Big Kev's Big Commute

It's not really that big. 8 miles to be exact. And it has been done plenty of times by now.

I had left my camera at my desk yesterday, however, so I decided to blog my commute home from the office on my bicycle. It was 108 degrees today by the way. Milk was a baaad choice.

Check out this wheelie...then the Survivorman finish...

And of course what would commuting in Tucson be without the ever-present, rednecks with big trucks. When being passed by one of these guys, one can expect a McDonald's bag full of trash to the face, or something very original being screamed out from the beer buddy in the passenger seat. Examples include, but not limited to- "Get off da road!", "On yer left!!" (leaning out the window and scaring the shit out of you) or even "Come on, Lance!". If you're lucky you may even be flipped off, or even better just plain ran off the road. I had a lady flip me off once through the passenger window where her kid was sitting there watching. Classy.

Don't be fooled by the large machinery, these guys surely have small weiners.

Sedona, AZ

I took off for Sedona with my coworker friend Rick for the weekend over May 30. The biggest interest in Sedona is without a doubt the views of the landscape. It's where The Colorado plateau from the north transitions into the basin and range province that is Southern Arizona and Mexico. The uplift, faulting, and eventual flooding are what form the awesome colors and drastic landmarks. We camped in Oak Creek Canyon and did a lot of mountain biking on the same infamous slickrock that has made Moab, UT so famous with mountain bikers. A lot of beers were drank, a lot of falls were had. I'll definitely be back.

Trails hit:

Submarine Loop Trail- (2 pictures above, and video below) One of the most technical trails in Sedona. I took a fall that left me pretty banged up but still happy.

Courthouse Butte Trail- One of the easiest trails in the area, but some of the best views in town. (below)




The trails we hit Sunday before heading south back to Tucson were the Dry Creek trails, a tough, technical ride on the west side of Sedona that switched back and forth through a large, dry river bed.

Labor Day Gate's Pass

The Gate's Pass road ride is one of the better known Tucson road rides. To the yellow-jersey wearing, $5000 bike riding, spandex wheenies in town it is known as "the poor man's Mt. Lemmon".

Not really though, I just made that up.

Anyway, it's a sweet, scenic road ride starting in the city, going west up and over Gate's Pass through the Saguaro National Park West. The pass itself is pretty brutal, but short. As long as you can go for short periods of time up some high degree slope you're good. It's the headwinds you need to worry about. Pictures..

This one is from the top of the pass looking East into the city of Tucson...pretty steep but nothing compared to the climb on the way back over.

This picture doesn't capture the complete brutality of it, but it is from Saguaro National Park looking East towards Gate's Pass (the road cuts right up through the saddle of the mountain). It's a short climb, maybe a mile or so, but the slope in some spots is close to 18 percent. Comparable to a black diamond.

That's my bike, aka "Red". Picked it up at a garage sale while living in DC. Every time I take it out some unknown object falls off, but it has gotten me this far. I really should get a new one, but I think I'll wait until it completely craps out. I think it's a 1995 Cannondale R500...don't judge.

And here's a wreck I came across on the way home. Damn teenagers.

Saturday Oracle Ridge Trail Ride

Saturday morning my friend Rick and I arrived at the Oracle Ridge trailhead in Oracle, AZ early. We were riding by 9:30, but acclimating to the altitude hit us pretty hard. By the end of the day we climbed from 4700 ft. to over 7500 ft. in elevation.

The Oracle Ridge trail is part of the Arizona trail system that cuts up and over the Santa Catalina Mountain range (north Tucson area). It is very technical and, in some spots, downright scary. We knew we'd be riding the ridge up to the peak of the Santa Catalinas, but one misjudgement or lapse in control and you could be tumbling down a very steep slope. Needless to say, we did a whole lot more walking than we were expecting, and left ourselves in a pretty bad situation time, and water availability wise.

Here's a elevation map of the Arizona trail, with the highest point being in the Santa Catalinas...the area we were in.

All in all, it was a 12 mile climb to the town of Summerhaven where we raided the Convenient store 5 minutes before closing time. I had 3 white castle microwaveable cheeseburgers, a snickers bar, and all kinds of beef jerky goodness...

The descent was a classic...about a 15 mile cruise down a winding dirt road. after that, it was about a 10 mile road ride back to the car. Something cool to point out in the picture with Rick below...it had snowed the night before on Mt. Lemmon. A nice surprise for late May in Arizona.

Tucson, AZ

I love Tucson so far. The last few weeks have gone by so quick. In two consecutive days I went skiing, golfed, and rode my bikes all within 10 miles of each other. There's no other place in the country that someone can do that.

I golfed with my coworker, Armando and two of his buddies Rudy and Pete. They were pretty good and blew me out of the water on the front 9. It's been a while for me and on the back 9, with the help of a few beers to take the edge off, I finally found my swing. I ended up coming in second place, losing to Pete by only a few strokes. My biggest shot of the match came on hole 13 (pictured) where my tee shot came within 2 feet of the hole. My most beautiful shot ever. I ended up two putting it of course, and the guys wouldn't let me live it down. I'm really glad that Armando invited me to come out with them and I'll be sure to go with him again soon.

Mt. Lemmon ski area is located on one of the highest peaks in the Santa Catalina mountains. The city of Tucson,2500 ft. elevation, is encased by five different mountain ranges that generally max out around 10,000 ft. There is the Tucson range on the west side of town Where I live, The Rincon range to the east that I haven't been to, the Santa Rita's to the south, and in the north are the Tortolitas and the Santa Catalinas. My favorite range so far is the Santa Catalinas. The view is second to none. They were happy to have a telemark skier on the mountain so they gave me half price on my lift ticket and wanted me to join the ski patrol. I'm still thinking about doing it. It's a really low key, family-owned, 100% natural snow mountain with just a couple 2-person chair lifts, but has a die-hard following for those in the desert who are into winter sports. The skiing was surprisingly good, and it has more vertical drop than any place I have been on the east coast besides Vermont. And Vermont doesn't get Western snow by the way. (1-2 ft. powder days can be had at Mt. Lemmon is the rumor)

I have been really busy lately with work and am tight on money so there's not too much excitement other than golf and skiing for now. Everyone in Tucson is so nice is one thing I need to point out. Even my drill crew treats me well.