A big weekend

It’s not often that someone proposes a ride plan that makes me pause and wonder if it isn’t just a bit too much. I think I am guilty of inflicting that on others plenty, but rarely do I have the pleasure of someone else springing a crazy plan on me. Who knew it would be from someone who specializes in 1.5 hour races?

I must have misunderstood the plan, but I was thinking only about a single big ride on the weekend — my own concoction of a big loop around the Santa Rita Mountains. Only after I had finished drilling 60 miles of singletrack and dirt roads in the Tucson Mtns did I get the text from Krista, “TMP Big Loop tomorrow, then Scott Special loop Sunday right?” Wait, what?

Well, the weather was so incredible that I couldn’t see any reason not to spend as much time as possible outside, sore back willing.

We started the TMP big loop in record time, near dawn. Where by ‘near dawn’ I mean nearer to dawn than to sunset, which is how we usually start this loop. It’s a big one at over 60 miles and a fair chunk of technical trail + connecting roads.

Adam Kroger came along for the ride, wanting to scope the whole loop since a lot of it is new to him.

Krista has ridden the whole loop several times now, and with some shorter versions and aborted attempts, she’s really got it dialed in. It showed on “Cool Cat” and Golden Gate — we were moving along nicely and making quick work of the chunky stuff.

I took a short pit stop and then spent the whole west desert singletrack section trying to bridge back. They were flying! But it was good — those trails are better the faster you go.

Hike-a-bike up Brown Mtn for the time bonus? Sure! A good break and a beautiful, if somewhat spiky trail.

Steep, too. I remember how nutty Krista thought going up this trail was, now it’s no big deal.

And besides, you get to ride Brown’s ridgeline once you are up there, a reward better than any time bonus or ‘name on a web page only you check.’ Especially a web page that is currently down, and is now one that no one checks. (We are going to bring it back.)

I think Adam and Krista got tired of me commenting how nice it was outside, but then I had been in Salt Lake just a couple days before. No matter where you have been, it was an amazing day to be out riding.

We flashed through the roads, then onto the gasline and neighborhood roads en route to Sweetwater.

Adam’s happy to be back on singletrack. I’m looking for a fast loop of this course from him. It’s about time someone put the screws to it and knocked the undeserving guy off the top spot.

We finished up the loop out by Starr Pass. As we made our way there it almost felt wrong. “The sun is too high in the sky. We must have missed something. Shouldn’t it be dark or nearly dark by now?”

But no, we finished the whole loop, plus the short out/back to the loop. And there was even a little time to get groceries, recover and prepare for the next challenge.

I haven’t ever started a ride with Krista before 9am, so this was truly unique. Looking at an 80 mile circumnavigation of the Santa Rita mountains, we knew we would need all the daylight we could get.

Luckily the warm temperatures continued (high was 80 in Tucson!), so the morning wasn’t even cold. Last year’s big ride for Krista was around Mt. Lemmon, and the distance/remoteness made her nervous (remember she races 1.5 hours on taped courses), which was especially evident while packing. This ride was a step more difficult and more committing, but she seemed a lot more confident. At least it’s not another never-ending base pace road ride!

We pedaled slowly towards Madera Canyon and the Elephant Head trail, waking body and mind up.

Elephant Head is a great trail, but one you need to be loose and awake for. It was a little awkward so early in the morning and so early in the ride.

Dramatic views, though. I am (somewhat) sad that this is no longer the AZT-bike (race) route. I love the area, but the trails are pretty brutal, and slow. After the Devil’s Cashbox it was decision time: continue getting punished on rocky Bull Springs Road, or use our legs on smooth surfaces, climbing Mt. Hopkins.

We opted for the big climb. Up to 7,000′ we went, seeing snow a little bit earlier than I wanted to. The climb was super pleasant, giving our backs a rest and some idle time to chat away while we gained elevation.

The caveat for the “big climb” option is that there’s only one way off Hopkins, and that is Tia Juana Ridge. It started in the snow.

I believe the caption is, “ewwwww.. .. yucky!” What is this white stuff? It’s so easy to forget about winter in Tucson.

photo by Krista Park

I think I’ll stop riding, right, about… HERE! Downhill hike-a-bike isn’t anyone’s favorite way to lose elevation, but at least the elevation was easily gained. Easy come, not so easy go.

