Necessary Upgrades

Mountain biking, much like many other things in life, is a journey. On any journey one must brave and overcome new and increasingly challenging obstacles. On this most recent ride, I too braved and overcame a new obstacle. I shall elaborate shortly because first I would like to comment upon a few changes I made.

To start off, I went tubeless. The forums and magazines are littered with praises for this seemingly innocuous upgrade, but I, devil's advocate that I am, will say that this process might be a touch overrated. The weight savings were minimal at best, I am not too heavy so my tire pressure was always comfortably low, and the trails I run do not have jumps and drops where a pinch flat could be an issue. However, due to the habit of Phoenician wildlife being extremely pointy, I see no reason to avoid tubeless simply because of the added puncture resistance. The first time I have to wrangle a Cholla ball from my tire I will undoubtedly be grateful.

I had mentioned previously that I had been having difficulty maneuvering my bike. Naturally I started researching into smaller 29" frames and into the relatively recent trade of 650b (27.5") bikes. They all looked and sounded perfectly appropriate for me. Fellow cyclists commented to me that 29" bikes have never been entirely appropriate for shorter riders and that a 650b frame should help me greatly. I pondered this for a while, after all it made a good amount of sense. But then I remembered the old saying "It's the poor craftsman who blames his tools". As a cyclist, my bike is my tool, and I feel confident in my own abilities to treat this as a no more of a challenge than a rock garden.

To address this issue I really put some thought into why exactly I was having such issue. Aside from the tight hairpin curves (which 29ers in general are not equipped for), it seemed the problem was stemming from my bars being so long that even on mild turns my outside arm was just so far out that I couldn't complete the turn and would end up off the trail. Well, that is certainly an easy and cheap fix. One introduction to pipe cutters later and I trimmed an inch off of each end. A quick test run around my buddy's yard appeared promising.

Now onto the great challenge I employed upon myself: clipless. This was not an easy decision to make. I had shown myself more than capable of falling while not attached to the bike. How was I ever going to manage with my feet clipped into the pedals? Unlike tubeless, I definitely see the benefits of going clipless and I understood that even though it posed as a threat to my overall well-being, I knew that this was a step I needed to take. Fortunately, I have some Chrome shoes that would work well on the trail and I already had a pair of mountain bike pedals. If it didn't work out, I would not have invested anything other than perhaps some blood.

Of course there was still a matter of actually testing out my new upgrades. This test came in the form of Usery Mountain Park. I had already made a venture out here before summer started and it seemed like a decent place and would suit my needs well. I had actually been looking forward to this ride for some time because I had purchased a new mount for my Go Pro and was anxious to try out the new angle.

The map below shows where we rode. We actually rode on Blevins (blue trail) twice. We could have jumped right on Moon Rock but my friend said it is more fun riding North to South. So we rode up to Moon Rock and then jumped on Blevins again and took it all the way over to the County Line trail. Fun fact, it's called that because the rode that runs by it is the dividing line between Maricopa and Pinal counties. It is also very loose and rocky. I didn't care for it much.

All total it was probably a good 8 or 10 miles. I felt much more confident and capable this time around. The narrower bars helped me maneuver and stay on the trail and being clipped in encouraged me to take better lines and areas that I normally would have hesitated at namely because it is much harder to get going again uphill if you have unclipped. I really felt like I knew what I was doing and can certainly say that these upgrades are here to stay.

So, what about that amazing footage of the trails I made? Turns out I was still in the menu when I pressed record so there isn't a lick of video. I was quite discouraged but I figure the weather will only get cooler and the trails aren't going anywhere so there will be ample opportunity to make some great videos. In the mean time, here is my friends dog playing frisbee.

At Long Last

I know, I know, it's been a while. Alas, the Phoenician sun looms constantly in the heavens, sparing none from it's perpetual rays of solar chaos. Only the truly foolish of the valley's denizens would dare tempt fate over summer and I am no fool. So for the past few months I have been waiting it out in my meager, air conditioned hovel. The stars aligned this weekend and created a glorious cloud cover and I was able to once again venture out into the dirt.

Naturally, the first place I wanted to try was Papago Park. I have been training for two seasons now and it seems that this area has been extraordinarily elusive, despite its close proximity. My stubborn streak would not allow me to sway so quickly and I gathered my gear for the third attempt. I wasn't expecting this trip to one of epic proportion so I assumed a water bottle would suffice as preparation (I was wrong of course).

I never ceased to be impressed by the beauty presented by this park. Living in the city for so long, sometimes I feel like I have to travel far and wide to see anything other than buildings. I should be more grateful that this place is only about 5 miles north of my home.

