Since the election, I’m working myself back to me, the family, detoxing. There have been days trapped in Saigon, still only in Saigon. I’ve focused on exercising every day, to put the anxiety in place. Today made me almost right.
58 miles around Lake Pleasant, on a blessed day the girls had no need of me. I have done nothing close since my knee surgery, I am fat, and out of shape. I got scared thinking about the buffet my sloth and torpidity were about to gobble. Its been 3 years since the last ride ride that scared me. But if I could win an election, I could surely scheme my way around this uphill! I did 6 rides for 10 hours in the 2 weeks prior, and got my muscles focused. I planned and quartermastered, instead of installing political signs. The bike, my gear, my routing went slowly and perfectly. I used everything in my pack – batteries, light, all my clothes, all my food, both sets of sunglasses. I finished unscathed but for one small slash on my left wrist, just past dark 10 hours later. It was the first AES ride I can remember where I was not shattered at the end. Yay me!!!
20 miles of smoothish trail around Lake Pleasant.
these guys were out in force, but I squashed not a one!
20 miles of jeep roads brought us around the scant north edges of the Lake. The eskimos have as many words for snow as I do for jeep roads. There was a wide all-vehicle swath of powder and gravel that tugged me backwards while climbing. There were degrading surfaces punching up and over pitches impossible to pedal. Some I leaned down carelessly into the turns, and built speed enough to shoot 50 feet up the next hill, 1% of the ride’s total vert. On a road bike you can carry a downhill up for the next half mile. I got 50 feet across bottoms of rubble and rutted pitches. A few times I fell into a strong cadence and spun hard. Each peak a Spring under my 30lbs overweight, each kept me happy for about 20 seconds before they wore off. 10 or 20 more vf, that kept stacking up. I’ve never felt so not-strong for so long while still feeling strong.
Around 30 miles at 1pm, I stopped for a safety break, eat, turn on my music. I peed off the trail, and this fella came roaring out!
Another hour an half on scenic double-track.
Every AES ride has a few WTF sections. I donut understand why they cant put together something all fun like Flight of the Pigs. The understanding always comes a day later, processing the struggle the day before. You don’t have to be having fun, to have fun.
The furthest reaches of Lake Pleasant hadn’t seen water in a long time, but the lowland still lush compared to the hills.
A mile through this sylvan anti-paradise. Verdant grass is sooooo Colorado, this is Arizona, where everything wants to stab you. The stalks are eighth-inch highly pliable dowels that grow obscenely to handle bar height. Their reverb snaps a steady pelt on my hands, feet, and shins.
Technically, this is a fruit
Another hour of “roads” led to the Black Canyon Trail about mile 40. And it was pebbly pukey crap. I know a bit about trail design and construction, to woefully know how trails segments are consistent. Built the same way, over the same terrain. You don’t have a strip bar next to a swim club. You don’t have buff flowy trails next to primitive zit-faced slogs. Grrrrrrr. The map, and all the beta, said the route’s crux was this grody 500 foot tall line.
I saw the end of the climb miles below from the basement, and fell in slowly and comfortably HABbing with my music. Eventually, it ended. The trail then went down for 2 hours and 12 more miles. I was happy, in a happy place where the fatigue would stop soon, even crossing the New River floor. Every river in AZ is a wash that just washed out more and more and more, 100 or 200 or 300 yards wide, and kept piling full of sundry rock and plants that itch. Sometimes it rages.
