Back, but going.
May 15, 2012
I’m back from a few nights camping with James, whose company I greatly enjoyed riding through Utah’s Canyonlands in 2010. This time, we biked from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, following the pavement-free Arizona Trail. If you’re lucky enough to be visiting this part of the world, I can’t think of a better way of arriving at the Grand Canyon – 100 miles of sublime trails and idyllic camping spots, preluding one of the most surreal, larger-than-life views I’ve ever experienced. I’ll get a trip report up at some point, just as soon as I get through a backlog of writing.
Flagstaff has made a great base this last week. Come 7pm, I’ve headed out of town to freecamp on a hilltop in the national forest, enjoying a city overlook under stars, and awakening to a soul-warming sunrise each morning. It’s helped reset my body clock. My daily ritual has been simple: loading up my gear by 6am, rolling down the hill to Macy’s cafe to write (and enjoy budget-friendly, delicious Day Old pastries). My days here have offered the chance to see friends, ride wonderful trails and soak up some of Flagstaff’s hip, North Arizonan lifestyle. I’ve also been fortuitous enough to meet up with Megan, passing through town on exactly the same weekend. The third member of our Canyonlands posse (another of the South West’s premier 100 mile dirt road loops), we hadn’t seen each other since Nicaragua, when she came out to ride with her incredible little baby Neva.
Last time I was in Flagstaff, I based myself out of Josh’s burgeoning Bike Shop Hub, so it was good to visit and see how the business has developed. Incidentally, Josh has offered to affiliate this blog to his shop. This means that if you order online anything via this link, I’ll get a small cut. In the interests of transparency, I’ll talk more about this business deal at some point soon; ultimately though, it’s a way of supporting this blog, without influencing actual content. The good part is that buying any gear through these links won’t cost you a penny more than it would normally. As Josh stocks the likes of Tubus racks and Ortlieb panniers (including all the tricky-to-find extras), it’s hard to go wrong (-:
Lastly, my big travel news is that I’m finally booked to return to Ecuador! It’s been a long time coming – I left South America almost a year ago after riding down from Alaska, to return to the UK for some unexpected lung surgery. I’ll be catching the train this evening and flying out of LA on the 17th, destination Quito. So, if anyone wants to meet up in LA on the 16th, I’m around and about. Better still, if you know a place I can crash for the night, please let me know – otherwise I’ll be kipping in the airport before my morning flight back South.
Weaving between ponderosas synonimous with the higher elevations of the South West. For this part of the AZT, James tried t pulling the Tout Terrain Mule, which worked perfect with his lightweight Gunnar mountain bike.
Not a car in sight. Just 1oo miles of trails, jeep track, big skies…
And then this…
In time for sunset…
James communes with four legged locals.
Perfect camping out in high meadows. James carried his Tarptent Double Rainbow, while I had a chance to use my new solo Moment, both of which are ultralight and great value.
Note to self…
Back in Flag, I hung out amidst the inner workings of Bike Shop Hub. As ever, thanks to Josh, Robin, Robert and Ted for welcoming me in. Whenever I’ve passed through Northern Arizona, Josh has always offered me a workshop to service my bike and an address to receive mail.
Pack ‘em high. Panniers, racks and trailers galore…
The place to come for all your Ortlieb bits and bobs… Bike Trailer Shop even stocks Revelate gear too.
Have you ever seen a bubble wrap roll as gargantuan as this? I’d have had a field day as a kid.
As well as selling a dizzying range of trailers, Bike Shop Hub build their own. This is their fully customisable cargo hauler, the provisionally called The Really Big Bongo, soon to be available in two sizes. It’s rated to pull some 200lbs (90kg), and is aimed at tradesmen who want to go car-free, amongst others.
It’s expertly crafted in Flagstaff by Stu Henderson, who also forms a third of Sendero Cycles. The arch design stops water pooling in the waterproof cover.
Quick releases allow the angle of the arm to be easily adjusted, so the trailer can be pulled by hand, or to form a stand.
I also had the chance too to scrub my dust-ingrained gear Rocket bag. A tip for long distance bikepackers – keep your framebag’s zips clean to ensure years of rugged use. I popped it on the scales too: 1.1lbs, or 500g. It’s more than most framebags as it has secret compartments, extra padding and bonus sleeves. But it’s certainly useful enough to be worth its weight in gold.
James has a Long Haul Trucker, so I borrowed his rack and panniers to experiment with trailer-less riding on my Ogre. Using a blend of Porcelain Rocket bags and small Ortlieb front roller panniers, the above setup includes everything I’d need for indefinite travel…
Beady-eyed gearheads might have noticed that I have a Porcelain Rocket Anything Bag (100g, or 4oz) strapped directly to a Profile Kage. As much as I love the concept of Salsa’s all-embracing Anything Cages, I’m not finding them burly enough for my uses – perhaps because I have a habit of throwing down the bike for a quick photo. My take? Great idea, but best treated with care. Bring on some chromo versions, Salsa!
