Day 5 of the ultimate spring break mountain bike trip marked the end of our streak of two-a-day trail days. While the rest of our Tucson experience would be less successful in terms of riding, the next two days would prove interesting in other ways.
You mean I’ve been doing it wrong all these years?
On previous Tucson trips, I had hit a total of three local trails, one of which commanded my return—the 50 Year Trail. After a hearty breakfast, we headed out to the trail with a stop at the nearest bike shop to get a couple slime tubes to combat the ubiquitous Sonoran cactus.
Hitting the closest bike shop to the trail, I was surprised to find they didn’t carry tubes of any variety larger than a 2.25”. The shop attendant told me nobody in the area runs anything larger than that. Really? With all those rocks, sand, loose gravel, and miscellaneous forms of fat tire fun, nobody runs larger than a 2 1/4? In fact, the shop attendant raised my awareness by informing me that the only proper application for anything larger than a 2.25 is competitive downhill racing! Silly me—running unnecessarily fat tires on my long-travel, all-mountain rig. Well, it’s off to the trail hoping our non-slimed, needlessly obese tubes would hold for the day.
Disaster strikes!
But once again, not us. As we were gearing up at the trailhead, a trail runner emerged into the parking area in a bit of a panic. Through his French accent (he was from Quebec), we learned he had become separated from his significant other on the trail, hadn’t seen her in over two hours, and was very concerned about her safety. He desperately wanted to place a 911 call, but his phone was locked in his car and his missing wife had the key! I gave him my phone and subsequently gave the 911 dispatcher directions to our remote trailhead since our panicking friend was even less familiar with the area than us. We then waited with him until we confirmed assistance was on the way.
Heading out on the singletrack, I found it to be even more interesting than I remembered from my last ride seven years ago. The singletrack bobs and weaves through a delightful variety of cacti, and the magnificent Santa Catalina Mountains were always on our right side, keeping us company.
After a wrong turn and a couple extra miles of exploring, we got back on track and busted for the Chutes (a fun and flowy extension loop off the east side of the trail), stopping only once in a vain attempt to get a picture of a road runner. I raised the camera, he moved. I then had to relocate him–they’re fairly well camouflaged, not brightly colored like in the cartoon. I raised the camera again, he moved again. After about a half dozen iterations of this, I gave up. I couldn’t even get a picture of one, let alone dream of catching one. Now I can see how that little twerp frustrated Wile E. Coyote so badly!
Despite the frustrating bird, the rest of the trip to the Chutes was fantastic. This is a great trail for riders of mixed abilities as there are oodles of technical stunts along the way, most of them with legit cheater lines around them.
Disaster Strikes!
I let Miniskibum lead the way down the roller coaster that is The Chutes. As I approached a rise, I heard something disturbing from the other side; the unmistakable sound of skidding and then a human body slamming into the ground. As I crested the rise, I could see Miniskibum lying awkwardly and grimacing in pain. One knee was bleeding, but that was the only visible damage. Fortunately, that was the extent of the damage to his body; unfortunately, the damage to his bike wasn’t so easily shrugged off.
The spring that keeps tension on his mechanical disc brake had failed and, no matter how I adjusted things, there was no way to keep the bike running safely. We pushed our way back to the top of The Chutes and then rode carefully back to the trailhead. This was disappointing as I had been told there were some real technical goodies on the extension of the 50 Year Trail beyond The Chutes and we were looking forward to riding them. That just got put on the list for a future trip.
However long Miniskibum was bikeless would also affect our riding agenda. It was clear we would not be riding Naranja Park that afternoon as planned. This may have been just as well also as the temperature had reached uncomfortable levels for us Colorado boys. It was also not a great loss because we only chose this trail due to its very close proximity to my Father-in-law’s place, rather than its inherent desirabiltiy.
Physical difficulty of our route: 3/5
Technical difficulty of our route: 3/5 (crank this up to a 4+ if you hit the optional tech lines)
Skibum’s grade: 4/5 stars
Miniskibum’s grade: 4/5 stars
A Tale of Two Bike Shops
I had neither the parts nor the tools to make repairs to the brake, so it was off to the nearest reputable bike shop we could find—and I already knew of one to avoid! Next shop down the road was a Trek store—Miniskibum’s bike is a Trek, so why not give it a whirl? By this time, it was late afternoon, so getting the bike fixed before closing was not going to happen, but they said they could get a replacement brake ordered and installed by noon the next day, a promise they fulfilled. Thanks to John at the Trek Store in Oro Valley, we only missed one afternoon ride and the following morning ride and were back in action by lunch the following day. Oh yeah, they also had slime tubes for my 2.4 tire!
Having lost our morning, we had to abandon our plans to ride the tough La Milagrosa shuttle, which was another disappointment but just gives us an excuse to make another Tucson trip. For that afternoon we headed out to an old Tucson favorite, the Starr Pass route in Tucson Mountain Park. The Tucson Mountain Park in huge, with over 20,000 acres of land and 62 miles of official non-motorized trails. When combined with the adjacent Saguaro National Park, you’ve got a monstrous preserve.
