Thunderbird Park

Today I tried out a new trail up in the Northwest Valley in Thunderbird Park, which is located on 59th Avenue, 1.6 miles north of the 101. There are a few different loops in the park that you can ride. Most of the traffic on the trail is hikers, though I did pass one rider on a cyclo-cross, and there are a lot of hikers.

This was only my second ride since before Thanksgiving. Between work and travel I just haven't been able to slip away. As a result of my being off the saddle for so long I am out of shape. Add to that the fact that I am struggling with a chest cold right now, I was only feeling about 50% out there today.

The trail provides lots of opportunities to practice switchbacks. I parked at the lower parking lot and rode the northwest loop clockwise. It was a chilly 52 degrees out and the wind was whipping pretty hard. The trail is not too challenging. The first half is pretty much all climbing, with lots of the aforementioned switchbacks. There are a few rocky stretches but no major obstacles to clear.

Once I got to the top of the hill I was rewarded with some great views of the Valley. Having lived here for 3 1/2 years I'm starting to feel like I know my way around pretty well. Still, sitting at the top with a bird's-eye view I was able to put a few locations into perspective. I also had a nice chat with a hiker named Betty at the top, who moved here after her husband retired from the Coast Guard.

From the top I continued the clockwise loop and got more practice on the switchbacks, now in the descent mode. It was a fun descent, although the cold and wind had me feeling tight and I couldn't really open up on the straight stretches. I also had to stop 4 times for hikers on their way up. The descent had more obstacles than the ascent. It didn't make much difference as I was able to jump or glide over all of them. But if I were to ride the loop counterclockwise they would be more challenging climbing over them. That being said, there is nothing on this trail that is unrideable.

When I got back to the starting point my odometer said 4.09 miles. I would recommend riding the loop clockwise then counter, or including a few of the other trails I saw in the park. But since I am sick, I decided not to push it further.

This trail is certainly not a must do for anyone visiting Phoenix. If you live nearby it would be a good ride to do before work to keep you in shape for the more challenging trails in the area.

I've been neglecting this blog for the last month as I have been occupied with other things. I did some riding up in Wyoming and Idaho during August and had some pictures from my cell phone to post. But then I spilled a drink on my cell phone and fried it before I could get the pictures off. So, no pictures.
Racing season starts here next month. I'm looking forward to competing again. I haven't raced in over 13 years, so it will be fun to get back into it.
Here is a video I came across on YouTube today of some dude in England with some wicked skills. Check him and be amazed.

Catching Up

So it's been a few weeks since I last posted here. I got a report on Cort and his face. It appears that he is healing well and hopefully will not have much of a scar. This morning Mike, Spencer and I rode Hawes. We stopped at the site of Cort's crash and built him a small monument. We also officially dubbed the spot "Broken Face Rock". That's the second portion of the trail we have taken the liberty of naming ourselves. The other is "Cardiac", the long, arduous climb near the beginning of Hawes.
Last week the family took a last minute trip to Sedona. The in-laws have a time share there and Ma Boushley was staying there alone (since Pa Boushley had work to do at home) so we decided to go keep her company. Of course, I must admit I had ulterior motives, namely an opportunity to ride some trails in the red rock country.
Thursday morning I got up early and rode what Cosmic Ray calls the Submarine Rock Loop. I started on the Broken Arrow Trail at the end of Morgan road. From there I rode up to Chicken Point then down the Little Horse Trail to where it hooks up with the Bell Rock Pathway. After road riding through a neighborhood I connected with the Mystic Trail which took me back home.

The ride was great and the trail was quite amazing. Unlike the rough, gravelly trails here in Phoenix there were long sections of curvy, smooth single-track, with rocky technical sections popping up randomly. There was also lots of slickrock to play around on.

