Back in Tucson

We are back in Tucson, AZ! It has been two years and it is everything I remember. We are staying near Catalina Hwy, the road that goes up Mt Lemmon. You can ride all the way around Tucson from here, it is a perfect location.

Saturday 10/24: On the way from Santa Fe we stopped in Tullarosa, NM to ride the White Sands 108-mile century on the missile range.

. It was a fun ride "not a race" with plenty of wildlife and no cars, the best wildlife being the Oryx.

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At the start of the ride a girl with good intentions picked a fight with Todd because I was on the windy side and he was on the wind protected side of the group, it was pretty windy I'll give her that. She thought it was so rude of Todd and told him multiple times to switch spots with me. (my heart rate at the time was ~ 110bpm.) What do you say in a situation like that? "no, I am actually a good rider, I just look slow" (since I have a full Hydrapak, MTB shoes, handlebar bag, Bento Box, tool bag, a front and rear light, etc.) I just said something like "oh, I'll be fine, thanks."

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As it ended up I was the first 108-mile route finisher @ 5.5 hours (2nd to cross the "finish line"), but only because the lead group I was with stopped at the 60-mile aid station for lunch while I continued on. Todd had turned off (alone) at the 35-mile mark to do the "70-mile" loop, which ended up being 93-miles! He ended up being the 1st finisher and beat me by 30-minutes. It was a great ride, we didn't race it (my heart rate average was 145) but it did make it interesting to see if I could "stay away", Todd had his own slow motion race, making sure he got in before I did while not going hard.

After the century we drove a couple hours toward Tucson and spent the night at the Deming Wal-Mart.

Sunday 10/25: Did our shopping at Wal-Mart, finished the drive to Tucson, stocked up on propane and diesel for the winter (never go to Gas City in a big rig!), pulled into our new location, and got in a quick spin to the local coffee shop before dark.

This week is my favorite part of getting to a new town, scoping out what it has to offer, finding the local gym, health food store, mail service, new training routes, etc. We hooked up with Chad Brown and Scott Morris today for a late day ride in Oro Valley, those two are a lot of fun. I was a bit worried they would decide to ride to Mexico while surviving on gas station food and sleeping under the stars or something. But luckily they were happy to do an easy spin and grab a taco at Rubios. Thanks for the pics Chad.

. Now we have a freeze warning, what happened to the warm weather???

One week left in Santa Fe

We have five days left in Santa Fe, NM before heading to Tucson, AZ for the winter. This last week has been great for riding with temps in the low 70s. The best part of riding in Santa Fe is almost every ride leaves from "home", although we did drive to Taos to do the South Boundary Trail.

I like this picture of our spot in Santa Fe. It looks like we think we are hidden in the trees. Todd on our railtrail ride from Santa Fe to Lamy and back.

Henry looking over Santa Fe from the Atalya trail.

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I have been trying out goodies from interbike and will post a review soon.

What to do & Where to go in Durango, CO

Best of Durango, CO (this list is a work in progress of things I'd like to remember the next time I am in town)

Where to stay: Durango Hometown Hostel. You have to check it out; all ages are welcome, very nice and super clean. It is basically a newly remodeled home with bunk beds in bedrooms and great bathrooms, awesome host, low prices, and coffee in the morning. It has everything you need and more, including the Horse Gulch MTB singletrack right outside the front door. Bike shops: Mountain Bike Specialists

Durango Cyclery Summer Thursday night SS rides with an awesome crew. Coffee shops with computers and wifi: Steaming Bean - 915 Main Street Durango Joes - 732 E. College Drive Health food stores: Natural Grocer -1123 Camino Del Rio

Durango Natural Foods Co-op - 575 East 8th Ave

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Brewery and food:

Ska Brewery Word is Zia Tacaria is the place for after a ride, I still need to check this out myself. Bread great bread and sandwiches, very cyclist friendly. Trails: Horse Gulch Test Tracks Colorado Trail Hermosa Creek Road routes: Flatish – Hwy 250/550 Climb – 160 from Durango to Hesperus See Map My Ride link for more Websites/group rides/trail descriptions/races: Durango Wheel Club Trail/Route Info Map My Ride

Durango Devo (Summer short track race promoter, also see race schedule for other races) Fort Lewis College (Hemosa Creek Classic race promoter)

37/60/100 mile road event Sept 25, 2010 Durango Century 2010 date TBD Dirt Lover’s Rally 2010 date TBD

CT Classic 2010 date TBD

Radio Stations:

102.1

Santa Fe, NM Jason & Heather's Wedding

We are hanging out in Santa Fe, NM eating great New Mexican food and visiting with family. Todd's brother Jason's wedding was Saturday in Chimayo, NM. It was a perfect fall day, I rode 70-miles on the road before the wedding, we then hurried to get ready for the wedding, drove to a wonderful B&B in Chimayo for the wedding and reception, then back to Santa Fe to hang out with friends and family till sometime Sunday morning. Todd and I camped (crashed in the Eurovan), then finished the weekend off with brunch at the Cowgirl..

Jason and Heather Park

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