Ez Rocks

AZT Jamboree!

January in Tucson has been nothing short of ridiculous. More days in the 70’s than the 60’s. Every time we check the 7 day forecast it seems to stay the same: superb.

January in Tucson is not only amazing in comparison to the colder northlands at this time of year, it’s amazing in comparison to any time of the year, anywhere else. When else is the weather this consistently beautiful? When you can set out on rides of any length, with minimal water, layers and no threat of weather?

The only problem is reigning yourself in enough that you don’t shatter.

Good problem to have.

We’ve been making the most of it, riding just on the edge of what might shatter us. We’ve been focusing on rocks and fun techy stuff. Because, well, because riding bicycles over and through natural terrain is a challenge like no other. Since every rock and every trail is different, the interest is always there, and you need both skill and stamina.

It’s been my pleasure to watch Eszter picking it up, and becoming immersed in it, over these last couple short months in the desert.

If you follow along at zen on dirt you know she’s been hard on herself and riding ability, at times. The truth is, she’s come a long way in a short time.

After the food tour Jamboree (pizza, empenadas, ice cream and hot dogs, all at different locations on the trail), I joined the girls for a big tour of the Tortolitas. We pushed bikes to join the nearly complete connection to Ridgeline.

From bushwhack to heavily manicured trail!

Heavily beautiful trail, too.

Wild Mustang trail is the connection to the Tortolita’s west side, and it’s a different kind of beautiful trail.

Rarely smooth.

Usually more chunk than not, and lots of it awkward. I wasn’t quite sure how the girls would like it, but they ate it up. Alexis raved about the geologic history she could see in the rock, “Good news guys! This is fantastic granite!” Caroline rode confidently despite two banged up knees from the Jamboree. And Ez breezed through many rock jumbles, on-site-ing from the bike.

Burritos at Nicos wrapped up the day. Ez thought the loop worthwhile, but maybe a little too high on the hike-a-bike to ride ratio to go back any time soon.

new (to me) bike!

I finally got fed up with my Behemoth’s dead fork and the lack of replacement options (non-tapered head tube). Mike made me an offer on a used Lunchbox frame and Pike that was very hard to resist. He pretty much sold me on the Lunchbox back when he let me ride his at the 50 Year Trail. Truth is, I’ve been sold on the Lunchbox since Devin first created them! I knew it was only a matter of time before I upgraded from a Behemoth to a 6″ travel and ‘proper’ trail bike.

sundown, moonup

I’m still getting it dialed in, but there is so much to like. I took it out on the Starr Pass chunky trails and did lots of smiling. Right up until I tore a tire coming down Krein trail. In my haste to ride after the frame/parts swap, I didn’t add any sealant, so ended up limping home.

The next logical place to ride such a bike was on Lemmon. We pedaled up to Bugs on the highway, not tempo but plenty steady.

I may have had a new bike that was allowing me to ride faster than *I* wanted to, but it was Eszter that stole the show.

In only her fourth ride down Milagrosa she was riding nearly everything.

Cleaning the guh-nar like a Tucson local.

Oh yeah.

There is nothing like a sunset run on Milagrosa.

Over saturated light, highly saturated rock and saguaro, intensely saturated buzz in the brain.

It was one for the books. I couldn’t believe the difference between her first ride on Milagrosa and this one. On this one I found myself repeatedly annoyed that she wasn’t further back! I wanted a longer rest to recover between Lunchbox shred sessions! I’d take two breaths and she’d be rolling at me, high speed. Good problem to have.

Sadly, you can’t ride chunk all the time. Our version of an endurance ride with minimal chunk fatigue factor (for Tucson) is the TMP big loop, which I insisted we try backwards. It’s such a good loop, and the usual direction is definitely the better of the two.

But I’ve rarely, if ever, ridden a lot of it the other direction. Lower Brown Mtn, in particular, was flowing nicely ‘backwards’.

The Saguaro NP visitor center may not have the legendary coke machine anymore, but it does sell Mexican dark chocolate that is to die for. Good thing, too, because we were light on trail food and needed the calories. Yes, sometimes you really do *need* chocolate. Oftentimes, if you’re me.

best ridgeline for finishing rides

We finished a ride with daylight to spare! Even tacos at the Ranchito were being eaten with daylight left, giving us a good chance at avoiding the ‘mi ranchito chill’ on the ride back home. Another perfect day.