Keeping with the trend

Keeping with my after work riding thing... This time I turned left at the top of Dogfood instead of right. It hurt some, in effort, but it was all new trails to me. And it came with an awesome view.

Looking across the top of Elden from the side of the Peaks... I didn't know there was a trail here.

I want to say I topped out around 9,000 feet in elevation. Not bad for an after work ride. All downhill from there, and man was it glorious.

Mileage: 27.3

Bike to Work Week!

And I'm going to miss most of it! *cry*

Part of the reason I've been working so hard is so I can take this coming week off. Well, most of it.

This involved spending this past Saturday at the shop, after which I decided that a mountain ride was in order. Josh agreed, and we set out after I got off work. Nothing insane, just a fun mountain ride to relax on.

We found a flowing spring, Orion Spring.

Schultz Creek, and Schultz Creek Trail.

Ditto.

Today was the beginning of Bike to Work Week, which kicked off at Heritage Square with a bike swap and bike parade. It's always fun, and I missed it last year. You always see some cool bikes, meet cool and fun people, and sometimes you can score good deals on bike stuff. I came away with stickers and some patch kits.

We also saw the biggest cruiser ever:

Exe with the Monster Cruiser.

After some confusion (lack of announcements) as to where and exactly when the parade started, we caught up with the group.

It's Henry's friend! I ended up pacing him, for the rare double Dummy spectacle. Wish I had pictures of it.

Afterwards, we swung by Absolute for some stuff, then went home. I ended up giving some love to the rest of my bikes, as they were all in need of some attention. Clean chains for Bi and Tri, as well as I'm giving Ergon grips a try on Tri, who also got a better stem.

Nothing says obsession like oiling each individual roller on the chain at a time.

Also at Absolute, I found out about some trails to try out when I get back. Back from where?

Backpacking in Zion! Should be fun.

At least my bikes will all be ready to ride when I get back.

Ride your bikes to work this week!

Mileage: 9.1

After Work Riding

Often, I describe my rides as "Self Inflicted Torture." In reality, it's a release for me, a chance to get lost, then find myself... or something. I think I really just enjoy riding my bikes around. I enjoy too many aspects of it to list, and the pain from pushing myself to get better at it is something I just put to the back of my mind. The fact that I'm slowly getting a little stronger, faster, and maybe even a little more skilled is just an added side bonus.

I have decided that going on longer rides after work are making longer work weeks easier to handle.

Wednesday, I met up with TC after work, and we rode out to Fisher Point. She had her mountain bike, while I took STeve, the cross bike with skinny tires. Happily, I didn't bite any rocks, therefore I didn't get any flats. TC had the satisfaction of being faster than me on the downhills.

The bottom of Fisher Point, as the sun began setting.

"Hai!"

That night, I decided I wanted some real singletrack riding, on some real singletrack trail. (Not to say that the trail out to Fisher Point isn't real, but it is short and tame, fun as it is.) So, I got Tri ready for an outing. I wound up heading up Dog Food to Pipeline, which I took across to Secret and the Arizona Trail, then hooked up with Schultz Creek back towards town, where I met up with family for dinner.

I pushed myself on this ride, as I really wanted to make it to Schultz Pass, for the full blast downhill, but I also really wanted to hang out with everyone at dinner. When faced with such a decision, I chose both, and pedaled harder. I left work at 4:30, was at the Schultz parking lot at 5:00, and Schultz Pass at 6:00, which was when everyone was meeting for dinner. By 6:50, I was sitting at the table with everyone, too. I think I made good time.

Today, I decided to take it easy, and took Slide up Freidlein Prairie Road. It was beautiful, and it'll only get better as the aspens get their leaves.

Obstacle! I don't think I can get Slide to hop over this one...

Riding Slide like this is really helping me figure out just what I want to do with Slide, how to set the bike up best for what I do with it. The list of changes and adjustments grows with each ride...

Good riding.

Mileage: Didn't keep track, but it was on a moto... does it count?

50 hour weeks will end me.

Yeah... working some overtime at work. The day I used to more or less dedicate to recovering from working four 10 hour days so I could spend the next two days riding is now spent making more donuts. Donuts that look suspiciously like picture frames. Mmm... donuts...

But all is not bad though... I've found that when I go on a long ride after a long day at work, I feel better the next day. This is a discovery I seem to make anew every year around this time, though this time it was harder to find, because, let's face it... at the end of the day, I just want to relax... and the thought of taking a 10+ mile route home versus a 2 mile ride home doesn't seem relaxing... until I actually do it.

It's not often one Big Dummy meets another. Henry makes a friend outside the bank today.

Looks like Spring to me... this was last week.

I've been trying to ride a motorcycle to work at least once a week, with a good after-work ride. So I took Slide up to Snowbowl the other day.

The weather is warming up, though the temperature is doing it's usual Flagstaff thing for spring, warm for a few days, then cold, with a generous side of wind. I'll be ramping up my outdoorsey stuff soon, I fear. It will be good.

Mileage: 15.5