WTC 09 WOWAZ Prologue and Stage 1

I arrived in Tucson without incident only to find out that Declan's flight had been delayed. I had some reading to do and just hung around Tucson International for a few hours until Declan arrived. After Declan and his bags arrived we were off to meet the couple that agreed to put up with us for a week. Mary Ellen and CJ live in a certified wildlife habitat with a house planted right in the middle of all the fora and fauna that is indigenous to the area. They call their home Way Out West Arizona and it is located in the desert north of Tucson east of the Catalina Mountains.

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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Yeah, But it's a Dry Heat

I am back from 'Winter Training Camp 09' with a tan and confirmation that I am out of shape going into the 2009 season. What a surprise! This is no different from any other season so I expect to continue my mid pack domination of the single speed class this year. If you are looking to finish mid-pack or slightly farther behind in the races I choose to participate in this year you will have a fight on your hands (until I get tired and fall way off the back). With or without fitness it is time to make some decisions about which races I will drag my anaerobic body through this year. Look for The Mountain Mist Cycling South Eastern United States Tour Schedule to be revealed on this very blog soon.

The city of Tucson's slogan is 'Real, Natural, Arizona'. Yeah, sounds great if you are retiring there. I have derived a different slogan: 'Tucson, warm and sunny (in the winter), with bike lanes seemingly on every road, and mountain bike trails with real mountains and trail features that can kill you. What more could you desire in a winter playground?



Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) on the side of the trail. As a child in America I had dreams. Dreams of devoting most of my paycheck to taxes and health insurance, having a mortgage with no forseeable end and to see one of these beautiful lizards in the wild. I can now rest easy that all of my dreams have come true.




Saguaro Cacti (Carnegia gigantea). Some of these are over 150 years old.




Okay, since this is a cycling blog, a riding pic for your perusal. Moab isn't the only place with slick rock.

Look for Part 1 of WTC 09 to be posted on Monday, where you can learn more about riding and, well, just being in the desert.

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Winter Training Camp Preparation

Yesterday, the first task of "Winter Training Camp '09" was completed. Since I have been told by those who are paid to make me feel better that I shouldn't lift heavy things like a 70lb bike box, I felt it necessary to separate the travels of the Mountain Mist Cycling Team. This has occurred on only one other occasion when on my honeymoon I felt it prudent to mail my bike to Hawaii instead of dragging it through the airports and to the rental car with La Jeffa also in tow.

Just because it is as interesting as the ideas Obama has for stimulating the economy I have jpeg-edly recorded the first preparation for WTC '09.

First step, open box.




Step B, insert partially disassembled bike into box.



Step 3, insert more cycling related paraphernalia into box.



Step 4, throw in wheels. Or place gingerly into foam packing material, it doesn't matter these wheels are as round as a box and as true as as the comments from Bush regarding weapons of mass distraction.



No, I didn't forget about tires and no, I am not going to ride on a rails to trails project before they remove the tracks. I am awaiting shipment of new tires that will make the plane trip with the second part of the team.

Final Step, double check to make sure everything is packed inside properly and close securely. This always seems to take more effort than I am ready for.



Oh yeah, after wrestling with closing the box for fifteen minutes it is easy to remember what I have not inserted into the box. This will require an additional 30mins of wrestling and cursing.

More to come on final preparations for WTC '09.

Having Trouble Cranking Up Oh Nine

I usually like to hit the ground running (or actually riding)in the New Year but this year has been as slow as the economy, going in reverse, in fact, just like all of the lackluster investments these brilliant financial planners have managed to wrap up our retirement savings in.

Following is a list of what has happened and not happened so far in 2009'er:

Happened Painful injury that won't go away.

Didn't Happen Long slow leisure rides to build endurance.

Happened Bought a trainer and rode indoors. Something I vowed I would never do, but it doesn't suck as bad as your wife making you watch a 2hr episode of The Bachelor. I had no idea TV had gotten so terrible. Thank God for TWC.

Didn't Happen (for me anyway) Tour de Felasco



This is a fantastic event that I had to sacrifice for the sake of health, or lack of health, or maybe because I am getting old, but age has only made Tinker faster so that's not a viable excuse.

Happened A very cold, wet winter in the South that has almost replenished our water table.