I’ve opted to take the Surly Ogre away with me, despite its awkwardly sourced 29er wheels and tyres. Which means taking care of them. Seen here is non other than mountain biking legend Joe Murray, of Kona and Voodoo fame, showing me how best to keep my Deore hubs running smoothly.
Jumping back to cages for a moment… Joe sold me a limited edition, titanium, triple eyeletted King Kage I’d been coveting – the perfect fit for a 1.2l Kleen Kanteen. Be great to get another run of these going…
We also went out for a ride, climbing up to the Overlook and looping round the challenging terrain of Rocky Ridge.
Even though Joe retired from racing in 1990, he still comprehensively crushed me on the climbs. And the descents… In my defence, I should add that Joe was a NORBA national champion with an as yet unmatched streak of 12 straight victories…
His weapon of choice: a prototype, rock-munching Voodoo Zopob 29er.
Talking of munching… Aside from sustaining myself with Day Old pastries, I’ve enjoyed wholesome home cooking too. James is the master of conjuring up delicious food on the tightest of budgets… like these sliced corn tortillas snacks. The trick? Fry with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper, until crispy.
Or this, a simple mix beg special.
James’ Mix Veg Special:
Chop up celery, onion, carrots, zucchini, garlic and some fire roasted red pepper (to fire roast, simply place directly on burner, for a sweet, charred, South Western flavour).
Saute in a touch of olive oil.
Add in kale towards the end.
Squeeze in the secret ingredient, lime juice, which adds acidity and brings out the vivid flavours of each vegetable – without the need to add fat or salt.
Enjoy!
He rustled up some polenta too – a stone ground corn – prepared with smoked gouda, pepper, salt and olive oil. incidentally, corn, beans and squash form the ‘Three Sisters’, combining to make a complete, energy-rich protein. Great cycling food.
The full effect. Perhaps unsurprisingly, James has worked as a chef in France…
To round it off, homemade coconut macaroons, on a bed of farmer’s market strawberries, under a topping of homemade whipped cream (simple: place heavy cream in jar and shake!).
Little Neva joined us too. As expected, the dessert went down particularly well…
AZT: Riding to the Grand Canyon
October 19, 2010
Still on the AZT theme, here’s some pictures from the ride between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. I didn’t have time to meet up with the AZT crew in time to travel this section with them, so I set off to ride it solo as soon as I got back. The distance? Around 110 miles, a heady blend of sweet singletrack and easy going jeep trails. I split them up into two short days on either side of a longer one, to allow for scarce water points along the way. And, because I love to camp out…
There’s no riders to add a sense of scale to the surroundings, but hopefully the beauty of the fall colours, the open meadows, the solitude of the desert and the phenomenal Grand Canyon vistas go some way to lending a feel for what proved to be a highlight of the AZT.
Camping out on the Snowbowl, at over 9000 feet.
Afternoon views from my tent. Later that evening, James, who’d joined me on the climb, returned with a feast of baguettes, cheese, salami and red wine… Amazing! In a coincidental twist, I discovered James's best friend lives at Silver City's Bike House - home to bikers, chickens and giant puppets - where I spent a fantastic week last year on the journey south through New Mexico.
Snowbowl views.
Mellow singletrack through the aspens.
Done that bit…
The advantage of riding the AZT so late is the blanket of fall colours.
Morning dew…
More whispering, shimmering aspen groves.
Sublime singletrack across the grassy meadows, before the massive, swooping descent off Snowbowl. One of the best stretches of trail on the whole ride.
Then forest gives way to desert, and the trail opens out into some fast jeep track…
… across a vast, clear sky.
Th AZT wound on past a couple of ranches. Cattle troughs provided dubious water possibilities, so I waited until Russel Tank, a marshy body of water 30 miles out of the Grand Canyon.
The place to myself… And not a hike n' bike in sight!
So many camping possibilites… Just be sure to carry enough water.
A happy rider.
Not so happy feet. All our hike ‘n biking antics had chewed up my toes over the last couple of weeks.
A ponderosa pine early in the morning. Soon after, I met Rose and Jon, a mountain biking couple from Anchorage, Alaska. Another coincidence ensued. Incredibly, Alan, in whose yard I'd camped nearly 15 months ago at the very beginning of my journey, was the best man at their wedding!
The Grand Canyon. It just appears, as if from nowhere… A massive, gaping hole between two lands.
A palette of auburn colours, ever shifting with each change in light.
Surreal in its size and depth…
Thanks to Kyle at Bright Angel bike rentals for giving me a lift back to Flagstaff.
