We were overdue for a ride in the desert. Colorado’s not ‘bad’ in October, but the desert sure is nice.
The sun held a strength I hadn’t felt for weeks. Calm air, even on the mesa tops. I couldn’t stop smiling, and repeating variations of “I’ve missed the desert”, “it feels so good to be in the desert!”
New trail (Suicidal Tendencies), riding with Ez, a super trail guide (Lynda), strength in my legs. Family to hang out with, comfy accommodations. Rock laden trails out the door. For a week. It was almost too good to be true.
It was. I came down quickly with the family cold, and had to sit out a couple rides.
Luckily Ez did not, and her enthusiasm for practicing rocks only intensified as the week went on. We set her up on my Behemoth and she got to it!
A second run (for her) on Zen trail.
My Dad and I tagged along, both dribbling from the cold. It was great to still get to ride with him, and this time with good weather — it’s usually colder whenever I visit St. George.
She rode well, impressed me.
I get rock envy every time I visit. Tucson’s full of rock, but it’s not clean rock, not smooth.
Killing it on the downhill, even with a big bike not quite set up for her. Go Ez!
I spiraled into the peak of cold symptoms, and we attempted a dismal ride in ridiculous wind. It didn’t do my nose or my psyche much good. But it was kind of fun to try to set up for the hard lines and be blown so hard off line that you couldn’t even try to ride them.
Luckily we got a redo the next day, with a semi-functional Scott and no wind.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, go Ez! You’re more than ready for a winter amongst the rocks of the desert.
Practice makes perfect. She did dozens of circuits on this ledge, burning in the muscle memory of the ‘up’ move. It was a good call to ride and spent the extra time sessioning. Leaving town any earlier just would have resulted in more time sitting on I-10 after a dust storm caused a big accident.
It was a great week hanging out with family and watching the rock stoke rising, mostly from afar. It was time to seek out the big desert warmth:
Tucson!
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