Montana Marron

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It’s strange how enjoyable something can be when you have been deprived of it. The absence, the longing and the suffering add new meaning to a perhaps commonplace activity or opportunity.

So it was today, out on the trail in Tucson Mountain Park. Though I did The Squealer a week ago, today felt like my first real ride.

I succeeded in convincing myself of my own weakness. If I ever need confirmation of how terribly I can ride, I start east and head west through Tucson Mountain Park. Things started on the Golden Gate trail, then we pushed the battlefront westward, to Montana Marron (minus accents). Forget national, this trail dominates the dojo. If only it were 14 miles, not 3. At Brown Mt. my suck-mastery was at last confirmed: 14 dabs, 12 uphill and 2 downhill. What, am I a downhiller now? Two months ago I managed 5 dabs total. Of course I have a barrel of excuses, which I am presently learning from and adapting to.

Golden Gate has a couple of very nice, very sweet (easy) sections on it. While riding today I noticed how much I enjoy these sections. They offer weaksauce skinny kids like me a chance to rest downhill muscles. But I seem to enjoy them more because they were purchased with sweat equity than because of anything else.

There are sections of the upper Mt. Lemmon trails which are so sweet that if they were at all accessible they would, at this very moment, be ridden to death. We’re talking soft pine needles, ultra-buffed singletrack and not a technical challenge in sight.

But if I could step out my door and ride those sections they would be nearly meaningless. I’d still ride them (I like to ride nearly anywhere, after all), but without all of the suffering necessary to reach them, the meaning would be so small that by comparison, it’s negligible.

By suffering I do not necessarily mean climbing, or expending energy. Suffering is very much a personal thing, and to attach meaning to it is even more personal. There is the expression “you have to earn your downhill”, for which the reverse applies to me. I have to earn my uphill.

Some comments from someone who attended one of the 50 year trail work parties.

The section this guy worked on could not have been made difficult (by any stretch of the word) no matter how it was designed or actually built. The fact that he didn’t realize this is somewhat amazing. Also, the club had nothing to do with the layout of the trail, it was done by someone else, the volunteers were simply scratching it out so that it could be “maintained” by a professional (ie paid) crew.

But, in general, I agree with the points about difficult trails. The fact is that they are harder to build and less used. Until we get good riders getting involved, the leaders (who may not be as good technically) will build trails that they want to ride. We need more people (like this guy) who are willing to get involved and willing to see good trails built.