There are always multiple fun things going on for every given weekend, and it's always a struggle for me to determine how to maximize the ~50 hours of fun. I started it out by joining a few friends for a climb at Climax, one of the new climbing gyms in Tempe. Although the gym lacks the competitive big ropes that Haydon and I always end the climb with, it does boast brand new holds and walls (they're so sticky, you almost don't need chalk) and a real air conditioner (as opposed to the swamp cooler at PRG). The climbing and post-climb Dos Gringos was a great way to start off the weekend before I had to decide between hanging out with mountain bikers in Sedona or ultimate players in Prescott. So, like any good compromiser, I did both. Saturday morning started early with Jack and Hannah on South Mountain. We had a nice, easy ride on Desert Classic out t
o Telegraph Pass. Ok, at least I did. Hannah started hating Jack and I sometime in between the time he wouldn't let her stop at the water tank and when Jack ran over a rattlesnake. But, we made it the 9 miles out in 1:15, and started up the Pass just as Hannah ran out of water. Oops. The long climb was hot and involved lots of bike carrying, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I don't know if it is because of the experience I've gained or the fact that maybe, just maybe, the weather is cooling off a bit, but either way, I'll take it. Jack and I gained the top and watched Hannah painfully make her way up for a bit before Jack felt the gentlemanly need to go help out our d
amsel in distress. After a brief rest, we all spun up the blacktop past the TV towers until we got to National Trail. I really do love this trail, even if I can't clear half of the stuff on it, and I was stoked to be on it. Jack was stoked as well. Hannah... well, Hannah was just mad at the world by this point and in dire need of water, confidence, and maybe some pixie dust to help her fly more gracefully. The trail was exactly as I remembered it, and I was having a blast improving my skills over rocks and down tricky sections, trying to increase my control and handling of the bike. I got a bit tired towards the end, but not as much as Hannah, who had one spectacular endo over a pretty big drop, and the two of us took it easy the rest of the way down the mountain until we finally caught up to Jack at the trailhead. After two more fast, easy miles on the fire road, we were back to the truck where we gulped down some liquids and headed for home.
o Telegraph Pass. Ok, at least I did. Hannah started hating Jack and I sometime in between the time he wouldn't let her stop at the water tank and when Jack ran over a rattlesnake. But, we made it the 9 miles out in 1:15, and started up the Pass just as Hannah ran out of water. Oops. The long climb was hot and involved lots of bike carrying, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I don't know if it is because of the experience I've gained or the fact that maybe, just maybe, the weather is cooling off a bit, but either way, I'll take it. Jack and I gained the top and watched Hannah painfully make her way up for a bit before Jack felt the gentlemanly need to go help out our d
amsel in distress. After a brief rest, we all spun up the blacktop past the TV towers until we got to National Trail. I really do love this trail, even if I can't clear half of the stuff on it, and I was stoked to be on it. Jack was stoked as well. Hannah... well, Hannah was just mad at the world by this point and in dire need of water, confidence, and maybe some pixie dust to help her fly more gracefully. The trail was exactly as I remembered it, and I was having a blast improving my skills over rocks and down tricky sections, trying to increase my control and handling of the bike. I got a bit tired towards the end, but not as much as Hannah, who had one spectacular endo over a pretty big drop, and the two of us took it easy the rest of the way down the mountain until we finally caught up to Jack at the trailhead. After two more fast, easy miles on the fire road, we were back to the truck where we gulped down some liquids and headed for home.At home, we watched some college football and relaxed for a bit before I showered and got dressed up to go to Prescott. Yes, you read that right, dressed up to go to Prescott. As in, us cowpokes hadn't been to town all month and we had run out of the basic necessities and needed to take our monthly bath, tidy up a bit, and hitch up the wagon. I (Bonnie Lou Ann) met up with Dixie, Vernon Caldwell III
, Hay-zeus, and Wyatt (aka, Fife, Case, Dixon, and Clint) and we took I-17 to Bumblebee where we left the paved road and wound our way up the mountains to the town of Cleator, which consists of a few old wooden buildings in the middle of nowhere. But, one building housed a bar that served cold drinks. We met up with Skyler and a few of his other friends (who didn't play along with our western theme) for a beer before continuing on to Crown King for a burger and a brew out of Mason jars in the oldest saloon in Arizona. We really looked like locals in our boots, cowboy shirt
s, and big belt buckles. From there, it was on to the 40 miles of dust and dirt to Prescott. We had a blast getting into our character for the evening and listening to all sorts of country music as we bounced along the primitive road (that Jack and some other friends and I are planning to bike before it starts to get snowy up there). None too soon, we finally found our way back to the paved road of Senator Highway and finally dropped down into downtown Prescott. We rassled up some grub and moonshine from the general store and checked into the brothel to watch some college football on the picture tube before shining up our b
elt buckles and moseyin' into town. We spent an amazing night pub crawling down the infamous Whiskey Row. We started the night off with a shot of Southern Comfort at Matt's Saloon, tipped our hats to the band, and proceeded to trip the lights fantastic on the dance floor. We had really looked like locals up until that point, but I'm afraid that I didn't spend enough time at JD's Dance Ranch as a teenager and Angel's two-step instruction months ago didn't stick. But we had a lot of fun none-the-less and didn't run into too many people. We hit up every single bar on Montezuma Street all the way down to The Bird Cage before returning to close down the evening at Matt's to dance off our hangovers. When the band played their last song and the lights came back on, we wandered back to the hotel and I crashed hard.
, Hay-zeus, and Wyatt (aka, Fife, Case, Dixon, and Clint) and we took I-17 to Bumblebee where we left the paved road and wound our way up the mountains to the town of Cleator, which consists of a few old wooden buildings in the middle of nowhere. But, one building housed a bar that served cold drinks. We met up with Skyler and a few of his other friends (who didn't play along with our western theme) for a beer before continuing on to Crown King for a burger and a brew out of Mason jars in the oldest saloon in Arizona. We really looked like locals in our boots, cowboy shirt
s, and big belt buckles. From there, it was on to the 40 miles of dust and dirt to Prescott. We had a blast getting into our character for the evening and listening to all sorts of country music as we bounced along the primitive road (that Jack and some other friends and I are planning to bike before it starts to get snowy up there). None too soon, we finally found our way back to the paved road of Senator Highway and finally dropped down into downtown Prescott. We rassled up some grub and moonshine from the general store and checked into the brothel to watch some college football on the picture tube before shining up our b
elt buckles and moseyin' into town. We spent an amazing night pub crawling down the infamous Whiskey Row. We started the night off with a shot of Southern Comfort at Matt's Saloon, tipped our hats to the band, and proceeded to trip the lights fantastic on the dance floor. We had really looked like locals up until that point, but I'm afraid that I didn't spend enough time at JD's Dance Ranch as a teenager and Angel's two-step instruction months ago didn't stick. But we had a lot of fun none-the-less and didn't run into too many people. We hit up every single bar on Montezuma Street all the way down to The Bird Cage before returning to close down the evening at Matt's to dance off our hangovers. When the band played their last song and the lights came back on, we wandered back to the hotel and I crashed hard.We woke up to a great continental breakfast, packed up the dusty truck, and made our way back to Phoenix, opting to return on the paved roads. We got back to the Valley around noon, so after hanging out with Jack and Guane for a bit and a short nap, I spent the rest of the evening getting covered in paint and epoxy and spending some quality time with the American Fire. She's really starting to look better, like she wants to go out for another row or something... she really is a beauty and it felt good to be working on her again, I love that boat so much. I ended the weekend with some of Guane's amazing meatloaf and called it a day.
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