A Green Spring....

Saying this post is late is perhaps an understatement, but as my knee convalescence drags on, I have no excuse to procrastinate further.

In sum, it was a spring of "green", although not so much because of the color.  In Arizona, despite what some people think, we do have lots of green year-round!  Many envision "hot, brown and nothing worth seeing".  But, we who know it better, know much better!  The myriad of colors -- the brilliant blue sky, the evergreens, the exposed earth basically offering you the cliff-notes of local geology. The intoxicating scents -- the mesquite, pine, cypress, their crispness, and my all-time favorite the creosote especially during monsoon season when it plumps up w/moisture.  The life, the history, the good livin',...!   I could go on and on and on about how much I still dig this place!

But, this past winter and spring, my life seemed to revolve around "green" -- my Grandmother who was the last woman on our side of the family to carry the married surname Green and the Verde River (spanish green), the latter which gives life to much of Arizona.   Per my previous post, our grandmother's final days were swift but she was super sharp til the end, and I'd had a few of my final phone chats w/her while I was walking along various spots on the Verde and she at her home in Florida.

I didn't realize the "green" connection at the time nor the awesomeness of how much they both gave so much vibrant life and brought everyone together.  She for the family, and the river for its life-sustaining water.

At the time, I'd merely been trying to find other things to do outdoors which gave me some wind in my face and still-injured-knee more time to heal...and of course to escape the "cold" of the higher elevations near home.

I spent many days paddling (stand-up paddleboard / SUP) along different sections of the river, though mainly in its dammed sections, some of AZ's best lakes.  The lakes are fantastic nuggets of the state and for the most part are quiet and unvisited in the winter/spring especially midweek.  Sheep, bald eagles, coyotes, wild donkeys, cattle and wild horses were regularly within sight, quenching their thirst from the wild and generally inaccessible river's flow.

And of course the bike.  Duh.  Since all my lil' hinge would really allow was some easy spinning, I'd scouted some long empty desert dirt roads where I could camp then just spin to my heart's content.

  

So remote in fact that sometimes I actually packed a little heat, something I rarely do.  Maybe I'd need it against some hungry mountain lion at dawn, or a bored ol' cattle rustler, or.....just felt like the right thing to do in certain locales.

However, of all those remote excursions, the only time I got a little sketched out, the heat wouldn't have been much use, sadly.  I was on my bike on an old fireroad seeking the old historic Sheeps Bridge.  The day was getting warm already and I was definitely having to pay attention to water supply versus mileage away from homebase (aka the truck).

I crested a hill and lo and behold there's big daddy rattler sprawled out across the road sunnin' himself.  I could relate, after all the sun felt great. But, he was blocking my way and wasn't going to budge.  I waited a few seconds and took the opportunity to snap some pics.  I was still a good 15-20 feet away and didn't feel too threatened.

Until. He. Got. Annoyed.  He rared his head back, giving me the ol' cockeye all while setting his rattler in full-throttle.  Instinct kicked in and I swear I felt sweatglands open in places I didn't know existed...my shins??  Wha??  So, now ol daddy simply refused to let me pass thru his sundeck.  Errr.  Rolled a few small rocks his direction which were not met kindly.  I then got mad.  I FULLY INTENDED TO FIND THAT SHEEP'S BRIDGE SO OL DADDY NEEDS TO CHILL OUT AND LET ME PASS THROUGH!   Eventually, after I told him that I was just a guest, he slithered up the bank and disappeared into the brush; I'm quite sure that when I pedaled past that I was at mock-speed, breath-held, traps fully stressed toward my ears and probably eyes squinted if not fully-closed (the same thing I do unintentionally sometimes on the dirtbike on rocky drops beyond my skill-level...ha!)  Point being, neither that little sidearm nor pepper-spray would've done much good w/ol daddy rattler.
(Oh by the way, he was the 5th snake I'd seen since sunrise.  Ah, another day in the life...)

And some other days and sections of the Verde...

 

( Fun friend TD & I playing along the northern sections of the Verde. )

( Right up against the river, a cool campsite for sure, assuming no one else is around. This night was totally unplanned. Fortunately my combo of stocked-rations and some leftover lunch was good enough for sunrise brekkie - sardines and strawberries. Yum??  )

 ( One of my now-favorite spots to set up camp now; ok well not now as it's 1 zillion degrees down that low, but come November, I'll be back! )

  

                                   

The Verde,

special chats with my grandmother,

the sun,

brilliant blue skies,

wide open space...

