Well, that blew: Part 2

I took advantage of a slow day and some accumulated leave to bug out early from the office and turn the bike commute home into a training ride instead. Started at the Santa Cruz River, went up Anklam, and finished atop Gates Pass. Just a lovely ride.

Why do you think it was that I never clicked into my road bike's little ring? Was it because:

(a) I was well rested and had not just ridden hard the day before.
(b) It was 15 degrees warmer than the last time I went over the pass.
(c) My wife had finished her singlespeed ride and was waiting for me at the top.
(d) There was a 20mph tailwind.
(e) All of the above.

The answer is (e). There were multiple motivations to crush the ascent.

Sunday, I'd gone up and over Gates Pass to the G5 parking lot and then right back over, and this was after putting in about 30 miles on a Mission and South Tucson road loop the day before. I hadn't planned well in scheduling the Sunday ride. It seemed warm at 4:00pm so I threw on the strip and pedaled off. Despite some lingering fatigue from Saturday, I had to spend the latter half of the ride hammering to beat the sunset so as not to get caught out after dark with shorts, a paper-thin, short-sleeved jersey, and no lights. Desert rats never seem to take cold very seriously.

Back to today. Its always nice to know that your own personal tifosa is waiting at the top. Beans had taken her Nzumbi out for 10 miles of dirt around Tucson Mountain Park from G5, past Kinney and along the Ironwood Trail, with some side-trailing and exploring thrown in. I came across her while I climbed; she was driving home from her ride. She turned back, motored up to the parking lot ahead of me, and yelled allez! or venga! or something unintelligible at me until I gained the summit.

Tailwinds - a gift from the Bicycling Gods. Tucson was experiencing one of its rare south/southeast wind events. Its pushing out in front of what may be the first storm system in a long time. Damn, we need some rain around here. Anyway, at the pitch where I usually bag it and drop to my granny gear, I upshifted, stood, felt the wind shove me, and just went right on up. But just to prove that I can always find something to complain about, I actually had to hammer on the way back down Gates Pass Road. The strong tailwinds on the climb were equally strong headwinds on descent. The same wide body that acted as a sail on the way up was an equally large impediment to gaining any speed, even fully tucked. Stupid large frontal area. I'm holding at 252 pounds, for whatever that's worth.

Other bike-related news. It appears that Ssweatleaf may be back on the guest list for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. I've never met the guy, but was nevertheless disappointed when he had to back out from the roster. His I Heart Singlespeeds blog shows him making some big New Mexico climbs with but one ring and one cog. I went 1,000 vertical feet with gears this afternoon; this dude does triple that on a singlespeed and finishes at 10K. The Seven Bitches will be like speedbumps to a Human Lung like this. Plus, his profile says he likes good beer - always a good trait.

What else? How about a shameless plug for the top Doctor of Optometry practicing in the East Valley? Dr. Frank M. Akers II is a contact lens specialist and knows what the two-wheeled crowd needs to be able to see well and avoid excessive eye goobies. Please respect his credentials and do NOT ask for a bro deal. Think about it - why would you want cut-rate vision care? Do you have discount eyeballs? If so, go down to Nogales, Sonora and start asking around at the bars.

Misc: The rufous-phase red-tailed hawk is still making his rounds over at the Santa Cruz River. An impressive bird and essentially absent from the Southwest during summer. Give it a gander if you can. And the Santa Cruz is a real live river right now, by the way. For a week or two now, there's been a leak in the treated effluent line right near the Saint Mary's Boulevard bridge. Its pouring down the soil cement banks and flowing downstream a good 10 meters. Treated effluent is, of course, poopie water. Don't laugh, we Old Puebloans will be drinking that shit someday. Toilet-to-tap. Mmm. Bet its still better than the warm swimming pool-tasting water those poor bastards in Phoenix have to drink.

Enough for now.