It’s one of the stupidest roads (*) I know of, worth traversing just for the sheer craziness of it. And also the connection it provides…

(*) Krista questions my definition of “road” after experiencing Tia Juana.

Krista piloting her 26″ wheeled hard tail through baby heads most would balk at on a 29er full suspension. I almost did.

Tia Juana is something else. Just when you think you’ve got a good line and some good momentum going, there’s a tree branch in your face, or a baby head comes out of nowhere and bucks you off line. Somehow a couple of motorcycle riders had traversed it just in front of us (they passed us on the Hopkins climb), leaving a nicely churned up half inch of dirt in the middle of some of the ruts — bonus traction! I’m not so sure how they got their bikes through some parts of it.

There aren’t too many riders that would enjoy, or even keep a good composure, while making their way through something like this road, or indeed even the whole first 25 miles of this route. I was a little worried that Krista might wonder what was wrong with me for suggesting all this. But I think she’s got adventure in her blood, or maybe was just so sick of road base miles that anything seems better — even sliding down Tia Juana ridge.

We emerged from Tia Juana unscathed, then rolled on to slightly more civilized surfaces, along the Salero Ranch Road, inbound for Patagonia. The first 25 miles of the loop had taken 4.5 hours to traverse. But I didn’t point that stat out at the time. I knew better surfaces would mean good time, but I still doubted our chances of finishing before dark.

As we coasted down the last couple miles to Patagonia, the two motorcycle riders we had seen before came cruising up the road. They recognized us and pointed, slowing down. We did the same… pointing incredulously. “I can’t believe you guys rode down that thing.” “Us? We can’t believe you guys did it.” “You’re crazy.”

Pit stop in Patagonia. No luck at the store, which was closed for new years. The girls at the park yelled “happy new year!!” to us each time we passed, finally settling on simply watering up at the colorful bathroom in the park. All was quiet — even quieter than normal, and it was almost a shame to leave.

I had it in my head that it was time to make some miles, still sitting with half the loop in front of us. I also had in my mind ‘base pace’, so I took off at a nice steady tempo out on Highway 82. I remembered how broken I was at this point in the loop when I did it solo back in 2010. Pacing, pacing.

It was a bit too fast for this loop, but we kept it above 15 mph despite the wind, then got the junk calories we wanted from the store in Sonoita. First thing the lady behind the counter said to me was, “boy, you’re behind the pack.” My brain short circuited for a second… I’m in a convenience store and other riders have been through… am I bikepack racing?

OK, it was just a group of roadies out from Tucson. I assured her we were riding trails, not roads, and while that may have been true earlier in the day, we left town to rip through still more roads. The wind was at our backs on those roads, so speeds in the twenties were no big deal. I did a double take at my GPS… Gardner Canyon already? Can’t be.

I gave us the option to skip some climbing and stay on the pavement a bit longer, but we opted to get off the highway. Another good choice. Coming back on the Kentucky Camp AES course the wind was still at our backs, so even the climbing was inconsequential. It was so warm, and the lowering light made for the perfect evening. I started realizing that we might finish this thing with daylight to spare.

We whisked down Box Canyon, and I tried to prepare myself for washboard torture. This section had destroyed me the last time I did this loop.

Pacing, fueling (Carborocket!) and (most important of all) a hefty TAIL WIND made the last miles not torture, but pure bliss.

The sun was still above the horizon as we floated over the washboard and breezed up the climbs. There’s nothing like knocking out a difficult ride, on tired legs, and having it go better than expected, be easier than expected. Success.

I had to tell Krista to try riding back up the road we just came down to see just how much of a tail wind we had been reaping. She didn’t believe me. It only took a few seconds of pedaling into it before she turned around and said, “yep.”

We made it back to the Corsica in just under 80 miles and just over 9 hours. That makes for 200 miles on the MTB in 3 days. I think that should suffice for ringing in the new year. Great weekend, thanks for the idea of putting two big rides together Krista, it was a good one. “You guys are crazy.”