   ...Spring 2014.

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Rocky Mountain Dirt & Unplanned Bliss

After my early summer adventures/races, I feared I'd blown my knee for good.  I've known (via several surgeons and my own foresight) that my knee's lifespan is limited.  I went 3 weeks not even being able to squat 20deg nor even sleep face down because the kneecap was protruding forward so badly.  "Fortunately" (?), I had to travel for work for a few weeks so (a) was preoccupied with work, and (b) wasn't tempted/depressed by seeing my mountain bike & trails to run on nearby daily.  I'd tried a few times to get on a spinbike, but frankly even 15-20 minutes of easy spinning killed me.  I just tried to justify it as needing time for the swelling to go down and that maybe it was the size of the cranks on the bike (too long).  So, I just did some maintenance stuff for a few weeks to stay somewhat fit and reluctantly wondered if my running/riding days were over, and hoping that when I returned home, a miracle might happen.

I finally made it back home and reunited w/my bike.  The first day was a goatrope.  I rode for about 30 minutes before collapsing on the side of the trail - likely a combo of jetlag (50+ hours straight of sitting on planes, trains, automobiles), heat exhaustion (rocky trail near my friends' home in Mesa, AZ) at sunrise,  a newly busted hand and sheer lack of fitness.  But then I tried again the next day.  It still hurt, but less so.

I was scheduled to race at Beaver Creek, XTERRA, that weekend, and simply knew that I had no personal governor when it comes to racing and I feared that if I towed that line, I would likely kill my knee forever.  Plus, all those colorado girls would kick this sealevel girl's bootay! Ha!  So, after much internal debate, I opted not to race.

I still wanted to ride in Colorado.  I get to go/ride there so infrequently and figured why not just go explore all those epic trails -- without a race, without a stopwatch, for the sheer joy of RIDING a bike.  Maybe the absence of "training" and a "clock" would help me to rehab my knee. Of course, coming from an early summer at sea-level, it might be a challenge, but typically, I handle the altitude pretty well and figured it beat sulking in hot Arizona.  And, frankly, while I ADORE the red rocks of Sedona, I wasn't in love with the idea of fighting rocks and techy trail this summer.  Seeking big mountains, huge climbs, aspen, long and fun descents.  Rocky Mountains!

So, I loaded up the truck, the bike and some camping gear and hit the road.    I'm lucky to have a flexible calendar and wanted to exploit the summer to its fullest this year.  I hit up everyone I know who KNOWS Colorado singletrack and got tons of 411.  Biggest shoutouts to the Turner fam -- Matt & Timoni -- who between the two of them pointed the lil' carbon caballo on most excellent dirt several times.  Super appreciative!

Love crossing the rez at sunset...magical sunset glow.

So, I eased into it, first stop Telluride, rode w/some friends.  I felt the knee, but less so.  Then again the next day, riding easy, the knee was ok.  Wha???   Not sure why I was suddenly better.  Back to my shorter cranks? Better fit on the bike vs a standard spin bike? A few days off from running?  Colorado? I never figured it out.  Rather, I said a few thank yous (to God, Allah, the bike, etc.) and promised to not take it for granted! :)

Of course, I didn't get to ride ALL the trails I'd hoped, but heck yeah a lot of it.   Lots of the epics.  Telluride, Crested Butte, Almont, Fruita, Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Aspen, Snowmass, Basalt, Cortez, etc..  Big mountains, flowy dirt, chunky rock, jeep passes.  Most of my days were above 8000ft elev, and several times above 13,000ft, well above the treeline.   I handled it pretty well.  My legs definitely lacked some needed punch several times.  Found I had to push the bike a few times in places I wouldn't have had to were I a mile lower in elevation.  But I loved it.  Found myself grinning a lot!  Definitely bliss.  Looking back at some stats, looks like I rode 1-2x a day on NEW dirt, pedaled about 250 miles and a glorious 40,000 in about 10 days of riding.  Yes, less than Coconino250/La Ruta/etc; but again, this was for FUN, for EXPLORING, and while yeah hitting it hard at times, I definitely stopped to smell the roses, and mock foxes, and oogle black bears, etc..  (One of the rides was about 5500ft climbing in a mere 20miles, and up to 13K' which kicked my bootay!)

A huge perk was that I even ended up getting to ride w/some friends along the way.  Few of those joint rides were planned, but popped up as great opportunities along the way! :-)

Even some of the best riders find themselves having to push "easy" pitches when nearing 14,000ft.
Corkscrew gulch, near Ouray.  

