As much as I wanted to sleep in, it didn’t happen. The cold of the desert night lingered and so I faffed around, not wanting to get riding until it warmed up a bit. I spent a good hour or so with my bike. Replacing tubes, putting sealant in them and un-seizing my derailleur so it works properly. Some time after 10am, the bike was ready to go and so was I. I feared I might have waited too long to get going, it was warming up! Definitely only shorts weather.
Happily, I rode to the trails from camp. It was a few miles through the neighbourhood nestled amongst cactus and dirt roads, but I was happy to be camped so close to a trail network that I took advantage. As I rode through the streets, I disturbed the desert rabbits from their hidey-holes and caused a stir with the local guard dogs. I was riding towards Tucson Mountain, but thankfully wouldn’t be riding up it. At the trail head, I discovered there was a larger network of trails than I’d originally thought, which was exciting. I set off on the single track that wound me up the side of the mountain until I hit the Starr Pass trail and followed it north-east.
From the outset, I was surrounded by cactus and not just the tall ones (Saguaro) either, but the ones that have plate-sized arms (Prickly Pear), bush-style (Cholla) and knob-style (Teddy Bear). Besides the fact that every inch of these things are covered in spikes, they are right by the trail so there is no room for error. It also limited my line choices, since going even a few inches off trail would mean a cactus spike in my rubber or under my skin. Aside from a few scrapes with my legs and arms, I managed to have a mostly spike-free day and the bike rode like a charm. No flats, no technical problems, just great riding.
At the end of the Starr Pass network, I came out onto a winding road and followed it downhill to Brown Mountain, which was a few miles out of the way but was the only double-black rated trail in the network so I was keen to check it out. On my way there I came across a pair of riders on fancy duali-bikes, only to find that they were in fact road riders, renting bikes for an off-road experience and not locals. It was nice to chat with them about their riding anyway, but I carried on. At the Brown Mountain trailhead, I met a couple with their 7-year old tiny sausage dog who did her best to intimidate me with her guard-dog barking, but she didn’t last long, we were best friends after five minutes. This couple had beed living in Arizona for four months and generally got out to do some hiking every day so they gave me a few tips about the area which were much appreciated!
After a snack and some water, I set off on Brown Mountain in the anti-clockwise direction suggested by Trailmaps and by my new friends. It was definitely the best way to do it, but it still involved a few sections of hike-a-bike. The trail was rocky and while the density of cactus was less, there was more of a drop-off so far greater chance of ploughing into a spiky bush. No such mishap, I made it to the top no worries, passing a few hikers on the way that were aghast to think that I would be riding down the trail they just hiked up. Coming down was a pleasure; it was slow, technical downhill with a lot of stairs and switchbacks. The whole 6.5 km loop took me about 45 minutes, I was glad I’d ridden out here to do it!
It was now about 1:30pm and I was keen for lunch, but needed a shady spot, so I carried on, heading back to where I’d started from Brown Mountain, this time avoiding the tarmac and finding some single track to take me there. I stopped under a tree to eat my wrap which went down well. I had gone through more than half of the 2.5 litres of water I’d brought with me and only had half a Clif bar remaining so I had to ration myself to have enough energy to get back.
Shortly after lunch, I came across a retired couple hiking through the desert. They were chirpy from the outset and on for a chat, the husband liking my bike. Jack and Claudia told me all about their Western club where they dress up old-style with pistols on their hips and rifles slung over their shoulders to enjoy the old way of life, duels and all. I told them that they had appropriate names for it. It was their first year travelling in an RV, so I was happy to tell them about freecampsites.net and share stories with them. Eventually we all needed to stop standing in the heat so after a good half hour or so, I rode away and they continued on their walk.
The sandy single track took me back to the Star Pass network where I made my biggest mistake in doing the Golden Gate trail uphill. I hadn’t been able to find it when I came out of Star Pass and I’m sorry I hadn’t looked harder because it would have been a super-fun and challenging trail to come down. This meant it was an absolute terror to go up. The gradient wasn’t that bad, it was the constant steps and rock drops I had to get over. I started out ok, but my tired body eventually lacked the “oomph” to give me the short-burst power to get over the persistent obstacles. On top of that, the sun was really beating down now and I was thirsty, limiting myself on water. There was a lot of walking.
When I happened to be in the saddle, I saw my first rattle snake. I must have missed riding over his tail by about an inch as he slithered slowly off the trail, heading directly across it. I yelled out loud (I bloody hate snakes) and easily got up the next handful of rock drops. Eek! I hope that is the last rattlesnake I ever see. That fright gave me a burst of energy that lasted a while and eventually I made it to the top of Golden Gate. I knew it was all downhill from here so I ate the rest of my Clif bar, finished off the Gatorade and commenced bombing my way down the hill back to the trailhead.
I’d been looking forward to this and rightly so. Struggling so much riding and walking uphill was good determination to stay on the bike coming down and that I did. I took it fast. By the time I reached the trailhead I was completely out of water so the last few miles back to the car were thirsty ones, but it was mostly downhill or flat so it was a good warm-down. 50 kilometers and nearly 5 hours after leaving, I was back at my van, right where I’d left her. There was a shady tree nearby with my name on it. I stowed the bike, had a shower and I was getting my Thai mat organised to set myself up under the tree when someone decided to camp right there. Bit weird since this campground is massive and was at least half-empty but he decided to camp ten meters away from me and steal my picnic spot, but no matter. I sat in the shade of some nearby bushes instead. After rehydrating and having some food, I felt good.
I relaxed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, enjoying the cool air descend over the desert as I made dinner watching the sunset. Having over-done it today I think tomorrow I’ll go and do some touristy stuff, then get back on the bike after a day’s rest.