I did take a spill near Chicken Point, during which I managed to bend my rear dropout. My bike worked for the rest of my time in Sedona, but when I shifted into my lowest gear the derailleur rubbed against the spokes.
On Friday I took my brother-in-law with me on the same trail. He's done some cycling before, but not any serious mountain biking. Since I haven't ridden in Sedona before, I figured it would be best to take him on the one trail I was now familiar with. This time we added two miles of the Llama trail to the loop. He handled the trail well, but he did break in his new Kona with a trip over the handlebars that knocked his rear tire all out of whack. Fortunately, the bike came with free lifetime service at AZ Bikes & Boards‎.
After getting back to Phoenix I took my bike into Nick at Estrella Mountain Cyclery to get it serviced and to take care of that bent rear dropout. Thus, when we were riding on Hawes today I was back on the old Gary Fisher. It felt odd riding the old bike again. I have definitely got used to the GT.

More Blood on the Trail

Spencer called me up last night and asked what I was going to be doing around 4:30 this morning. It was clear that he was itching for a ride. Apparently an old friend from Utah (Cort) was visiting Spencer and had brought his bike down. So we made plans to head over to Mesa and ride Hawes.

We hit the trailhead by the power plant at 5:30 and rode the Pig Trail to Hawes to Saddleback to Mine. At the bottom of the Mine Trail we chatted for a few minutes and then clicked in again to ride over to the Ridge Trail and back to the car. Other than being a little out of shape Cort did fairly well. He opted to hop off and walk down a few sections of trail. Unfortunately, after our little break there was a section he was wishing he had walked down.

There is a spot on the trail where you have to take a hard right and drop down over some rather sharp rocks. Cort was a little off balance coming into the turn and went over the handlebars. Spencer and I didn't see it as we were ahead, but we heard him yelling and went back to see what was up. This was the site that greeted us:

Cort managed to hit one of the rocks with his face hard enough to dislodge it (the rock not his face). Once he cleaned up the blood we could see he had two pretty serious cuts that may need stitches and some abrasions on his cheek. Cort seemed more concerned about his teeth than his face. He impacted the rock pretty hard and though none of his teeth were loose I guess he could still lose some.

Spencer and I felt pretty bad for dragging Cort out on the trail and then getting his face all busted up. But he was good-natured about it and even managed to smile when Spencer snapped the photo. Hopefully this won’t put a damper on his future mountain biking excursions. He was worried about what his wife would think. I have to say that if I came home looking like that my wife would want to put the brakes on my riding.

Hope you recover soon Cort.

Independence Day Ride

This morning I rolled out of bed at 4 a.m. so I could head down to South Mountain with Mike and Spencer for an early morning ride. We parked at 46th Street and took the Beverly Canyon Trail over to the Pima Canyon parking lot and the trailhead for the National Trail and Mormon Loop. We rode up Mormon Loop and then hooked up with National. We continued West along National to the Buena Vista lookout point. Then we bombed 2 miles down Geronimo which dumped us out on to 21st Street. We finished up with a few miles of pavement back to the van.


Mike was the cursed rider today as he suffered both injury and flat. Coming down a switchback section of National just East of the Buena Vista Lookout he smacked a rock with his right leg. We stopped at the lookout for him to bandage up. I didn't even think to pull out the camera until he was already bandaged up.

FINS, Roof Racks and De-Stitching

For some unknown reason I got myself into a rut with the FINS trail. Whenever I went to ride there I took essentially the same route. Mike and Spencer had complained that the trail was getting boring and I was starting to agree. Yesterday Mike had to work so it was just Spencer and I. We decided to take a different route this time and went up a part of the trail Spencer had never rode and I hadn't rode for probably six months. All at once the trail took on new life as we explored new parts of FINS and rode sections different directions. This morning I went back to FINS and again mixed things up. I even found a new little section that I had never ridden. Both rides were great and I was left wondering why I had ever allowed myself to only ride the trail a certain way. It won't happen again.

