Location: Black Canyon City, AZ

Last night the night lights in the parking lot turned on. And i was right in lamp light of one. Very visible in a posted well lit spot. Hey, look at me I said loudly. No bother, didn’t need interior light to get ready for bed. Not like a sunup for wake up.

Plan today is to ride @ South mtn, duh, South of downtown. GPS & I disagreed, score: it 1, me 1. Hard to find TH. Once found maybe 40 cars parked. Scored spot in main area right @ gate. Nothing like cruising for the spot closest to where you are going to exercise so you don’t burn extra energy before exercising. Think ski area parking lots.

Chris Lesser wrote in his mag’s web section Btrails about the National trail. He said it punishes you. Cosmic ray put the exclamation point on how tough technically & cardio it is.  I decided that i was going to experience the trail myself. It went up and over step ups, some sections were tame, the bulk was all hands on the bars, tractor speed on the pedals, and warp speed on the heart. In 6 miles it gained 1200 feet, a ridable gradient, it was how the feet climbed were gained. This is a developed trail loaded w/ technical features, not a trail that was routed to find the technical.

Down hiked the switchbacks down to telegraph pass. Then hike a bike down to the flats for desert classic back to the parking lot & beer.  Over the years I have hiked quite a few miles of backcountry backpacking. This down trail was the roughest short of climbers’ way trails.

Dropped onto desert classic and the 8 miles of big gear spinning dropping down into and kinetic energy ride up the other side desert trail. Tiger in my tank has long lost it’s fangs.

My style is pretty much start the ride and stop when finished. Today was 2 hrs 40 mins.

The Black Canyon trail, on the outskirts of Black Canyon City, AZ, is being celebrated Friday w/ a ribbon cutting ceremony.  Trail stewards were able to obtain $432,000 Stimulus money  for trail work. Tomorrow is a celebration. I will be here for it as I am camped right at the TH tonight. Sat is a trail work day that I will stay for.

Stopped @ KOA XG for a shower. The owner had a pet king snake in a case in the office. I asked a lot of snake questions and he answered them.

Today as I was finding South Mtn park which is on the west side of I-10, I drove on west side thru nice appartment complexes and then big houses lining the golf course. I missed a turn (GPS correct) and drove to the east side of I-10. Poverty. Interstate is a moat but no drawbridge.

Sleep much better when I am in a legal place. Sleeping in parking lots inside a city is dicey and shallow sleep expecting some type of human intervention.

Yesterday I drove down from the McDowell XG to the competition trail where the Cactus cup mtn bike race is held. This is the first race of the new season and riders are chomping to show what they did over the winter. The race is still in the future, I just rode the course. Trail is made for mtn bike racing. Me, riding my 5.5″ travel all mountain bike was overkill. My bike on a race course is like running in mountain boots: I completed it w/ a whole lot of extra effort and way last. Race course is less technical and wider than trails I prefer to ride. Desert riding, the cholla were cut back a little further from trail edge.

Took a shower in the restroom @ the trailhead. ironic that the public campgrounds become better facilitated which attracts self contained RVs that do not use the facilities except for shower power & water.

Stopped @ Bike garage bike shop in Fountain Hills because the xg host suggested it. I discovered that my front hub was adjusted too tightly so i asked the wrench at the shop his opinion. He said Too Tight & backed it off a bit.

Interesting bit about Fountain Hills is that a small lake was built with a huge fountain in it to shoot h2o many feet in the sky. I drove by the lake and saw the fountain base w/ no spray. As I left the bike shop I saw the h2o in the air. i asked @ the shop for the tourist version and she said it is a man made fountain, not natural and it sprays per a schedule, like a bus schedule. Fountain was built and houses of much $ sprung up.

Had time on my hands. Found REI in Paradise Valley near where Trail 100 runs which was to be my next ride. I checked bike racks out. If I buy the 20mm maxle Rockshox fork I will need a different way to carry my bike, or rather front wheel. Cheapest way is w/ the big mouth rack that grips the frame.

Used GPS to find Trail 100 TH thinking that I might dirtbag camp nearby. Not good because of bad neighborhood, lots of gated fenced driveways & businesses. Drove back to REI neighborhood where I found a vacant office building parking lot to sneak into. Double locked my bike and slept w/ an open ear.

New plan is to drive back NE and ride Hawes trails out in the desert instead of in town. Lots of driving. Some main surface streets are 3 lanes each way.

Parked in small office business park that never got off the ground and floundered as the economy tanked. Will stay here tonight.

Hawes is real all mountain trails that my bike is for. Wandered around on trails this time I had a map. I previously rode part of the system last spring w/o map, in the rain, & approaching darkness. Much better ride today but a grunt none the less,17.54 miles, 2719′ climbed in 2 1/2 hours. 70 degree temps under cloudless skies. Finished my 60 ozs of h2o just before the home stretch.

Tomorrow i will ride South Mountain Teacher of Terror which is ride up national trail and return on desert Classic. Chris Lesser from Bikemag wrote that National is the nastiest single track trail. I will walk a bit of it.

Friday @ Black Canyon trail between here and Sedona, is having a trail dedication after receiving $430,000 in stimulus money to complete the 50 mile trail system. I rode part of it last spring. I will add my bike to the appreciative riders.

From there it is back to Sedona to learn how to ride harder stuff. I found 2 places to camp in FS land that is legal for sound sleep. Hangout between the 2 bike shops.

Reading Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven about FLDS, the polygamists. Bit of action occurred in Colorado City which is just outside Hurricane, UT. Fascinating.

Trails can be for racing which are less technical, wider, and more open. There are regular trails that offer regular trail challenges w/o going after the trials stuff. Then there are the trails that are all about trials like Sedona and 50 year trail outside Tucson.