Arizona treated us so well with perfect weather, incredible bike trails and simple living that we decided to stay a while. Biding our time between McDowell Mountain Regional Park and Ann & Scott’s, we were able to begin getting caught up on work as well as getting back in shape.
Desert Morning Ride
McDowell Mountain located just outside of Fountain Hills, AZ (home of a towering 300 foot fountain that goes off every hour in the middle of the desert) put us right in the middle of some truly great mountain bike trails. Tim began riding nightly 20 milers in preparation for the Fruita 18 Hour Race he’ll be riding in this May. My treks were shorter but still very fun. In fact I experienced a bike riding break through thanks to unexpected inspiration. As mentioned earlier, McDowell Mountain is home to a ridiculously high population of Western Diamond Back Rattlesnakes. This guy slithered right through our campground and settled into Frank’s shade one afternoon.
Diamondbacks
Well on one particularly long ride I stopped my bike. There 10 feet in front of me was a 3 foot rattler, relaxing across the trail. I threw some pebbles trying to scoot him along his way, but he completely ignored me. 5 minutes later he was ready to go and slowly crossed the trail. Well I knew I had 7 miles left to go on some particularly tricky terrain, and I was a little nervous. As good mountain bikers will tell you, the key to mountain biking is looking ahead and staying on your bike instead of walking through technical challenges. I am not a good mountain biker – but that rattlesnake was the best thing that ever happened to my riding. My eyes were glued to the trail 20 feet ahead of me…and there was no way I was putting a foot down near one of those ankle biters. It was a great ride.
The following week we were back at Ann and Scott’s where we relaxed and enjoyed the good company. Our last night together we headed into Tempe for some well reviewed Mexican at Macayos. Dinner was complimented by our 4 enormous ceramic Margarita chalices. Consuela, Phillippe, Hector, and Manuel accompanied us home that night and will be making their way to Jackson for future outings.
Macayo's Depot
Wednesday we finally packed up our things and began our journey north on the Carefree Highway. Tim tuned the Zune to some Gordon Lightfoot to pay tribute. Our next destination was Prescott AZ to visit my Dad and his beautiful bride Lisa.
On the way we stopped at Black Rock Canyon which Tim had heard a few reports about. It’s 23 miles of hand carved singletrack climbing 3000 feet through the desert, north of Phoenix. He only had time for the first 8 mile loop but he pedaled off into cactus covered hills with high expectations. 90 minutes later he was back and proclaimed it the Best Single Track in the West. This is a serious compliment from Tim. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so psyched about a trail. This is a MUST DO for any biker passing through.
Sunset - Black Rock Canyon Trail, Phoenix AZ
After his bike ride, we drove the final hour to Prescott to see Dad and Lisa. We were treated with delicious food and congratulatory engagement cake – now that’s a welcome. Though we considered staying the night in Frank, they wouldn’t hear of it. The temperature was dropping to 29 that night and we were glad to be inside. We’d been in 92 degrees 4 days later and our wussy blood is thin.
This morning we actually woke up to the first snow we’ve seen in 12 months. After some near misses this winter we’d managed to stay south of the snow line all year until we hit Prescott AZ. Ah well our perfect record was worth losing in order to spend 2 terrific days with Dad and Lisa.
First Snow 2010
Tonight we’re on the road again, this time off to Moab UT where we’ll meet Jimmie Shell tomorrow to ride Porcupine Rim. Next stop is Fruita CO where we’ll spend most of May. Then it’s home to Jackson for a few months. After thinking where we wanted to spend our summer, we realized there was no place more beautiful then our own front yard!
Let's Ride - Monument Valley!