I purchased another bike tray for my roof rack today. We usually take Mike's van or Spencer's Tahoe when we go ride, but yesterday Spencer needed me to drive. I realized that the Volvo only had one bike tray on top and the back door is jammed shut, so there was nowhere to put Spencer's bike. Anxious to not miss a ride I went to Target, of all places, at 10 pm to purchase a trunk rack for the Honda. As was to be expected with a bike rack purchased from Target, it's a flimsy piece of $#!* (junk). But it got us where we needed to go. (Today I will take it back to Target.) When I got home I got onto Craigslist and found somebody selling a Saris roof rack with two bike trays. Since Saris doesn't make their roof rack anymore this is the only way to find accessories. I called the guy up and asked if I could just buy one of his trays. This morning I went over and picked it up. I may have even found a new riding partner as he is interested in hitting the trails together.

I am pulling my stitches out tomorrow. I had the doctor look at them on Thursday and he suggested I leave them in a few more days. I didn't want to stop riding simply because I had a few stitches but I also didn't want to prolong the healing process. Fortunately based on the location of the cut the stitches are not stressed when I ride a bike. But there is a chance of smacking my shin against something on the trail. Since I don't have any biking body armor I decided to improvise. I pulled out an old pair of soccer shin guards that I got while living in Virginia. It worked perfect. It came up just high enough on my leg to cover the wound, but did not restrain my riding. Even though I'm yanking the stitches out tomorrow I think I'll wear the shin guard for a couple more weeks on the trail, just to keep protecting my leg until it is completely healed.

All Stitched Up

I'm supposed to stay off the bike till the stitches come out this Thursday. I think I'll still try some road riding just to get some exercise.

I've been checking out some videos and reviews of the Goat Camp Loop out in the White Tanks. From what I've read it sounds like a pretty serious ride. 16 miles and some pretty technical downhill. I'm looking forward to riding it, but I think it might be best to wait for cooler weather. Even starting at 5 am a 16 mile ride is likely to put us into the midday. With temperatures over 100 degrees every day now I'm not interested in death by heat stroke.

It's Just a Flesh Wound

This blog is becoming more about flat tires and injuries than it is about actual mountain biking. Tonight when I came home from work I was tinkering with my bike before tomorrow's ride. I took it for a quick spin around the neighborhood and continued to make adjustments. Then as I was swinging my right leg over the bike my left foot slipped off the pedal, and my right shin came crashing down on the rear brakes. The little nozzle for adjusting the hydraulics sliced my leg right open. As you can see in the picture the cut was about 2-inches long and went clear to the bone.

Fortunately we had some friends over for dinner and they were able to watch the kids while my wife drove me to the ER. Surprisingly it didn't bleed or hurt very much. Also surprising, despite a waiting room full of people, we were able to get right in at the ER.

I got 4 stitches on the fascia (which is under the skin), 10 more on the outside and a bottle full of Vicodin.

Unfortunately, I don't think I will be riding tomorrow.

Another Ride, Another Flat

What the heck?! I've had this bike for less than two weeks, taken it on four rides in the mountains and had four flats. Today was the first that got me on the trail. (With the other three I finished the ride but my tire was flat when I got home).

This morning I felt more like riding in the mountains than spinning around the neighborhood, so I threw the bike on top of the Volvo and headed over to PIR. Since I didn't have a ton of time I rode the short Technical Loop. The Technical Loop was the first trail I rode after moving to Arizona but it's been nearly a year since I last rode it. I found it quite enjoyable. The first part of the trail is more rough and rocky than I remember but I still don't think the Technical Loop is any more difficult than the Long Loop.

I made my way around the loop in good time and was ing the last downhill when I felt the rough drag of a flat tire. (I am a little baffled as to when it happened as there were no cacti near the trail where I went flat. I might have pinched it. I guess I'll find out tonight when I go home and fix it.) I stopped to try and put some air in, hoping that the leak was slow enough that I could ride out the last 1/2 mile of the trail. But my bad luck streak continued when I snapped the presta adapter on my pump and was left without a source for air. So I resigned myself to hiking it out, at which time I learned that my bike shoes are not very good hiking shoes.

It was a good ride that was spoiled at the very end. But I can't complain. I got to ride this morning and my flat was in the last 1/2 mile as opposed to halfway through the trail.

