Today we went to McDowell Mountain Regional Park with Mark's brother, Paul. We hit the Sport, Technical, Long, and Sport (again) trails (map PDF). It was really nice desert cruising. The weather looked threatening all day, but we only got significant rain once, and it didn't last long. At the end of the Sport trail I took a nice jump that I believe is the biggest air I've ever caught (it wasn't huge, but gave me a rush). This was the kind of riding you just don't want to end.
The weather was still holding so we drove a few more miles and Mark and I blitzed the Scenic trail. It was a good 3 mile ride, but I didn't stop to snap any photos - sorry.
Arizona Day 2 - McDowell
Arizona Day 1 - South Mountain
I'm going to keep this short because I'm using Mark's (UTRider) laptop and he needs to do his blog entry too.
I flew into Phoenix today, Mark picked me up and we headed straight to South Mountain to try our hand at the National trail on South Mountain. I knew from the web that it was burly, and indeed it was. I walked a bunch but rode some techie stuff that pleased me. Hard to ask for better weather, low 70s and overcast. I'll write more later, or just let the photos do the talking - beginning with the obligatory tourist cactus shot:
After a quick run to In-n-Out for fuel, we hit the Deseret Classic trail - a nice rolling single-track along the east side of South Mountain:
Raising a Pro Cyclist
It's tough to break into professional cycling. You have to be super human and almost a genetic freak. But as in other sports like gymnastics, you can compensate by starting early. So if you dream of seeing your son (or daughter) making it big as a cyclist, you better start them young. In fact, if your child is 5, you're too late.
To help you achieve your dream, uh I mean to help your child achieve his/her dream, the forward-thinking folks at Fisher-Price have just the thing for you: Smart Cycle.
The handlebars turn so your future cycling phenom can practice weaving through the peloton, carving tight turns down insane mountain descents and swerving around fallen cyclists in the brutal crashes.
The pedal resistance is variable, under control of the software cartridge installed, from 5 to 1,500 watts so your prodigy won't outgrow this training tool.
The initial crop of software cartridges are the usual kids fair: dinosaurs, Sponge Bob, and of course Barbie for the girls. I'm not sure what they were thinking with the Hot Wheels cartridge - don't they know that cars and bikes are mortal enemies? No matter, these are all like gateway drugs for the heroin coming next year. Chris Carmichael is in production of Train Right for Kids and a Toddlers Spinervals release is slated for early 2008. By the end of next year your child could have thighs that would make a speed skater envious, a VO2 Max to match Lance, and a resting heart rate of 15.
So get cracking parents, it's never too soon to introduce your child to the joys of training for hours each day, 365 days a year to be a pro cyclist. Don't forget to buy the optional Combination Locked Toe Clips and the Electroshock Motivator add-ons so junior will complete the workout even without supervision. Of course as a loving parent you'll want to be involved - nothing builds a bond like a father or mother screaming encouragements like:
- "Get that cadence up! Do you think Lance won 7 Tours with effort like that?"
- "You want to go play with your friends? Play is for the weak, pain is for the strong!"
- "Winners don't cry! Now put the hammer down and finish this last set!"
- "You may hate me now, but when you're rich and famous you can buy plenty of psychotherapy to help you understand why I did this for you."
Christmas Gifts for Cyclists
Cyclists are generally passionate about cycling, so giving them a cycling-related gift is a sure bet. Here are a few gift ideas:
OK, these Hello Kitty tires are more likely a gag gift, but if you happen to know someone who is both a cyclist and a Hello Kitty fan, these tires will surely fill them with Christmas glee.
Although useless (unless you consider paper weight an essential function), this 3D Cyclist "crystal" is just too cool. I'd stare at it for a good hour and show it with pride to all family, friends and Holiday well-wishers. After Christmas I'd put it on a shelf in my office and never notice it again until a visitor points it out, at which time it will be paraded as a rare work of art that was purchased for me at great cost by an adoring person who understands my magnificence. So, ya, this is a great gift!
This is manliness. Barbecuing with this Park BBQ Tool Set advertises that you are not just a cyclist, but a cyclist who works on his own bikes and likes to play with fire AND eat chunks of meat. Now let me hear your Tim 'The Tool Man' grunt!