To say the scenery and terrain here are rugged would be an understatement. It’s such a stark contrast as you approach the trailhead, driving through the immaculately groomed golf village and then, suddenly, it all comes to an abrupt end. Green gives way to grey, brown, and black and smooth becomes anything but. The trails were sometimes entertaining, but often just a bunch of loose rock and gravel covering a dry wash. This is not a place to come if you’re looking for any kind of pampering. Like the rest of the area, it’s all exposed and our ride ended up being quite hot yet again. The notch that is Star Pass is imposing to look at, but far from the toughest ride in the area, so proceed with confidence, so long as you know where you are.
Disaster strikes!
In addition to the miles of singletrack, there are a number of old dirt roads and doubletracks crisscrossing the area, none of which were on my map. Not that it would matter if they were; for the second time this trip (and the last time in my life if I have anything to say about it), I lost my map somewhere on the trail. So, once again, we were on a vast, complex, largely unmarked trail network, without a map.
What’s worse is I somehow got it stuck in my mind that we were doing a counterclockwise loop, when in fact we should have been doing a clockwise loop. Many cairns led us to trails that would peter out or dead end. We ran into an old shooting range, what appeared to be an abandoned camp or cabin sites for some sort of defunct dude ranch, and one clearing with a whole lot of recently empty containers of industrial solvent (remnants of a portable meth lab?).
After about four miles of needless bushwhacking and backtracking (and looking over our shoulders), I decided it was time to just get the heck out of the park. We dropped down to the nearest bit of pavement and finished this less than successful outing with 10 miles of blacktop circumnavigating the big park back to the heinous final climb to the parking area. I would like to return and do the ride properly someday, but the less interesting singletrack puts it much further down the wish list than Milagrosa or the upper reaches of the 50 Year Trail.
Physical difficulty of our route: 3/5
Technical difficulty of our route: 3/5
Skibum’s grade: 3/5 stars (I didn’t allow our difficulties to downgrade my assessment—this was my impression of the good parts we rode)
Miniskibum’s grade: 2.5/5 stars
After a couple frustrating rides, we were looking forward to a change of venue, new scenery and cooler temps, all of which we would find on day seven, a little further north and a little higher in altitude. In the next installment: Passing through Prescott and Sliding into Sedona!
Wow, lots of difficulties. Did the guy ever get reconnected with his significant other, or did she die in the desert? (I would hope not)
Re: tubes: I know I’m a little old fashioned for running tubes myself, but I’ve learned that you don’t need to buy tubes that are the exact same size as your tires. If you purchase tubes that are smaller in diameter, the rubber will stretch to fill the inside of the tire. I imagine that’s why the guy said you didn’t actually need 2.4″ tubes. Most tubes of the 2.4″+ variety are pretty thick and heavy, whereas for most conditions you can buy a lighter, and CHEAPER 1.95-2.25 tube, throw it in a larger tire, and it will work just fine. I’ve even heard stories of people using road tubes in a 29er mtb tire in a pinch, but I don’t know if I’ll go that far…
Re: losing maps, getting lost: I get seriously lost so much less now that I GPS my rides using a smartphone. Of course, if you lose the smartphone on the trail as well, then you’re equally screwed 🙂
Yeah, and Greg speaks from experience about losing a phone on the trail. 🙂
Yup, unfortunately :S
Tubes – there’s your problem right there. Get rid of ’em and quit throwing your money away!
I always carry 1 spare tube and a patch repair kit in my saddle bag exactly for that reason. I still really like the simplicity of tubes. For a long multiple day trail trip like yours, I would also bring a back-up bike that either one of you could use.
I keep spending my money on upgrades. I really need to save a few pennies for a GPS.
That sucks about the difficulties but at least it was nothing major (both mechanical or physical.)
There are some AWESOME rock formations “just past” the Chutes area. You’ll definitely want to hit that when you go back.
You’re so right on the signage. I was lucky enough to get a tour-guided ride at Starr Pass and I think the sign in your picture is the only sign I saw even though we jumped from one trail to the next. There’s a night and day different between the signage at Starr Pass and Sweetwater!
Thanks, Jared. I was starting to feel pretty dumb wandering through the desert in full view of all the navigable landmarks, but still having great difficulty figuring how to complete the route!
You found my meth lab! Shhhhh…
It’s funny reading the comments above, because like them, I focused more on the tube/tire part of the story than the trail part of the story. I only ride tubeless now, but I carry a spare tube just in case. I like the feel and traction of sans-tubes, but most of all, being a Colorado guy myself, I am amazed how many sharp things I run over! My tires have wet spots on them after almost every ride. Stans is the man.
After riding a fatbike all winter with 4.0 Husker Du’s on them, even my 2.35s seem skinny…so I appreciate your desire to have a bigger tire on just about any trail. Even a thin/light 2.4 is great for cross country racing because of the bounce and traction it gives you. People obviously have their preferences, but I can’t imagine a shop guy steering folks away from a larger tire…unless they are a weigh weenie. Great article! I’d love to ride with you sometime here in CO!