PIR, Pinched Nerves and Flat Tires

This morning we were on a time crunch because Spencer had to be home by 8, so we stayed close to home and rode the Estrella Mountain Competitive track located behind PIR. A couple of Mike's co-workers joined us at the trail head. A lot of people I talk to don't really care for the PIR trail. While it's not my favorite I do enjoy the ride there.

Today was the first time I rode PIR on the new bike. I could definitely feel a difference with the new suspension. I'm getting used to the feel of the new bike. Last week I was considering putting on a longer stem to stretch me out a little more but I'm not so sure anymore. I also finally took some pictures of the new bike to post on here.

I've been bothered by a pinched nerve in my right hand all week. I think it is a result of last Friday's collision with the cactus on Hawes. It's not been a constant pain but it bothers me when I make a fist and write.

I have loved riding the new bike but I seem to be cursed with flat tires since I've started riding it. Over the last week I have had three flats.

Morning Ride

This morning I was out for a ride through the neighborhood. I'm trying to do a little more training during the week so I won't get so wasted on the trails. Of course I hate riding pavement, so I am fortunate that there is a dirt track that runs along under some power lines about 1/2 mile south of my house. Today I went riding a little further east than I normally do and I came into a new housing development that has only had the grating work on the ground done. It looks like it hasn't had anyone working there for several months as there are massive weeds covering the whole area. I found this great little spot that had drop that was a little over 3 1/2 feet high that I could jump off of. It turned out to be a more enjoyable ride than I expected. I started out thinking it was just going to be a training ride and I was able to mix in some jumping as well. Furthermore I got to really test out the suspension on the new GT. I am happy to say that it works very well. I'm going to drag Spencer and Mike over there next time and we'll snap some pics to post on here.

Twofer

Two rides in one weekend -- how lucky am I? I guess my lovely wife thought I was too excited about my new bike to just get one in.

Spencer, Drew and I hit FINS for a Saturday morning quickie. We took a different route than we've taken in the past and after NorthStar dropped down Grunt (rather than climbing it like we always do). It was good to change things up. I really enjoy the FINS system but the route we've been taking the last several times has gotten a little old.

Spencer and I stopped for a pose atop NorthStar. My right arm is still wrapped up from last week's spill, but it is healing pretty well. I just wanted to protect it in case I went down again (which I did not).

- Heath on NorthStar


- Spencer on NorthStar

First Ride on the GT

Our Friday morning ride took us out to the Hawes Trail, perhaps my favorite trail in the Valley. Spencer's brother-in-law, Drew, was in from San Diego and wanted to join us. We were delayed at the start when we discovered that the bolt on Drew's seat-post clamp was stripped and his seat wouldn't stay up. A trip to Ace Hardware and a quick jerry-rig got us on the trail a half-hour later. But then Mike's rear shock wasn't properly functioning. Rather than holding us up further Mike sent us on and said he'd meet up with us somewhere along the trail.

This was my first real ride on the GT and I found myself needing to adjust to the new bike. The geometry is a little different and I am sitting a couple inches higher and in a more upright position. While the bike handled the downhill sections beautifully I'm still trying to figure the best climbing position.

I drew blood while coming down the Mine Trail. I rode into a corner a little too fast and had to lock up to avoid sure and sudden death. I managed to stay upright but the skid took me off the trail and I slammed my right fist and shin into a cactus. I stopped to de-thorn myself and pulled out one thorn that was buried 3/4 of an inch deep into my leg. I still have a piece of thorn embedded in my fingernail that I can't seem to get out.

The incident also resulted in a flat front tire. Fortunately, however, the tire held up for the rest of the ride. I didn't discover the flat until I was off-loading the bike at home.

New Bike

After a few weeks of shopping Craigslist and eBay I finally found a bike that met my requirements and fit my budget. I actually found it on eBay, but it was a Phoenix seller so I asked if I could come test ride the bike before submitting a bid. He was happy to take me for a ride in the hills near his home. Three miles later I was hooked and his bike was sold.