More pictures from the AZT
October 18, 2010
The AZT Chain Gang - Welsh, English and soon-to-be Canadian.
Here’s some more pictures from the AZT – you can find the first batch over here. They’re in no particular order I’m afraid. Anyone planning a similar ride will have to wait for Cen to update his blog with a more thorough report, along with info and stats gleaned from the GPS – though I’ll try and add in more details as I remember them.
I rode the portion between Flagstaff and Nogales, along with Rocket Scott, Cen and Nerys, who’d already ridden down from the Utah border. Then I returned to Flagstaff to ride solo some of what I’d missed – more on that later. I’ll try and post some details of the kit we were carrying too.
First things first though. For those who haven’t heard about the AZT, it’s an 800 mile multi-use trail, a blend of singletrack and dirt roads developed and maintained by volunteers, running from Arizona’s border with Utah, all the way down to Mexico. En route, it passes through the Grand Canyon (bikes have to be shouldered and hiked, or shuttled round), as well as national forests, lakes, deserts and groves of enormous, spiney cacti. The official hiking AZT also traverses a series of Wilderness Areas but these are closed to bikers; these can generally be diverted round on dirt tracks.
Although it is, in theory, a multi-use trail, large parts of the journey are definitely hard work on a bicycle; extended pushes through sandy washes, hard fought battles with flesh-piercing thorn bushes, and hike ‘n bikes across loose, bouldery gullies that may well – just for the rarest, briefest of moments – challenge your concept of what’s enjoyable on a bike. Plus, there’s the added element that water points are few and far between, particularly over late summer, the time of year we rode it.
Quite apart from the slow going progress of riding so much singletrack, this in itself can dictate how you break up the ride. We left camp in the morning with five litres each in bottles and bladders; or ten litres on the odd occasion we were expecting a dry camp. Thanks to all the astute planning and research from tripmaesters Scott and Cen, it all worked out really well. Only once did we suffer a particularly parched night, where I had to eek out half a litre of water over the evening and morning. During a fitful sleep, I dreamt vivid, water-themed dreams… Few people have yet to through-ride the entire route unsupported – maybe just ten – so there’s not too much info online. Those who have, tend to start in the spring, alleviating some of the water carrying issues.
Bear in mind too that although much of the AZT is rideable in some form or other, it still needs a good deal of work to make it more bike friendly – which is understandable, given that it’s only just been completed and is maintained purely by volunteers. Eventually, a set of bike-specific maps suggesting diversions to the more extreme hike ‘n bike sections and detours around the Wilderness Area would be handy – similar to those on the Great Divide. As it is, we downloaded the excellent route notes suggested by Scott Morris and fed them into the GPS – a must for navigating the unmarked desert trails.
But don’t let all this put you off. The AZT is an incredible experience and I can only see it getting better and better as it becomes more established. It’s definitely a sizeable notch up in terms of challenges compared to touring the longer Great Divide Mountain Bike Ride, and one I’d really recommend to anyone who wants to blend lightweight touring with some amazing mountain biking…
Out in the heat and thornbush corridors south of Tucson.
Cen swoops round through some sublime singletrack on the mesa above Flagstaff.
Although Arizona is associated with parched desert and cacti, much of the northern section of the ride meanders in and out of shaded pine forests.
Amongst a particularly gruelling hike 'n bike along the Highline Trail ('maintained' by the girl scouts, as the signboard proudly proclaimed), a couple of brief but beautiful, redrock riding sections offered respite.
Ace framebag builder Scott is in the business of storage, albeit it of the ultralight variety. Here he is with full kit loaded up on his Rick Hunter 29er. He decked out all with our bikes with similar custom framebags, helping us to ride technical terrain without the clutter and weight of panniers.
One of the many unrideable slogs along the pipeline track to Oracle. This one went on for miles. Up and down. Up and down…
More of those wonderful, fingery saguaro cacti. Each one really seemed to have its own character.
The thorns we had to contend with. We ran a mixture of tubeless tyres and slime-filled inner tubes, so actually suffered very few punctures.
Our bikes were as light as we could run them, making the odd fence crossing a whole lot easier than it would be with panniers or a trailer. The 'bikepacking' framebag setup is definitely the way to go for this ride.
Hitching passage on Scott’s monster wheel.
We didn’t see this perfectly camouflaged rattlesnake until we almost trod on it, at which point it started shaking its rattle furiously. Scott lobbed a stone in its direction to move it on, accidentally hitting it on the bonce – driving it into further apoplexy.
Gentle folds in the mountains near Mount Lemmon, in the beautiful Santa Catalina Mountains. Here began a 5000ft climb.
And the fun, slickrock-style technical descent from Summerhaven to the massive urban sprawl of Tuscon on the other side.