Shoot me a note if you’re ever headed down Springs way. Likewise, there’s a few trails up you’re way still on my wish list (i.e. Mt Falcon, White Ranch).
Those trails are literally less than 8 min from my house, so let me know when you want to ride! I have only ridden once in the Springs: Palmer…so I would love for someone to show me some more trails. Maybe the weekend of May 24th. I am headed to the Fruita Fat Tire Festival this weekend..are you?
Went to Fruita last weekend to beat the crowds. Damaged myself on Moore Fun (aka Moore Pain!).
If you haven’t yet, be sure to hit the newer trails at 18 Road, PBR and Mojos.
Have Fun!
I have two main bikes, a Yeti 5 which I use for the cc-type stuff and a Yeti 7 I use for the AM-type stuff (as well as an old hardtail, I break out when I’m feeling retro). However, I didn’t really consider taking both on this trip because I knew I would be parking at one or more potentially sketchy trailheads between destinations, so there’d be no way to secure the spare bike to my comfort. I do love taking a backup bike when I can and it has saved me a couple times in Fruita.
One of the bikes, the 5, is tubless (as was the 575 that preceded it), but to justify getting the 7, I had to keep expense down and stick with the stock wheelset, so it remains old-school tubed. Most of the trip was more cc-oriented, but I really wanted the 7 for the few tru AM rides (i.e. South Mountain), so I chose to sacrifice the lighter weight and quickness on 70% of the rides to have the burl for the gnar on the other 30%. Of course, this also meant brining my tube bike to cactus country.
Knowing what I was in for, I brought plenty of tubes, but went through them faster than expected–silly me, I thought I could just wander into any old bike shop and get a 2.4 when I needed one. I did consider getting some smaller tubes that morning, but I suspected by blowing up the smaller tube to that size, it would make the tube walls very thin, thus even more susceptible to any sharp object, so I figured it easy to just repump my slow leak a couple times and get tubes that afternoon, which worked well. Had a patch kit as well, but just couldn’t find the darn leak! (can’t do the put it underwater trick in many places in Arizona!)
I now understand why you did not bring a backup bike. Makes perfect sense to me now. I would most likely do the same thing.
I have never gotten anywhere as many punctures as you do. Those cactus needles must be holy hell on tires! I did not have cactus in New England, nor in the mid-West where I live now.
When I have gotten a puncture, I usually pump up the tire and keep riding if the leak is slow enough, or I swap tubes at the trail. I usually also bring a pressure gauge to make sure that I don’t under-pressurize the spare and end up with a pinch flat. I’ve done that too. 🙁
Then at the end of the day or that evening, I patch up the tube that I removed. That way I have another tube ready to go for the next ride.
I think what I had going on was a small thorn stuck somewhere in the tire itself. The thorn was big enough to puncture a tube, but not obvious enough for me to find, and I spent more time fondling the inside of that tire than I care to admit!
Once I got a slime tube and threw it in–no more issues–I’m guessing that pesky thorn is still in there somewhere.
That would do it. Darn pesky thorns!
Putting some slime inside a regular tube works really good too.
Just out of curiosity, you weren’t able to swap the wheelsets and take the tubeless one? I have different rear hub spacing…but I thought the 5 and 7 were the same.
Actually, the wheelset on my 5 was the old one I pulled off my 575–old-school skewers and no way adapt to anything else. The 7 has the big fork with the 20mm thru axle up front and the 12mm in the rear.
Just replaced the 8yr old wheelset on the 5 though–waiting for a little more snow to melt here in the springs before I give ’em a go. Very excited!
I’ve enjoyed reading your post, Skibum. As well as other from your southern Odyssey. Despite all the problems I’m sure you two had an unforgettable ride and vacation at all. Thanks for sharing.
I rode Lake Pueblo last week and feel same about cactus thorns – already found three in my front wheel only. Next time will throw those slime tubes.
Also glad that you found your way out of that huge network of trails.
When and where your next trip is gonna happen?
Somehow, I’ve always come away from Pueblo unscathed. Thought I was immune to cactus ’til I went to AZ!
If I can do it without too much family abandonment, I’m going to try to hit the Northern Utah Mountain Bike Festival in Vernal over Memorial Day weekend. I’ve never been there and I’ve never done a bike fest before–and it looks like they’ve got some great trails.
Tubeless is definitely the way to go in the desert. Flats are non-issues anymore. Too bad about the crash at the Chutes. Middle Gate heads up the mountain adjacent to the start of the Chutes and is a great trail…very technical to unridable in a couple sections…but the occasional hike-a-bike is well worth the killer downhill back to the 50 Year Trail. Highly recommended when you return. Heading to Sedona Cinco de Mayo weekend for the Singletrack Celebration…should be a great time. Looking forward to a Hangover!