Although the previous trips have been somewhat short of "epic" I did remember the first trip we made and we decided to follow the road a ways north to avoid the foot traffic. This brought us to a rest spot pretty close to the center of the park. It was here that I decided to test out my new toy :)

Yes sir! Finally got me a GoPro. It's a neat little camera and I hope to put it to great use in the future. Unfortunately, this video is short for a reason...

Yup. Immediately after I took off I flatted. Now, I should mention that normally I am a very prepared rider. Sometimes overly so. But today I figured that since the ride would be short, and not that far from civilization, I would rather leave the bulk at home. My buddy Chris is usually prepared with all the little trail necessities anyway so why not be light?

Well I certainly ended up eating my words. I walked back to the rest area and waited while Chris rode back to the truck to get his pack (he also thought today was a good day to go light). It was a nice overcast morning and still relatively cool out so it really wasn't all that bad actually. When he returned we examined my tube and discovered that I had pinched it twice! He only had 3 patches and I now had a tube with more holes in it than foreign cheese. He thought he had a spare tube but it turns out that it wasn't a tube at all but rather...

Duct tape! Yes, of all the things he could have mistaken for a tube, it was duct tape. A quick roadside repair later and we were on our way.

At this point I took lead and just followed the same trail I had started on. After a few hundred meters, however, I felt my front getting squishy. I was losing air fast and decided to pick the quickest, smoothest trail I saw and hope it went back to the parking lot. About the time I pulled up to the truck I was nearly riding on the rim. I would guess I was under 10 psi at that point. So now we had a few options: call it a day, or find a shop and get some new tubes.

Now, had we not been in Tempe, a thriving college town, I might have opted for the former. However, I was determined to conquer this dang park. We went down the road to one of the many adjacent shops (college town remember) and purchased a new tube, patches, and CO2. I was determined to not let any more silly mechanicals take me down! We rushed back to the park, changed the tube and took off again.

Finally we could enjoy the park as was meant to be. We spent the better part of an hour riding around, picking trails and just doing some good ol' fashioned exploring. There was a few spots that were on the steep side that I had to avoid. I had chosen to stick with a slightly higher gearing than he, so we had to be slightly selective in where we would go. I will say that I am feeling stronger. I did have to walk once but by that point I was really getting tired. There were many steeper areas that I felt pretty confident powering up that several months ago I would have jumped off and pushed.

As for an overall verdict? I'm still definitely skittish. I wish I could say that the few months off allowed me to find my center and accept gravity and pain as an overall fact of life, surmountable with proper zen. Not so much. There was one spot were I came to a complete stop and calculate my line, and another in the video below that I really only went for because I was recording and I knew the steepness of it wouldn't show up. Pride is good, until it is bad I guess.

Gold Canyon Epic

For the past few weeks, Chris had been planning a surprise trail ride for us. Something that neither of us had done before and that would encompass the better part of a day. Yesterday we went out to Gold Canyon and we rode nearly 10 miles of the trails there. It was quite the glorious adventure...

The day started out early. I arose just before the sun began breaking over the horizon to prepare for the day. 100 oz of water went into my camelbak, along with a spare pair of shorts, snacks, cell phone, and elbow pads. The forecast was predicting 90 degree weather in the valley, so upper 80s wasn't out of the question for the outer lands. I debated wearing my protective chest padding over a tank top or just one or the other. I settled on being safe over sorry and brought both along.

My loyal steed was nearly where she should be. Just  quick seatpost/saddle exchange and some air in the tires was all it took. My pump wasn't reading properly and I had wanted to take it out and do some activites in the parking lot as a test but Chris showed up before I had a chance. At this point all that was left was to pick up some breakfast and a stop at work so he could look for his suddenly AWOL camera.

This was a nearly uncharted area on each of our personal maps. As expected we got slightly turned around while finding the trail head. If it weren't for my gps we probably would've ended up in New Mexico...Not that that's out of the question for the future, it just wasn't in the plan for today. We made our final preparations in the parking lot: some air out of my tires, gatorade transferred to a water bottle, and armor donned. Our adventure was under way.

Tight, steep switchbacks was the name of the game at first. Instead choosing to focus on rogue wildlife and cactus jumps, the description made only a minor mention of the tight conditions of the trail. Technically speaking, there weren't many areas that we wouldn't have been able to traverse on bike had we been able to maintain any sort of semblance of speed. Alas our feet became our salvation as we treked up the mountain.

One aspect of the valley that I love is the vast spectrum of terrain one can come across. Although cactus still littered nearly every area of the trail, there was also a large amount of greenery that created a largly different atmosphere than the dry desert I am used to at Papago and Hawes Pass. It was wonderfully refreshing.