Happening Road racing will be exciting this year with Armstrong, Basso, and Landis back in the game.

Gonna Happen I am off to the desert to ride and recuperate and have enlisted some outside help to get my own ass back in the game. (more on that later this week)


Check back into the blog often to stay ABREAST of the current news and events of Mountain Mist Cycling.


And you hear all of this talk about how unfriendly road racing is. Seems quite nice to me.


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Going Nowhere Slow

Yesterday I went for the inaugural ride of 2009. Not to be confused with another inaugural event that had way less media coverage.



Quit laughing. It's hard not to look like a retard (oh, sorry, mentally challenged individual) on a road bike when you are out of shape. Even harder when you are 40, out of shape, pasty white, and on a trainer in your basement.



As promised a full ride report:

Weather: Cloudy and 27'F Outside (inside lights on and 68'F)

Route: My basement.

Elevation gain (loss): 0 feet

Distance: The equivalent of 4.58 miles.

Duration: 0:21:51

Heart rate:
Max: 135
Avg: 125
Min: 100

EPOC Peak: 18 ml/kg

Training effect: 2

Hardly worth even strapping on the heart rate belt for that. Come to think of it, I don't know why I even changed out of my work clothes.

Everyone else is packing on the base miles with 3 to 5 hr rides in January and I am spinning for 20 minutes. Very different from years past, not that I made an attempt at base training or training at all, but at least I was riding a lot in January and February. Maybe this injury is a good thing and I needed this downtime to enable me start from scratch and build up a good base with a more directed approach. Blah, blah, blah. Really what this is, is a good excuse for my upcoming mediocre racing performance this year.

Healing Spinabilities

Today I visited Dr. Caine and he gave me the thumbs up, might as well go ahead and see what happens, clearance, permission, okay to spin on my indoor trainer for 20 minutes. He emphasized the "spin", "no mashing" concept that will be my mantra for 20 short minutes a day for the rest of this week (assuming it doesn't cause unbearable pain).

Log on tomorrow for the full ride report on my first ride of 2009.




The spin tent at the 24hrs of Adrenalin, 2005 edition. You can't see the trainer I am attached to, but I assure you I am not demonstrating my mad track stand skills on this particular occasion.


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Winter "Training" Camp

It is now less than one month before I make my sojourn to the desert for some riding in and around Tucson, AZ. This trip was planned to add sunny warm miles to my cold weather training plan (which typically consists of complaining about how it is too cold to ride) and also to catch up with Declan who lives in a place less sunny and more gloomy than I do.

As you, the faithful readers of this interesting and informative narrative of mediocre riding experiences know, I have been suffering from an injury. I have been off the bike now for over two weeks which is the longest span of time I have gone without riding in many years. I will be off the bike for a few more weeks while I try to heal and avoid half drunk spine and neuro surgeons with sharp rusty knives. It has been against the advice of all of the so called experts (doctors, physiatirsts, and surgeons) that I have chosen to attempt to allow my body to heal itself with alternative care (stretching, walking, mental awareness of stress induced pain, and no lifting). It seems to be working, although this is the least amount of physical activity my body has seen since I was an infant. However, I have become more aware about the psychosomatic causes of pain and illness, and this, if nothing else has been enlightening.

If all goes well I will be able to get back on the bike about the time I arrive in the desert. If all does not go well I will be training for my new hobby, bird watching.

Declan and I met riding in Jamaica with the SMORBA crew. He lived and worked in Jamaica for a number of years and started Island Sport Trust while there.





Since then Declan, who rides all over the world, places like Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, etc. has been duped into traveling to the U.S. to ride, help me renovate my house while he was promised a lot of riding, and witness how lost I can get on trails I claim to ride all the time.



Riding at the Pisgah. Just arriving on top of the Laurel Mountain climb and ready to head down Pilot Rock.



Stream crossing in Dupont.

Chasing Declan around on a mountain bike in the desert will be the same as trying to keep up with him in the Pisgah, Jamaica, and the Ocoee only with different trail obstacles to hopefully slow him down a little.







Log in often as I will be providing periodic updates so all three of you that read this blog can stay abreast of the winter training camp plans that may consist of riding a mountain bike in the desert or bird watching or a little of both.