WOWAZ, our Margarita, er, I mean Mountain Biking headquarters for a week.
After leaving a smooth paved road for a potholed third world country kinda road that eventually deteriorated into a dusty, dirt road, cross a cattle guard and through a big green gate we finally arrived to WOWAZ about 9 or 10PM. Upon presenting ourselves we got to know Mary Ellen and CJ over a couple of New Belgium beers before resting our travel weary minds with a sound sleep.
The morning greeted us with a breakfast spread that would satisfy even Oprah's appetite. We gorged ourselves on a variety of fresh fruits, yogurt, granola, an array of juices, hot tea, quiche and yummy muffins. I was moving a little slow after shoveling in all the tasty treats on display at breakfast so I just relaxed while CJ helped me mount up some new tires with his secret desert no flat formula. I can't remember what he calls his concoction but I will just call it CJ's Desert Juice or CJDJ for short. This juice will play a huge part in my enjoyment of riding in the desert. After getting the tires mounted up with CJDJ sealant inside Declan and I decided to head over to the 24hours in The Old Pueblo event.
If you live under a rock and are not familiar with this event 24 hours in The Old Pueblo is the largest 24 hour race in the U.S. and A. By the time we arrived at the venue the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up and it was cold. Maybe it was cold even before we got there, I don't know, all I know is it was cold when we got there and it was warm when we left WOWAZ headquarters. Like an idiot, I did not have the appropriate gear for hanging out in the cold. This would be one of only two times in 12 days of being in the desert that I got a little chilled. Since I am a sissy when it comes to being cold we walked through the vendor area, looked around a little and went back to WOWAZ heaadquarters. Mountain biking is more of a participatory sport as opposed to a sit and watch kinda sport so Declan and I were keen to get on our bikes and ride.
Back at WOWAZ we assembled our bikes and sat around in the sun for awhile before starting our ride. Perfectly situated for cacti hugging nature lovers, hikers and mountain bikers all you have to do to access the huge myriad of trails and desert flora is to walk or ride out of the back yard and start enjoying your particular pursuit.
See the snow up in the mountains? Pretty cool when you are riding around in ~75' F weather.
CJ, anxious to start riding, hit the trails before us and agreed to meet up with us on a section of the 50 yr Trail to show us around. Mary Ellen gave us a first class escort through the wash and up to the start of a trail aptly named Roller Coaster. Declan and I began the climb up roller coaster and I immediately came to terms with the altitude, dry desert air and my fitness. I decided to start off easy and then back it off a notch or two and was happy to see the top of the first climb. We were greeted on the 50 by CJ and was given a tour of a small part of what I began to think of as CJ's 5500 square mile back yard. And that is just the state land, I have no idea how much of the Coronada National Forest we rode on, but it was a lot. We were treated to great single track with rocky, technical climbs and fast, fun descents all connected by the nice flow of the 50 year trail.
This section of trail is known as 'The Overlook'. Almost all of the trail in this area offers a great view but this is the official 'Overlook'. Oh yeah, you can see CJ's house from here, it is one of the ones with the whitish roof.
If I remember correctly our first day we went up on Roller Coaster, down part of 50, rode the Deer Camp Loop, back to and down 50 to the Chutes. The Chutes are a labyrinth of bermed, swoopy trails that descend down from the 50 into a wash area not far from CJ's back yard proper. It was on one of these sections of the Chutes where Declan got his first real taste of riding in the desert.
That is a Cholla stem stuck to Declans leg. The needles on this cactus can be quite painful and usually penetrate pretty deep.
The desert can be as hard or harder on your bike as it is on your body.
The scene of Declan's introduction to the desert and the first of many flat tires. None for me thanks to CJ's Desert Juice Sealant.
After fixing Declan's flat we headed back toward WOWAZ for some hot tamales, ice cold Fat Tire Ale and a nice soak in the hot tub. Man, what a great day in the desert and a nice taste of things to come!
More exciting trails, a Sonorasaurus, Gila Monster and a Flat Tire Festival in the next report.
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