The Gold Mountain Trail marked the northern border of the area, and according to our map, led no where. So the plan was to turn south onto the K Trail. We came to an intersection with a sign that had both the K and Gold Mountain trails marked and they didn't seem to match up with our map. Despite the curious situation we followed the sign to the predicted K Trail. Along the way we met up with another cyclist who was trying to avoid the K Trail. He mentioned passing part of it earlier and that the conditions looked like nothing he was in the mood for that day. Curious, we mentioned that we had thought we were already on K. No time to wonder, however, and we continued on our way.

After about another mile or so we reached another intersection, also labeled K and Gold Mountain and we realized that perhaps the first sign was laid by a prankster and actually led south to the Couger Trail. This intersection provided a wonderful view and a rocky outcrop that provided a setting for some great pictures.

 

 

A mid ride snack later and we were on our way. The K Trail wasn't as bad as the stranger made it seem. In all actuality it might have been a little easier than the Gold Mountain Trail. There was one point where we were able to build up a little flow and really make some progress. After a sharp left turn however, I saw a steep decline and freaked out. Not because of the steepness, but because it was loose sand/gravel and there was a slight bend at the bottom that I was afraid of overshooting. So I braked and tried to take it a little slower. What resulted was my back tire continuing out from under me and gravity taking over. It was a relatively soft and slow crash (nothing as spectactular as what happened my first time) but still a little unnerving. Chris told me to walk back to the top and take it full speed, that the dirt packed down a little better at the bottom.

The area was also littered with several jeep trails. We consulted our map at one point and decided that the next section of the K Trail was more of the sharp switch backs that had taken up the better part of the morning. A jeep trail appeared to bypass that entire area and allow us to pick up at the end of the K Trail and then continue on our pre-planned loop. Now, I'm no expert but I think that taking a jeep trail could be a gamble. On one hand, it is certainly wider with longer turns and shallower inclines/declines. On the other, cars are heavy and tend to tear roads up quite a bit which could result in large rocks/boulders that a jeep (with its higher power and larger tires) wouldn't have a problem with, but could be dangerous for a cyclist. We seemed to luck out on this one though. It was mostly maintained and fast and we covered a few miles in probably a third of the time.

If we do this area again, we probably won't take the jeep trails. There were many that were not on the map and I would rather follow a defined mountain bike trail, albeit more slowly, than some uncertain jeep trails that could very well take us in circles.

The last obsticle that we had to face was finding the Gila Monster Trail, as that formed the southern portion of our loop. We never found it. It appeared to have been renamed the Horse Pass Trail. This was an incredibly fast and smooth trail. The turns were tight but not enough to slow us down like the hairpins of yore. There were some slightly technical rocky areas but we were going fast enough that they were not even an issue. It wasn't long before we saw signs directing us back to the parking lot.

Compared to the other places we've been to, this one had some definite advantages that would inspire me to try it again. The scenery was unlike anything I think I could find in the immediate vacinity, and once we got about a mile out from the trail head, there wasn't hardly another soul. We saw 2 other mountain bikers the whole time. Normally at Hawes Pass and certainly at Papago, there are numerous other riders. I suppose this would result in nicely maintained trails, but at the same time, a narrow trail like this would be better off with fewer people.

As the weather begins to warm up, we plan to start taking our adventures farther up north. So be on the lookout for some Sedona, Flagstaff, and possibly Grand Canyon rides.

Episode V: Return to Hawes Pass

First, surprise!

This was an unexpected and glorious...upgrade my buddy made for me. At least the chainline is fixed ;)

He had been recommending the Gravity for quite some time, and I have to say that even with my limited experience with mountain bikes, this is quite a difference from the Diamondback I had been using. With 29" wheels, disk brakes, and a lower top tube I felt much more capable upon this steed. The only adjustment I might end up making would be slightly narrower bars for increased steering responsiveness.

But enough with the bike review. On Saturday we met up for another take at Hawes Pass. The original (more on that later) plan was to do the other route that he had picked for our first outing. With the increased daylight and earlier start, a longer ride wasn't much of a worry this time around. Everything started easy enough with a few scattered puddles from the previous days rain showers lingering.

The trail at this point was mostly flat and straight as it followed the canal. It wasn't long before we reached a fork and we had to decide where to go. Now, the rain we had just got was quite intense and these trails tend to get very rough after heavy rains. He warned me that if we kept straight on this trail then we would reach a hill that would be unrideable under the washed out conditions. I preferred to avoid that so we turned and headed toward the trails we had ridden the first time.

Along the way we came across a nice and scenic enclave and stopped to do some scouting-






Over there looked reasonable



Shoe tying-

Safety first...and rocks kept falling in

And obligatory inspirational bike posing-

 

 

After the photo shoot we continued on what was, at that point, familiar territory. It started to get more technical and I was growing overly cautious of pedal strikes on the narrow route. We passed a few trail markers and I chose to try to avoid the red rocks of death that had struck me down before and to do so would mean venturing out into an area he hadn't ridden yet. Alas, we soon remembered that we had to find our way back out of this treacherous wilderness.