This is the gift that keeps on taking ... your self-confidence. Each look at this endo sculpture will remind you of the perils of mountain biking, which you've probably experienced first-(broken)-hand. And as the saying goes - once bitten, twice shy - remembering all those painful crashes will erode your confidence until you find yourself at the first ride of 2008 as timid as a kid who just had his training wheels removed. So give this gift to your rival who always seems to outdo you on every ride - s/he won't be so gung-ho next year with a shattered ego.
Like displaying a rainbow flag, this Sprocket Doorbell tells everyone coming to your home, "I'm proud to be completely obsessed with bicycles!" Studies show visitors to your home will drop by 34%.
Ride Redo for the Birthday Girl
It's Jolene's birthday and she wanted to mountain bike and go out for dinner. Being the good, selfless husband that I am, I complied with her wishes.
Around 10 am she decided not to ride because it was too cold, but around 2 pm she decided to go for it so I left work and we were on the bikes around 3 pm. From our house we pedaled the few blocks to the Orem Cemetery then took the service road up into the mouth of Provo Canyon. We saw a group of 3 other mountain bikers coming up from the old race track trails. We met them at the trail fork, said hi and kept rolling. This section of trail is fairly new and it's much nicer than the old way up which featured a steep, loose section that is near impossible to ride up.
Soon enough we came to our fork. This is the section of new trail I did last ride. Jolene had a little crash on the first climb - it's narrow, steep and rooty. At the Tee we went left just to see where it was headed. Within a few yards we came to an intersection of several trails. I'll have to explore these some other day.
We turned around and went back and took the trail I rode on Saturday. We saw some deer and passed through the two nice clearings.
The little climb beyond the second meadow was good. Once on the ridge I went up a bit further to look around. I found another trail that looked promising. This place is loaded with trails!
We took the same new-looking trail down and Jolene liked it too. We picked our way down the newly graded service road, then took the canal trail back home.
After the ride we got cleaned up and went to Happy Sumo for dinner. We usually just get sushi, but I tried an entree this time - trout with shrimp and scallops - plus sushi. We got four rolls: Playboy, Cosmopolitan, Utah and Samaria. Good stuff!
I got her a rose and card, and we ordered a Twin Six jersey for her. A very nice afternoon and evening with my lovely and loving wife. I'm very grateful she likes to mountain bike - it's made for a lot of good memories and enjoyment we continue to share.
Humble Pie
On Thanksgiving I had pumpkin, apple and strawberry-rhubarb pie. Today I had humble pie.
Yesterday I thought about trying cyclocross by racing at Wheeler Farm. I doubt I'd really dig cyclocross, but I'm interested enough to want to try it, and who knows, maybe I'll like it. But I had other ride ideas spark my interest so I bagged it. Then I read Sly's report about all the goathead thorns at Wheeler, and since I don't run sealant in my tubes, it's very likely I would have flatted and that's really not fun in a race. (Thanks for the 411 Fox!)
I thought about doing the full Alpine Loop on my road bike, but with temperatures in the valley in the low 40s, I think the cold would have made it less fun - especially on the long descent down American Fork Canyon.
So I decided to take the mountain bike and go play in my backyard (Provo Canyon and the Orem foothills). The thought occurred to me that I've never tried to go up Frank. Frank is a trail that goes up from Canyon Glen Park, past Johnson Hole and up a minor ridge until it joins the dirt service road 500' above the park. I've come down it many times and it's a fun downhill romp.
I never know what to expect from trails that I've come down and then try to go up. Sometimes they are surprisingly good to climb, and other times they are more difficult - rarely do I peg them accurately. Another factor was the hint that Kenny goes up Frank as a training ride - not that I'm in the same class as Kenny, but it meant that it can be biked. Well Frank was more difficult than I expected. It's loose, but I was doing OK maintaining enough traction to keep going forward. I just didn't have the gas to make that first climb up to Johnson's Hole. Not even close. I didn't make the switchback and pushed the bike up the 3 steepest spots. Well, I gave it a good try, but I came up short. And even though I didn't let my expectations get too lofty, I thought I'd do better and I was humbled to discover: 1) I'm not as strong as I thought I was, 2) even though I've conquered other climbs, Frank gives me a new goal to reach for, and 3) I'm loosing fitness and need to get stronger. The ego took a hit today, but hopefully this wake up call will motivate me to train this winter.