Jess, leading the way for Patrick, Jason and me, near Telluride.  

I'd recruited a buddy to do some bikepacking and traverse one of the best sections of the Colorado Trail (CT), but being in the midst of monsoon season, it became too risky to get stuck up there on a certain long exposed sections during lightening/electrical storms -- which that particular week was seeing many of.   Of course, my impatience tried to beg borrow and steal to convince him to just go for it, but in the end and after a morning "recon" session, we opted out -- and nearly suffered hypothermia from the experience.    I was bummed but knowing how I have no tolerance for wet/cold as it is, it was probably good I avoided a melt-down...and death by lightening of course.)

Wet rat on the Colorado Trail.
Cold, soaked, off-route and realizing that my hopes for the full-passage the following day was not going to happen...due to the weeklong summer storm in the San Juan range.

Pics never capture moments precisely, especially when the actual vistas are so pungent of vast space, vivid colors, crisp air and the magnanimous appreciation of good health and insanely happy lungs and legs.  Yet, I'm glad to have photos.  For soon, I will be back at work, with no time.  No bike.  No mountains.  No freedom to go go go.  No imperfectly angled climbs.  No glorious deep breathing.  No options for quads to argue for more.  No irrational fear of mountain lions stalking.  No sweet anticipation of what's around the next ridgeline.  No cramping hands and triceps from sweet descents (e.g. Doctor Park!).  No laughing, chasing, freezing, sweating, suffering, alongside riding partners in crime.  No passing out from sheer exhaustion and exhilaration only to wake up and saddle up again.

So, these pics will remind me of my summer stoke - and maybe inspire others to just pack up and go hit the trail (or whatever your equivalent is)!   It's somewhat hard for me to see these pics now, hard to not be bitter that I can't go back tomorrow today.  But hopefully I'll have next summer.  And the next.  And the next.  En sha allah.

Or, as a friend pointed out, this little globe we live on always has summer somewhere on it.  So, for now, I'll try to stay drunk off the summer sweetness and start hatching the next lil excursion.

Ideas???

Birthday morning ride to above the treeline. Near Silverton.

Between Ouray and Silverton...California Gulch I think (via Corkscrew).

Happy camper, climbing to the moon!

The MTB diva Tina on her SS pony...showing me the spectacular colorado trail above Durango.

Ol Black Bear seems to be going where I was planning to go.  Thank gawd for Johnny Cash songs aloud, and my persistence to tuck into that aspen forest anyway.  Near Aspen.

Morning venture. Near Crested Butte.

Perfect for soaking the legs between the am/pm rides.  Near Almont.

Wrapping up the snodgrass trail. Fast fun look, near Mt. Crested Butte.

Singletrack discovery near Cortez.  Amazing circuit of Anasazi ruins along the way.

At around 13000'.  

A solid riding partner. Just say "go" and the boy can "go". Turns out he can climb bout as good as he can DH.

           Pushing up a (sorta) steep pitch...way above the treeline....loving it! Red Mtn, Imogene, etc. in the background.

              Lars, leading the way along the Colorado Trail -- pre-rain/hail/slopsoup fest.  What a day!

Stick a fork in it...

Although I'm terribly outta shape (thx to, hrmmm, winter? lingering knee issues? no training plan for, um er, over a year????...yeah, probably mainly that one), I still partook in 4 races over the past 4 weeks.  Three of those were in the past mere 8 days.  Two MTB races, one desert trail race and one hilly hilly hilly (paved) half-marathon.  The two running races were totally last-minute...probably mainly in spite of that certain doc in Flagstaff who dismissively told me I'd never run again and to "go find a new hobby". I podium'd in both, so...take that doc!   (And thanks thanks thanks thanks to the best doc...Dr. Amit...who was honest, patient, and apparently pretty darn good!)   All in all, the knee is ok. Calves are screaming, but that's soft tissue, so I deserve that pain, considering I didn't train at all. 


That said, the races weren't exactly pretty.  And the MTB race...yikes...definitely not pretty.  Very technical course.  But I'll keep on keeping on; if anything, 'racing' on the technical crap will hopefully just push me to be a stronger rider.  (BTW, I'm not bothered at all though that the Cat 1 winner of one of the MTB races is actually a pro XTERRAn and world-class athlete.  And she's super nice, so...can't really complain about that one :-)  Not every day a nomad like me gets to share a podium w/that caliber, so...coolio.


