Warm and Fuzzy

Ok closed out the week with a full 5 rides, this one was quite nice, feeling good inside and out, the stroll around Usery was quite comfortable and easy as the normal, so glad to get out!

Pulling out of the rough

Breezy and chilly start again, I had enough clothing and rode in slightly uncomfortable but quickly all was just fine, really happy to be a few rides into a somewhat normal week now, Grandma left early in the monring and it was sad to have her go but on her way she had to go. Still feeling traumatized from the last 10 days but moving forward the house was still recovering from illlness I somehow battled off.

Cold start but amazing finish

Burrr this one started cold, 34F might not sound like much but for this desert dweller it is now.... I rode the Horse trails and the new ones in my now standard loop over there, the trails were glorious and weather nice once the sun hit me. Great ride

So Slo at SOMO

Tuesday provided another confirmed OK for an early ride, this time I was off to somewhere I have not been in a few weeks. Not all that excited about SOMO but riding there was the goal. From the begining I wanted to turn around, a week of a few hours of sleep a night might have finally cuaght up to me, I just felt like turd inside and out, despite that I still committed to my 15 miles and went home with accomplishment but that was about it. Wife still pretty sick but slightly better and Landon about back to nomral besides his cough, we sent him back to school late after I got home and that was really nice to have him occupied and all of us could relax and rest.

Terror continues into Monday

Well as luck would have it my wife came down Saturday with illness, by Sunday she was slaughtered by flu like syptoms. I had my Mother in law in town and fortunately she was on backup duty as I went out early morning to let off some steam. I went out pretty early happily giving the situation, Landon was still coughing uncontrollably but I was off into the desert for a ride. It turned out to be an absolutely spectacular morning ride into the sun rise, it really was beautiful, I arrived home to a confirmed Flu patient for a wife and a slightly better feeling son :)

The Battle rages on but a ride happens

Ok so by Wednesday my boy came down with a serious cough, one that has him waking every single half hour of the night, Averaging 3 hours of sleep a day from Wed-Sat was brutal, his cough was downright scary, many bloody noses, a few vomits from how bad the cough really was. Nothing to do but wait it out and miss rides was fine. My Mother in law just happened to come to town Friday so some extra help was going to be real nice, my wife currently under extreme hardship at school with exams has been beat down enough already alongside me. Soooo after anther 2-3 hours of sleep I left coughing Landon with Grandma and off I went with mixed emotions. I finally kicked msot my cold I myself was going through and as I rolled up to Hawes it was packed. The ride was complicated, I was an angry single speeder, I had no love for the other trail users and it wasn't cool of me, I planned my route accordingly and halfway thru the ride I began to enjoy it. I would have kept riding but I was due home for a lunch date with my wife and friends after her HUGE test. Very happy to get the miles that day, Sunday/Monday plan is for Tucson, last night poor Luann came down with 103F fever, shes got Landons illness and Landon is till coughing uncontrolably so who knows what Monday will bring. I will await with my bike for further instuction.

Desert Magic

My son seemingly slightly better made it to his 1/2 day on Wednesday at school while I contonue to battle my own symptoms of illness, so I was still on call and looking desperately to ride. We got some rain the night before and as I was driving into the desert that morning the mountains were absolutely majestic. The entire ride was absolutely stunning at every corner, what a treat this was!

Chaos and pleasure

OK so here we are hoping for a normal week. As I write this Sunday morning wow it was far from normal. Saturday my boy came down with 104 fever and it's been a tough weekend but somehow a Tuesday ride did happen. The very best part of the week is that after months of searching I came upon the perfect find of a new trailhead king, I am a huge VW fan and after departing with my black one a few months ago I was eager to replace it and now proud owner of this 2004 GTI 24v VR6 :) So Mondays ride was no go and Tuesday I got to take it to the trailhead where my mind was busier on Ill Landon and things I want to do with the VW. Distracted but enjoyed a nice pedal around Hawes.

Topped off

Ok onwards with Friday, kept it simple at Hawes, planned for 20 but eneded with 15, felt a bit out of it most the ride and was ready to be done after the 90 minutes, onwards with some rest this weekend and be ready for next week!

Easery Usery Back on Steel!

I got a great new bike stand for Christmas from my wife and I finally found reason to use it by getting the Belltown Steel frame switched over for riding. I was a bit unsure of what I wanted to do Thursday monring other than ride up Maricopa trail and Pass Mountain, it resulted in a loop around Usery easy trails and some pavement back to the car, I was looking for more of a workout but always enjoy the easyiness :) On a side not I need a longer stem on the Belltown, it's cozy on easy trails but it wants more middleground for the all around stuff.

