epicrider.com

The first part of June, my splitboarding partner, John E. and I biked up to camp around 9200 feet where it was 38 degrees with a howling wind. It did not feel like summer and it was a fitful night of sleep. We were rewarded the next day by stumbling upon an old spring tunnel with mushrooms growing down then back up out from the ceiling .

Summer time is time for summer sausage. It’s best when cooked over a fire and served after a long day of riding. It will even last for a week or two in your pack!

About 8 days ago, I managed to get 190 miles of riding done in 1.75 days. I am almost fully recovered… The tour consisted mostly of forest service roads with some singletrack.

I’ve ridden right by this old cowboy cabin at least 3 times before I noticed it. It will provide shelter if you find yourself in a storm near the top of Lockwood Canyon Draw.

I suspect that this cabin is over 100 years old - the can in this picture was sealed with lead and I think most manufactures stopped doing that over 100 years ago.

Almost ran this over… Gopher snake?

Flowers…

Some of the AZ Trail next to FS road 512 is good…. but eventually ya get sick of the rocks and downed-trees and jump the fence for the road.

Sega Lillies blooming during my commute to work.

McKenna’s latest nickname - Nano! Pronounced nuhno.

Out with the old gear and in with the new…

I was about 1/2 way up the little bear climb when my crank broke. Fortunately I was meeting Dara and McKenna at the Drogi’s for BBQ, only five mostly downhill miles away…

In the near future, I will post what I think of deuter’s warranty and race face’s warranty…
Happy Summer Time!

Update:
I just realized that my pack is wearing from carrying my splitboard behind the mesh… this would be pilot error since the pack is not meant to carry a board. Time for some home repair. Good news is that it looks like Race Face will hook me up with some new cranks.

Looking forward to a ~190 mile lollypop this weekend… hopefully the weather will hold… I think I can get it all done in 30 hours, including 6-8 hours of sleep near the Grand Canyon. There are some bail options here and there and I can do an out and back rather than the slow-going top of the lollypop if things are not working out… If I have cell and gps coverage then I will update this map as I roll along. The ballon marks my last known location. Click it to see any of my comments.

We’ve only been here since 2000, but this has been some of the best late May and early June riding I’ve ever seen in Flagstaff, AZ. Usually at this time of year our trails are dry, loose and dusty; and post ride procedures include washing layers of pumice dust off bike and body. But some low pressure systems parked over our stretch of Arizona and rained every day for two weeks. These unseasonable rains have provided tacky traction and dust suppression. Lovely.

I got to ride the Prom Night Trail for the first time today. What a hoot! Glad there are some ride around options for those steep exposed moves…

We purchased a couple of pics from the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde.
It was easy to spot this shirt looking through the hundreds of thumbnail images. It was a luau theme!

Dara wore a couple of leis and a yellow skirt over her shorts. Why is her smile so big? Cause she is finishing a lap on way-fun singletrack and she is crushing my lap times!

I did a short overnighter this week - aka “The Short Geek Tour”. I departed about 9pm, starting on the Pipeline trails right up the street. Those were the most technical trails of the whole tour so it was good to really test the loaded bike close to home. Fun single track around Mt. Elden then Deer Hill Trail got me to the North end of Schultz Pass Rd. After a little break I took FS418 past Abineau Canyon and made camp near Little Springs. This is the cool geeky part.
I posted my location on this map from my cell phone.

This way my family can keep track of me on longer spins, like the Trans Utah ride during the cusp of summer/fall 2009. Lack of phone coverage will certainly limit updates, but this location text went through in less than 1 second when I had zero bars - so that is encouraging. It might not be as reliable as a Spot unit but I already have a website and I carry my cell phone on tours, so my method is virtually free.
Stoked that my text went through, I had a snack and slept for 4 hours. By 8am I had breakfast and filled my bottles at Little Springs. Lots of trees slowed my progress on the old New Deal Trail…

then… what is this… the AZ Trail!!!! Yep I came across a new section of the AZ Trail that is very close to Little Springs. For the next hour I rode wonderful new single track to Snowbowl Road.

Flying fish Trail and some Fort Valley Trails got me home.
The playboy blue Coconino performed very well.