As it was winter this trip home, there wasn't much sweating nor dirtbiking going on, altho we did let "Donkey" out of his stall a few times.  I did try out a hot yoga class which was the best non-hokey yoga class I've ever attended (definitely sweated in there:-)   


And CB and I became temporarily obsessed w/trying to 'capture' one of the area mountain lions on film, via our new motion sensor wildlife cameras.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stand to wait more than a few days to go see what the cameras caught (who me? impatient? b'lash!).  So, there wasn't much more than a deer (actually, just its butt), a stray hiker, lots of wind (trees a'blowin), and me and CB who imitated a herd of wild javelina in front of the camera to test if the motion sensor was working.  So, there's that.


So, am now tired.  Stick a fork in it.  Am ready to take a break for a few days and to make the most of forced rest while travelling.  Might even read a book or get back in the pool or something.  Next up is a 50-mile MTB race, some more MTB ego-crushers, and of course some XTERRAs.  Come play!!


Some random shots...

Snack break.

Cool shot.

Shwag (another XL for CB).

Just more technical crap for me to make me go 'uggh'.

"Javelinas" testing out the camera.

Parting shot.

Happy trails...

WHAT'S YOUR "FIX"?

as much as i hate traveling/flying these days (as it seems that's all i do anymore), i made one of the best decisions ever earlier this week:

i chose to fly home to az to spend a mere 38 hours. but ya know what? it was so eff-ing worth it!!  i totally got my fix! :-)  later this week, i'm going on one of the 1st 'vacations' i've been on in a long time....the mediterranean!  actually, the thought of flying back across the atlantic yet again seems overwhelmingly daunting for this girl who can't stand sitting still for more than 5 minutes, but geeeez, i really really really needed to ride my bike, to try to run on a knee-in-mending, breathe the northern AZ air, smell the junipers, hear the quail, etc.. it's totally like a drug for me! (the good kind of course!)

so, is it crazy that i flew all the way from WDC to AZ (looong flights, crowded airports, coach seating, long drive home from the airport, etc.) JUST TO RIDE MY BIKE for less than two days??? absolutely not! here's what a gal can do in such a short amount of time...

* mtb!
...rode the mountain bike for 8-9 hours! lots of fun, twisty singletrack, uphill, downhills (which i handled quite smoothly this time, yay!!). thunder mountain, deadman pass, cockscomb, dawa, soldiers pass, up the ol' standby schnebly mountain, down munds wagon trail, templeton, ht, the jumps behind courthouse rock (woo hoo...caught some air...yes me!), some road in between.  i finally got to test out my new Team XTERRA shorts.  they were fantabulous and i'm hoping to be up for at least one xterra in the next month or two.  on that note, mtb state finals have come and gone, and despite the knee issues, i had a great time and got to learn a lot of new lines!  looks like i'm a cat-1 lifer!

* hike!
...nothing major, but got up at around 5am to sip on coffee and hit the trails behind the house in search of javelina and the perfect sunrise spot.   the perk of jetlag is that i always wake up so early in az....another yay!

* donkey! 
...took "donkey" out of his stall (garage) and straight to some ol jeep trails. he was so happy to be outside that he didn't even try to buck me off even once! also, i think i've finally gotten the whole kickstart ordeal worked out.

* splash!
...nope, i didn't suffer thru any boring laps. i simply went to the pool with my smoked MTB legs and jumped in the cold pool. soaked all my lactic acid away so the legs would be ready to play again asap!

* run!
...well, sorta.  the knee definitely is not 100% as it still sorta hurts (and it might forever), BUT BUT BUT it is much better since all those little bone shards were removed (from the surgery), and so i galloped a fun 6-miler on the trails behind the house. i jogged the downhills and blasted the uphills.

* critters!

...in the short span, i saw a fox, coyote, roadrunner, lots of rabbits, jackrabbits, tons of lizards/geckos, companies of quail, etc....but no javelina, no mountain lions...which is probably a good thing!

i'm gonna have to brush my teeth a zillion times just to get all the bugs and dirt out of my teeth, for i couldn't stop grinning and hanging my teeth out for the entire time i got to spend at home. yep, i'm a mtb-riding, juniper sniffing, crack-addict....totally fixed, totally reinvigorated, totally recharged, and ready for whatever comes next, which, sadly, is taking another red-eye tonight back to WDC, just to catch another red-eye tomorrow to the mediterranean (where i actually plan to sleep siesta sleep siesta; it's been a busy few months).

anyway, it was a lesson learned in squeezing what ya can outta life.

what's your fix???

absolutely smashed!! :-)