Horse Party

Ok so the plan was to cross the Bush Highway and see what offerings I could find. With the new Scorpion DH trail access to the river trails this sparked my curiousity. The trails over here aren't ridden much if ever by the locals but curiousity and adventure had me. As the ride began I quickly began to stumble across a big pack of Salt River WIld Horses, a good 20 of them or so the biggest group I have seen. The morning was cloudyish but the scene was beautiful. I cross the road after a fun run down Scorpion DH. The trail had just slight DH pitch from there and on narrow Singletrack that had another runnning next to it as I swerved horse poop and hooves it was clear the horses are VERY active down here. There were trails from them everywhere. After riding Salt River Meadow, it was onto a wider trail 100, sandy at times but plenty firm for my 2.35, hooves made the soft soil very bumpy but I was moving along fine. It was quite a different scene down there very very welcomed. I came across more horses and then onto Phon D Suttong Rd where I had the option to hit pavement or hack my way to the Mesquite loop. Pretty unkown stuff down there to me I opted for the road as the route incase Mesquite sucked. As I arrived at the river I found mesquite loop after a bit of confusion, the scene was incredible, being close to the river with views of it, smells of vegatation and Oak trees and cottonwoods was awesome! The trail was fine, easy going and more than happy! Man I was loving the scenery, place might get busy in the spring/summer/fall since the trailhead lot was HUGE. Happy with this ride so far the loop began to take me north and the horse trails brought be great confusion and sme backtracking but soon I was on what I needed and was happy to leave Mesquite Loop but eager to get back one day. From there it was nice to be on familiar flowy well loved Wild Horse and straight forward return to the car on an absolute stunning morning on the bike, I am grateful.

New Trails! Scorpion Alley and Stinger

I heard more trails were coming to Usery, after riding the new addition a few weeks ago scorpion I was excited for more. After eyeing peoples ride on strava Sunday I could see they were riding somehting different. Not sure where to get the latest news on the MTB interwebs but I quickly made plans to find my way to them on Monday. By Monday it was up on trailforks and I could see clearly what I was after, Scorpion alley and stinger. Only 2 miles of trail but new trail with new loop options! I have been loving the backside of Usery quite a bit recently and for good reason. I set off and put together a nice loop with all the goods, the news trails were great and pretty standard easy XC and look forward to them for future rides!

Monday freshies

A nice little dose of rain Sunday left trails wonderfully renewed and the air and sky crytal clear. Clearly a nice treat I went out fot the normal sampling. It was fine and dandy and nothing too shocking other than another good ride at Hawes. My wife has just one year left of school, crazy to think after the last 12 years we have been together, can't wait!

Sky Aglow

I wasn't expecting another ride this week and was settled with that. However my dear wife could see the anxious in my heart and said I should make one happen Saturday, I tried to picture the least impact so I went for a early morning ride with my light. I was nervous about the cold since I am now not very insulated and becoming less of a fan of cold, but as I rolled into the hills the higher I got the warmer it got. It was dakr for the first 40 minutes and then the sky came aglow! Sky colors were distracting me for sure as I moved along. I just had to stop for a few pictures. The ride was pretty straight forward besides wanting to not stop riding :) Trails were very quiet for Saturday but I like that.

HELLO 2019!

Some moisture rolled into town Tuesday, Landon is still out of school and my wife has been in need of me to help with boards exam. She reluctantly sent me off to cheer me up on Wednesday and I took it. It was overcast and I was not feeling warm as I headed for the Usery area. Plan morphed as I began to ride into two laps of Upper Horse and Wild Horse, loved every inch of it, started with overcast moody desert into warm sunshine! The air was clear and snow was outside the valley, quite the sites on my eyes ith lots of photo opportunity but not alot of time to spare.

Last ride in 2018

Well the new year is upon us, this was the last ride of 2018. It has been one heck of a ver very very good year, good health, good rides and great fun. I was just 26 miles form 3500 miles total this year, with a ton of things to do I pulled the plug on that goal, there was just too much I needed to do at home before wife and kiddo flew in that afternoon. I was feeling very grateful to my trek supefly on this ride, year after year it accompanys me in joyous pedaling. I didn't make it to Flagstaff this year like I wanted but I got a good taste of Sedona, for 2019 my goal is to get a frew more rides in flagstaff and Sedona if all goes well.

Back Home!

The Utah trip was fantastic, I arrived without my bike although I could ahve actually brought it and gotten a few rides before the weather moved in kind ofbummed me out but not having my bike made me chill alot more. I found myself freezing my butt of while I was there anyway. We had a very good trip and after 7 days I was more than everyone else ready to come home. I drove home Sunday and was in the valley and with lots to do before the family flew in the next day I was home for 10 minutes after 10 hours in the car and was back drving on a fw hours of sleep with my bike to the trailhead of Hawes in excitement. It's always good to spend time off the bike, I am just not good at it until I am forced :) IT was cool for AZ but coming from Utah it felt great with no clouds and 50F the transition from Utah winter 19F to Desert temperature felt weird but good! It was a great ride on a fresh legs for familiar trails, good to be home for once!