Tuscon is home to a large airforce base, and tankbusters regularly screeched overhead. While there, I cycled round the fenceline of the ‘Boneyard’. Thousands of decommissioned military planes stretch for mile after mile into the desert, in perfect symmetry. It was a eery place; despite the billions of wasted war dollars, there was a strange sense of geometrical beauty to the place.
Far from home. A retired US Coast Guard plane, perfectly preserved in the dry Tuscon air.
The nearby Pima Air and Space Museum was home to the likes of this Mach 3 Lockheed Blackbird, dating back to the late 60s.
As well as squadrons of fighter jets, set dramatically against the burnt blue sky with their inscect-like proboscis.
Massive, ominous-looking bombers, dwarfing all those around them.
And these goofy looking helicopters.
A world apart from all this military hardware, lay the liberal, hippy settlement of Patagonia, 18 miles from border with Mexico. Still a long way from its namesake in Argentina though…
This is the peaceful, grassy courtyard around its impressive library. Although we all carried handheld email-gathering devices, I took advantage of the many small libraries in settlements we rode through – which also sold second hand books for less than a dollar.
Behind this fence lay a clutter of motorbikes and bicycles. America is full of junk of all shapes and sizes.
Arizona isn’t just deserts… This is the calm, clear water of Theodore Roosevelt Lake.
My fascination for US gas guzzlers continues…
Apache Canyon, where we stopped for a refreshing swim.
Riding the 'wash' down the tight and narrow Box Canyon.
South of Colossal Cave. That day we rode some 30 miles of sweet singletrack.
Art deco store fronts along Superior's main drag. Despite its diminutive size and ghost town feel, it was one of my favourite resting spots on the ride.
Superior’s saloon. Cowboy hats and bicycle helmets welcome.
Arizona's trademark crisp, golden light coats the Superstition Mountains, just a few miles from the stripmall sprawl of Apache Junction.
Riding dirt roads out of Payson to skirt round one of the Wilderness Areas closed to bikers.
Although most of the AZT is on dirt roads and singletrack, bikers will need to cover some stretches along paved highways too. Most have a generous shoulder.
A freight train passes overhead, breaking the silence of the desert as it clatters endlessly by.
Sonoita, a cowboy community en route to Nogales, on the Mexican border.
There, we briefly left the desert to cross a swathe of prairieland and cattle ranches.
Rush hour in this tiny junction settlement.
Tasty. Chewy beef jerky, that omnipresent American snack, which we mixed in with dehydrated soups…
Late afternoon. Road riding to Patagonia. Just a day left until we reached the border.
Nogales USA (left side) and Nogales Mexico (right side). Never the two shall meet…
Adios AZT crew!
Back in Flagstaff – a few pictures from the AZT
October 12, 2010
The AZT crew - Scott, Cen and Nerys at Nogales, on the Mexican border.
So, after an epic time riding the Arizona Trail I’m now back in Flagstaff. Here’s just a few words and pics, more on what the AZT is all about as soon as I’ve sifted through the rest of my dusty memory cards.
In the meantime Josh, over at Bike Trailer Shop, is making me feel very much at home, giving me the lowdown on Flagstaff and introducing me to the local bike community here. And I have the visit of my folks to look forward to too…
Welcome to Arizona.
Land of many cacti.
Including my favourite, the beanpole saguaros...
And home to small town Americana.
Some gnarly riding. Steeper than it looks...
It was hot. 107 degrees farenheit hot.
Pavement ends. Arizona Trail begins...
Parched dry on the pipeline road to Oracle.
Hike 'n Bike, a phrase that became synonymous with the AZT.
As did the word Wash, which cropped up with ever increasing regularity as we headed south. Translation: a 3 mile push through deep sand under blazing heat.
Nothing to do with personal hygiene, Scott. Just like it reads on his sweat-encrusted jersey: friends don't let friend ride junk. Our bikes? A Moots, a Hunter, a Thorn and a Charge. Clearly showering proved less important than the wheels on which were rolled.
Now now boys. Behave. Clearly Cen's reputation in the Swansea courts proceeded him.
Sweet Flagstaffian singletrack.
Surprising splashes of colour amongst the pine forest.
Nerys v the mountains.
Cen v the babyheads.
Beginning the beautiful, beguiling climb up to Mount Lemmon.
One of our favourite wildcamps.
Hopping across an old railroad - the South West is steeped in frontier history.
Hm, which way next... Checking the sage-like GPS, a must for riding the Arizona Trail.
A buzzard soars over Apache Canyon.
Don't be fooled by Scott's impressive farmer's tan. It did rain. Once.
Last but not least. Emergency ride food. American-style.
Cen succumbs to the American mantra: supersize me...
