Brother Ahlgren

Awake @5am. Went off to pick up recently in-town Ahlgren; he is still sporting his mullet.

We rode up Cargodera Canyon on FS 643, otherwise known as Sutherland trail. I have never seen a road that is more strewn with rocks. What a devil of a climb! Past Baby Jesus the trail starts to get interesting. We rode until we needed to walk. Then we turned around for the kidney pounding descent.

Last spring, Ahlgren and I rode and walked up Sutherland trail to the top, then ventured down CDO. That ride was 3 hours of non stop hiking after two hours of brutal riding/walking. I have yet to top that ride in terms of brutality. I think it took us 9 hours to complete the loop.

The dust this morning was a most unwelcome sight. The air tasted awful and looked worse. Tucson can be a rough place in the summer. For the first time I heard the metallic bugs making their noise. For some reason, they only seem to be present when it’s hot and you’re hurting, out of water, or otherwise in trouble. They were vibrating all the way back down the 50 year trail.

We rode the new southside 50 year trail we built a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised that it actually makes a good climb.

Backtracking… (ugh)

5/17/03 – Had 5 total riders for my Hot Water Hill ride. It was a bit too much hike-a-bike for nearly everyone, but I think people enjoyed it. I love climbing Agua Caliente, and descending Milagrosa. We missed the trail in the wash and ended up working our way over boulders and cliffs. It was the first 100 degree day, so the ride was draining, though we started at 6am. The best news: I didn’t hurt my knee!

5/20/03 – Hiked up Pontotoc Canyon to the top. This is a rough trail, especially when it’s hot. The trail slowly disappears as you get higher up, but things also get beautiful up there. We lost the trail some distance after the “End of Trail” sign, and ended up bush-whacking up to the ridge for a view into Ventana Canyon. I lost my balance at one point and put my hand down right on a Shin-digger. I still have two ends of the Shin-digger in my hand now.