So it begins

Alright, the trip is underway. Already it has been interesting.

We hiked out and back on the Coronado Peak trail (not open to bikes) so that we could visit the ‘real’ start of the AZT. It was a pleasant walk and perhaps one that should be open to bikes. It is a fantastic place to start a journey; huge views in all directions and at 6000 feet. At the border is the famous silver survey obelisk and two or three pairs of ripped jeans from immigrants. The trail does continue south….

But we hiked north, then jumped on our bikes to coast down the Montezuma Pass Road. It was getting dark (we started at about 4:30pm) so we turned up Sunnyside Canyon to find a place to camp. The wind blew at times, but it was otherwise a nice night in the trees.

Sunnyside is unbelievably confusing. There are dirt roads going every direction and it’s not really clear which is the major one. For some reason I forgot to plan out the route to take us to the Sunnyside singletrack, but we figured “how hard could it be to find?” Tim McCabe told me about 3 times how to get to the trail, but always at the start of a long conversation about a long trail. Well, three failed dirt road attempts later we finally coasted back down to where we knew the AZT met. Though we wanted to ride it, a AZT bike route likely would not include it since we had already ridden to within 0.2 miles of the trail before heading up Sunnyside.

Once on the trail the fun began. Singletrack sweetness. As we approached Parker Canyon Lake I was absolutely in shock as a big truck full of mountain bikes pulled to the AZT trailhead. It’s tuesday and a group of 6 guys were planning on riding Parker->Patagonia. We didn’t expect to see any cyclists (or hikers?!) until near Tucson.

We chatted a bit, but I don’t think they understood what we were doing. I wasn’t sure if they knew what they were getting into on this trail either. When I saw them take out a hammer to try and “unfreeze” a rear shock, I got a little worried. I asked them “have you ever ridden this trail?” “No, how is it?”

We rolled off to begin this imfamous stretch. I’ve heard horror stories from at least three people about how hard this trail is. I had never ridden it, so I was expecting the worst. But the worst never came. All I found instead was nice singletrack, nice trees and plenty of challenge, but very little hike-a-bike. We made quick progress.

At a 6000 foot saddle I spotted the leader of the group catching up to us. We waited for him then started chatting away. It turns out the group was a very interesting mix of guys from all over the state. How they came to know each other is unknown, but they were fun to talk to and ride with. And, they were doing just fine… so far.

There was another big climb that featured some brilliantly technical stuff. I was pushing my limits a little much, but I couldn’t really resist the challenges, and it was pretty cool to be riding it all with a loaded bike. Besides, this was suppose to be first riding day, and we had planned it to be short.

We rode to the pass with one of the group (Kip), then began waiting for everyone else to show up. They straggled in and it became clear that nearly everyone was going to bail on the second half of the ride.

Lee and I had our own decision to make. We had been invited to the Little Outfit Ranch which is just below Canelo Pass. But it was so early in the day that I felt like we could ride more of the AZT then loop back to the ranch. Eventually I convinced Lee of the idea, so we went to climb the next pass, then (hopefully) blast down to the San Rafael Valley.

It didn’t turn out as planned. The road was a little slow and going in the wrong direction (west). We bailed on that road to head south (better) for a few miles until we ran into the worst sign an exploring cyclist can run into: No tresspassing. We rolled on. Keep out. We rolled on. We saw that the road took us practically through the front porch of the ranch house, so we bailed and turned around. So much for my crafty plan to get a few more miles in the day.

Lee came to the rescue, though. He took us cross country, riding through tall grass fields and beautiful meadows. The best part is that we were riding, not walking. Eventually we were onto Little Outfit property (or so we thought) and an old 2 track materialized that took us almost directly to the ranch. We noted the Tank (yes, they have multiple Tanks) tracks on the roads as we approached.

Now we are taking it easy for the rest of the evening at the Little Outfit, thanks to the hospitality of Lisa Sharp. The place is very cush–definitely the best we’ll have all trip. In fact, I just finished swimming in the indoor, heated swimming pool. How many AZT thru-hikers/riders get to swim in an indoor pool–at Canelo Pass?

Ok, we’re spoiled, but we’re loving it. It’s only going to get harder from here. Tomorrow we’ll head out early to make Patagonia, then it’s into the Santa Rita mountains where we will likely camp.