The picture is not exactly a proper representation of the bike. The frame is a 2006 GT I-Drive 5 1.0, but all of the components are from a 2007 GT I-Drive 5 3.0. While the 3.0 components are not as high-end (Deore LX as opposed to XTR) they are brand new, and either way they are a significant upgrade from what I was riding before.

I'm still shopping for an older hardtail to convert into a single-speed. I've been hankering to see what it's all about.

Retiring the Fisher

I've been riding the Fisher since my college days. I bought her from one of my riding buddies in Utah over eight years ago. She went into storage during law school. I finally dug her out two years ago after I had started my practice here in Arizona.

While I've always loved the Fisher she just hasn't been performing as well in her old age. Out on the trails I've started admiring several of the younger bikes with their plush suspension, lightweight frames and 9-speed cassettes. Then in February Mike and I rode some demo bikes at the McDowell race loops. I tested a Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR, and I knew that my relationship with the Fisher would never be the same. Of course I couldn't afford the $7,500 price tag for the Specialized, but the search for a new ride had begun.

Last Saturday I took her for her final ride at FINS. Somehow I think she knew it was our last time together. It was clear she was jealous because she threw me less than a mile into the trail. I was pretty roughed up as can be seen in the previous posting. But it must have got it out of her system because she performed fine after that.

I've found her a new home and I think she'll be happy there. I'll always have fond memories of the Fisher and our time together.

Road Rash

Spencer and I rode FINS today. We brought along a couple of newbies to see how they handled the trail. While they struggled to keep up, I was the one who had a hard time staying on my bike. I decided to catch some air off a small rock lip in the Crystal Crag section. As can be seen in the photos, the landing was not what could be termed a successful one. I managed to finish the ride without letting on that I was in any real pain. When I got home and started to pick the rocks out of my forearm I cried like a little girl. Okay, not really. But when my wife poured hydrogen peroxide over my wounds I did whimper a bit.

Usery Mountain Park

Today we rode the Pass Mountain Loop. It was my first time on the trail and Mike's second. We had a slow start due to some mechanical problems. Mike had tweaked his rear disc on his last ride but apparently was not aware of the extent of the damage until after we started this morning's ride. We stopped at a spot overlooking Fountain Hills and Mike went to work on the disc with a crescent wrench. He managed to bend it back into a somewhat flat shape. It was sufficient to reduce the drag and we were able to continue riding.

I found myself feeling a bit out of sorts on the trail. Due to my bike spending some time receiving critical care at Swiss American Bikes and myself traveling over the holidays it was my first ride in three weeks. I was out of shape and out of practice. Add to that the fact that it was my first time riding in the Usery Mountains and I looked like a rookie. I chickened out on a few rough sections and ate some rock on a couple other sections that I should of chickened out on. But other than a couple of skinned up elbows and a bruised left butt cheek I'm doing alright tonight...after all, I got to ride again today.

We didn't see any other cyclist on the trail but there were lots of hikers. A group of older ladies met us right after coming down a steep rock section just south of the top of the trail. Right at the bottom of that slab of rock is a sharp switch back and then a section of trail approximately 30 yards long that is littered with rocks from baby heads to basketballs. Our group of gals stepped aside to let us ride through. I invited them to hike on by but they insisted that they wanted to "see how it was done." I assured them that they would more likely see how it was not done and invited them to get out their cameras to capture yet another trip over the handlebars. I opted to walk the first 10 yards, which was the most treacherous, and then hopped on the bike show them that the trail really was ridable. I'm sure I could have handled the first 10 yards as well, but I was already feeling a bit off balance due to my two prior tumbles and I wasn't in the mood to go down in front of an audience of old women.

After leaving our fans behind we got to the section of the trail where you can pick up a little speed. You also give your arms a work out from the constant rattle of your front tire bouncing over the rocks.

The next time we ride the trail I hope to be a little more focused. Mike and I also spent a lot of time talking on the trail, which means slow riding. Not that I mind the slow rides as they always come with good conversation. But they are not as vigorous.