From Johnson's Hole it's not as steep and it rolls more, but it's still a good climb. I did better, but still walked 2 times. Another serving of that humble pie. But I cleaned a few tricky and steep slopes and that made me feel like I wasn't a total hack. On the service road I put it in the middle ring and cruised along pondering the decision I needed to make.
What I had completed was lower Frank, and the start of upper Frank was coming up quick. Although lower Frank had worked me over pretty good, I had recovered quite a bit and decided that if I was going to up Frank, I might as well go for the whole thing. I started up and was feeling OK, but I was working too hard and when a steep slope came I couldn't do it. I climbed most of it OK, but had to push the bike 4 times. The last 2/3 of this upper Frank were just steep enough to keep me at that uncomfortable level of exertion - it seemed to never end. I finally made it to the 4-way intersection. There's usually a big pile of rocks here (often called the Altar), but it's been knocked down. Decision time again.
I thought about going straight through. It's a nice trail with some climbing, but nothing brutal, good views of the valley and a fun descent into Dry Canyon. But daylight was wanning (it was already 4 pm) and I wanted to hit some trails off the downhill trail I hadn't visited in a while. The gully crossing was better than usual - looks like someone cleared away most of the loose rock. The trench is still the same and I took the trail to the right to avoid the nasty washed out section below. I noticed a thinner trail staying high where the main trail drops steeply, but I passed it by - next time, I thought. Not far from the bottom of the slope I saw a trail heading right and I just had to see if it was the thin trail I saw above. It was and it ascends much more evenly and will be the route I take from now on. I went back down again and came to another fork.
I'd seen this fork many times and just never taken it. Today I was in the mood. It came to the foot of a hill and cut across it into a small gully where it came to a Tee. I turned right and climbed back above where I had been. Four deer watched me approach from a small clearing until they got spooked and trotted off. The trail meandered along this bench of sorts until it came to a nice little clearing complete with fire ring. The trail climbed a bit steeply to gain the ridge and a view of the valley below. It was a great trail and I couldn't believe I hadn't tried it sooner. But there was more.
As I pedaled toward a minor ridge to the west, I crossed a trail that caught my eye. After taking in the view from the minor ridge, I backtracked and turned down the trail I crossed. It was a bit rough and thin and in some places it was no more than cut grass, but in a dirt spot I saw knobby tracks so that gave me some assurance it wouldn't get too hairy. Eventually it joined with an established trail I recognized. I caught some air off two little humps and soon enough I was on the service road above the water tanks (above the Orem Cemetery). The road had been recently graded and it was very loose so I took it easy on the way down.
Near the bottom I passed two young guys on mini-motorcycles - I shook my head at them, but they ignored my meaning. It bugs me that motor-powered folks still poach this area - it's been closed for years and many of the dug-up spots are starting to recover. If they'd stick to the roads and more sturdy trails, I wouldn't care, but they seem unable to resist the urge to wander all over the hills, spinning their tires and tearing up the ground. This is my backyard and I hope that before I die the ugly spiderweb of two-tracks all over the foothills will be erased and reclaimed. I called the cops on them when I got home.
All in all I enjoyed being out on the bike - after Thanksgiving, no less! It was cold, but sunny. I got humbled and a good work-out trying to go up Frank. I explored some new trails, which is something that always turns my cranks - I'm excited to get up there again and explore a few more forks that intrigued me. Being the season of Thanks, I'm grateful for this network of good single-track only 10 minutes from my house - one of my luxuries, for sure!
Blogger Slideshow
Blogger has a new Slideshow page element I added to my blog (top of the side menu). It's pointing to my Moab photo album now, but I'll change that to a new album of favorite cycling photos eventually. I've been meaning to put together a "best of" set of photos for a while, so this new slideshow will motivate me to actually get around to doing it.
Update: The slideshow is now of my favorite mountain biking photos. It took a while to put together. First I had to organize all my photos (create a better directory structure, rename files, then move them into the proper directory) then sort through 1,200 photos to pick out my 83 favorites. It took several hours, but it was worth doing. Looking through all these images brought back a lot of good memories and reminded me how thankful I am for all the joy mountain biking has brought me.
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