Art, Mike, Marianne and pixy
Each March, as soon as the snow melts, the days get longer, and temperatures begin to rise, I become excited with the thoughts of riding my bike in spring, yet spring’s actual arrival seems to take much longer than expected. After 14 years of riding mountain bikes, and going through this scenario, I have pretty much resigned to the fact that March is the time to get out of New Jersey and find some much needed sunshine and warmth to rejuvenate my soul.
Destination: Way Out West, Tucson Az. – A small B&B style retreat, just north of town, with trails right out the back yard. http://www.wowtnt.com
Each morning Art and I were served an unbelievable breakfast including fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh blueberries, blackberries, mangos, kiwis, melon and fresh baked muffins. We built our bikes in the shop on arrival and went out to ride, along with Mike from NJ who was visiting his Mom, and Marianne who joined us on day two. It was quite a treat to ride in shorts and short sleeves and feel the wind and sun on my skin.
Some of the trails were fast and bermed, some technical, some tight and twisty and some lined with nasty cactus. The dessert flora and fauna have a pretty bad attitude to be able to survive the extreme conditions, and although the thorns can be intimidating, I find this whole experience to be both exciting and refreshing. Each tiny little scratch was just another reminder of how lucky I feel to be alive. Riding new trails in a new environment brings discovery on every ride, and on and off the bike I enjoyed clean air, mountain views, the sounds of nature, beautiful sunsets, and good times with friends.
Thanks to our WOW hosts CJ and Mary Ellen, we rode great trails, explored a cave, spotted a gila monster, visited an ancient metate and a rare crested saguaro. A whole week of good times had!
pixy on the upper 50
leftover's from someone's dinner?
careful
ouch!
resident road runner
CJ and an ancient metate used for making cornmeal
photo by Marianne
photo by Marianne
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