That's an exaggeration, this area is really hard to get lost in. Probably the biggest benefit of living in the valley is that it's a valley. Find a hill and look around until you see the city and you know which way to go. That doesn't make it a small area though, by any means, and we knew this was going to end up being much more epic than that puny 3.5 mile ride he had counted on first.

At one point, we reached an incredibely technical portion. There was even another rider who ogled his singlespeed and gave him a "how-the-hell-did-you-get-out-here" look. I wish he had gotten a picture of it, but he was too busy crashing to bother with the camera. Slacker. Fortunately, though, that seemed to be the last of the really difficult stuff. We had both done a bit of walking by that point and were glad to be able to cruise. Actually, if I remember correctly, we were able to ride the rest of the way out.

In the end, I wish I had been a little more daring on some of the harder stuff, but I attempted most of it and I figure that's the best way to learn. The trip totaled 8.6 miles and was a great concoction of easy and difficult terrain. It is definitely a trail I wouldn't mind doing again.

 

 He also let me borrow a suspension fork to try out but the more I think about it, the more I would prefer to get a lighter rigid fork like he did. With a singlespeed, however, you don't have the option to compensate for a higher weight with an easier gear. I will probably throw it on anyway though just to experience it. Expect a future update on this.


Delay and a Revelation

Over the weekend I made a second visit to Papago park. Chris and I had done a little wrenching to try to get the chain line proper. We had a whole afternoon of great weather ahead of us and we were both anxious to hit the trails.

Unfortunately, the drivetrain was still causing issues. After about 300 yards or so, I had at least 2 chain drops. Upon closer inspection we discovered that the chain was actually twisted! Sigh. We decided to abandon the trail and hit the shop. An afternoon of frustration isn't as fun as an afternoon of buying stuff. Before we left however, two things happened. First, we took this video:

Second, I had my first "meh" moment regarding an obstacle. It wasn't anything epic, but it was still a step forward. He tried to warn me of the little concrete drop and I didn't even really consider it. That feels like progress to me.

We picked up a new chain and he took the bike back to his house to tweak with it some more. He said it is good to go so hopefully a new update will come soon.

Carving my own trail

Although it has been several weeks since my last update, I haven't abandoned my adventures just yet. To the contrary I have spent my last few weekends either on the road bike or working. The bright side is that I have had many moments to plan and day dream about my next outing. All of that planning came to fruition this morning when I met up with my buddy again and hit Papago Park in Tempe, AZ.

We had both done various forms of research into this particular area and had heard a vast array of reviews: too easy, bunny slope, great lunch time run, convienent location. On my way to work one morning I met up with a guy on a single speed surley mountain bike and we got to talking about single speeds on the trails. He mentioned Papago and said it's a great area for beginners and advanced riders alike for one reason: speed. I believe his exact words were: "any trail can be difficult if you ride fast enough."

Now, my original plan entailed riding from my apartment to the park to get in a few extra miles. Although that didn't happen, we made up for it by exploring the park. It was fantastic. The area is riddled with different trails so you can literally make you're own loop. If you see something ahead that might seem a bit technical, look around and you can probably find a trail that goes around it. There were definitely some places that I could see requiring a little more skill, but they were interspersed with some easy flat areas to catch your breath.

I had some unfortunate tensioner/chainline issues that resulted in a few hold ups. It is an easy fix though and I think I might have to head out there a few more times solo and put my skills to the test. The area is wonderfully scenic, despite being right smack dab in the middle of a city. Although we had a camera, we forgot to use it. Oops.

I would highly recommend the area. It has great potential for adventure.

It's 3:45 A.M. And...

I decided I should take the time to give a brief insight as to what the purpose of this blog actually is as I realize that I may not have made it clear in my first post. This is a chronicle of the journey of a beginner mountain biker. Arizona strikes me as a state that could very well be a mecca for mountain bikers such as that of Utah or Colorado, and yet from the outside I don't know that it is. I have picked and studied various future routes and equipment and intend to document it all here. Hopefully some other n00b will find the info enlightening.

I also realized that I forgot to put up a map of the route I rode. Although I can't say anything on making it a definite practice, I will try. It was on the Hawes Pass trail out in east Mesa, AZ.

Borrowed from here
Although it says on the site that it is designed to be challenging, I don't think that it really is all that bad. Sure I had issues, but it was my very first time on a brand new bike. A couple more rides and even the technical parts could probably be conquered by a lesser rider.

Lastly, I would like to point out that I don't think of my buddy as a bad guy. He did warn me that there were some more difficult spots and I chose to ride anyway. I accept full responsibility for that, and if I really didn't like it, I wouldn't already be planning my next ride ;)