Good Riding

Last night I did Suburbo assault with a large SDMB crew. When Mark Flint posts a ride, people show up. The word leader comes to mind.

I was talking to MR Sadow too long, so I rolled too late to meet them at the park, so I laid in an intercept course on the river trail. The intercept was successful and gave me a few minutes to admire the pink sunset.

HID lights were in full force, dwarfing my little LED. Riding suburban assault just doesn’t fit with a full lighting system, for me. I can’t get myself to charge up and bother with the trouble of setting it up. My cateye is ready in seconds and is enough to get through the trail slowly.

I did my best to poach other people’s lights, which worked until I lost them. After I got back far enough I turned my LED off and went by moon/city light.

Mark does the loop a bit differently, making it a bit fresh.

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Today I met Jon near campus for a right well loop at Tucson Mountain Park. I stopped believing his claims of “not riding” soon after the first hill. It’s his style to punch anything resembling a climb, which is a style to be admired. After a few moderately intense hills I asked myself “why not” then let it rip on the final two. Rocks, sliding, chaos, deep breaths of life.

Good stuff, really. We saw one older gentleman hiking, that’s it.

28 miles, 2000 feet

AZT dreaming continues. I’ve received correspondence from a thru-rider who hiked the grand canyon with his bike. I used to think I was a fool of a hike-a-biker. I don’t have anything on this guy.

It’s either that or ride many a mile on highway 89. Sounds like he took the good, albeit insane, option.