indication. This was what I call a “choose your own adventure” race. You get minutes subtracted from your …. [Continue reading] 
Louis is a veteran of Catalina riding. He’s been a part of more than a few brave, but dubious plans. I remember tales of the day he and Hank dove off the side of Samaniego Ridge, near the peak, and rode most of the way back to the 50 Year Trail. Louis is …. [Continue reading] 
I knew what I was getting into. Kinda. Butterfly and Crystal Springs Trails were brutal before the fires. It was unlikely the fires had improved things, and the Forest Service didn’t have enough money to keep up with trail maintenance before the fires. But I had to find out just how bad things …. [Continue reading] 
Bug Springs Trail has long been surrounded by myth and mystery. Of those that actually know what it is, few can give you a straight story. It may or may not exist, and some shuttler may or may not have punched through in days of old. That’s changing now, as the FS ramps …. [Continue reading] 
I leave Tucson for a few months and several new trails have appeared, where only rocks, cacti and snakes dare trod before. It’s a tough life, having to go out and explore brand new trails. The first was the ‘resort loop’ AKA Hidden Canyon trail in the Tucson Mountains. I believe my email …. [Continue reading] 
Milagrosa is probably the worst trail to climb when it’s hot. In most people’s minds it’s the worst trail to climb period, actually (“downhill only”). The high was projected at 97 in Tucson, and there was no chance I could get out before ~11am. The climbing is so slow, so steep, so technical, that …. [Continue reading] Home. Well worth the effort, but the price was high. I’m always surprised how much effort moving actually is. Even if you’ve only been in a place for six months, and all you took with you was a sedan-sized carload. So many things to take care of, especially after being further removed from second-home for …. [Continue reading] 
I’ve been in Oregon for some time. The weather is gorgeous, and the forests are thick. 95% of my riding has been variations of the same ride, but fortunately it’s a good one. A not-so-subtle reminder of how getting out and throwing a leg over a bike (any bike) serves as a release …. [Continue reading] 
Mike and I finally completed a trip, as planned. The door to monsoonal moisture was shut precisely as we were heading out. So after several trips of getting our bottoms burned out on the trail, we got better conditions than anyone could hope for in the CO alpine. Leadvile, Hagerman, Aspen, 401, CB, Doctor Park, …. [Continue reading] 
Finally put away the book of excuses and rolled out my door for one of the most famous trails anywhere: the Barr trail from Manitou Springs to Pikes Peak. Start: 6,400 ft End: 14,100 ft The night before I had connected Williams Canyon to Waldo to Cascade, a three hour ride that ended with hike-a-bike …. [Continue reading] 
Volume 1 (Colorado Springs to Leadville) can be found here: http://www.topofusion.com/diary/2007/07/30/ctcar-tour-volume-1/. ~—~ Mike, Lee and I left PB (Leadville) early. Pavement is good for one thing: warming up. Good thing, because the Elbert Trail starts out steep and serious. In my mind there was a 100% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I figured we …. [Continue reading] |
 Scott Digital Nomad, nowhere, USA Lifelong mountain biker, trail mapper and programmer. Sometimes bikepacker, sometimes runner, sometimes packrafter. I love to ride my bike, get out, and explore this beautiful planet we find ourselves on. I live in a 20 foot GeoPro Trailer, traveling about the west. Main author of TopoFusion GPS Software, co-founder of Trackleaders.com. More... Projects / Sites  
Favorite PostsPaint by BikeYour life is amazing, too Wasatch 100 by bike CDT report card Altitude Binge, Mountain Biking 14ers A mountain biker's dilemma Mountain Bike Quantum Physics Lemmon Epic Tradition Summer Vacation? Moments End Bachelor Bikepacking An average week in Arizona Techy Tacos Prime Watcher of the Skies
|
||||
|
Copyright © 2024 Diary of Scott Morris - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & Atahualpa |
|||||
