Hurts so good….

This  past weekend was really great…but not so great.

I headed out of town late Friday to meet up with the Sierra Vista boys.  I didn’t sleep well at all as I was too freakin’ lazy to put in some earplugs and take a Zertec.  Next morning’s ride was super awesome with a southern out and back on the new AZT portion south of I-10, then out and back on the north end.  Ended up with more than 40 miles.  I got a good nap after the ride, then set the cruise at 60 headed to Sedona.  I got to Nodville around 8 pm….a bit later than planned, but good timing anyway.

Next day my head was freakin’ hurting, my ears were stuffed, and I couldn’t breathe through my nose.  I played tough guy and joined Matty and Lesley on one of Sedona’s finest…Hangover.  I have killer video for the portion with the overhang, but I’m going to refrain from posting it online.  Word is out on this trail.  It’s not legal, but rumors are spreading that the USFS may give it a thumbsup.

Next morning…head felt the same way.  But I soldiered on to ride House Mtn. from Nodville down into Turkey Creek, Baldwin, Cathedral, HT, Mystic.  Only took 3 hours, but I wasn’t feelin’ too well.

Later that evening we grilled over the giant pit, and I think that made things worse.  So I left the next morning and saw a doctor Wednesday.  Pink-eye, infected right ear, heavy congestion….My doctor heavily over-medicated me.  Hopefully I’ll feel great by Coyote.

Trail Love

The last two weeks have been CRAZY!  The IMBA crew came to town….with pretty short notice in my book.  But no biggie.  We adapted and the members that came out learned some new tricks.  We also learned that we should slow down a bit on our building and work harder to build trail better. 

The best part is that the city of El Paso wants to build trails in their city parks.  They have one park that is just primo for it.  We’re going to do some flagging this Sunday.

But tomorrow is all about making Mad Cow as fast going up as going down.  If you live in El Paso and haven’t ridden Mad Cow…..well….you’ve been missing out.  It still needs some love.  I got some new toys and I’ll be giving lots of trail love tomorrow.  I spent an evening fixing up the bob to hold the toys.  I had to bust out the tiny wheeled circus bike since my bob doesn’t have the 29er friendly attachment.  A few minutes with a jigsaw and a door knob drill bit, and I got this sucker dialed.

                    

           

It’s over 12 feet long all together.  I picked up an Italian Grape Hoe that is super comfortable to swing.  It will work well in softer conditions or for roots that need to be cut.  I tested it out in the garden and it’s like a hot knife in room temp butter.  I gave the handle a bit of protection with an old Nevegal.  We’ll see how that works out.  I also picked up an extra long Mattock.  My other Mattock is super burly, but it’s heavier and has a super short handle.  It works well in the steep terrain when working on bench cuts, but Mad Cow is kind of flat. 

Of course the trailer has room for the McLeod.  I also fashioned a little water bottle holder for extra fuel by cutting up a water bottle and taping it to the trailer.  The fuel bottle fits in nice and snug.  In the bag I have long pants, face shield, hat, gloves, a file, and the chainsaw attachment for the Husque.  I can’t wait to put the blade that’s mounted up now to the test.  I’m not sure I’ll use the chainsaw blade.  It’s for big stuff.  Mad Cow has mostly little stuff that likes to grab your arms and feet.  I’m just hoping my ghetto carpentry skills hold up and the back board doesn’t break.  I took it on a test ride on the trail by the house.  Everything seemed ok but I decided to put the padding in there to protect the Husque.

So tomorrow will be about 45 minutes of road to the trails….another 30 or so to Mad Cow.  I’ll spend an hour or two on Mad Cow, then ride some more.  Then head back home.  Hopefully it will hold up.  Check back for photos of either disaster or pure trail love bliss.