MTBikeAZ.com

My first official lunch ride of winter. I recommend the Supes. Today it was the perfect temperature, low 80s. It could have been a bit cooler, but those days will be here soon enough. No one to dine with today, everyone else had to work through lunch…I guess I’m a lucky boy, I get to eat lunch whenever and wherever I want.

The converted Avalanche singlespeed was great fun riding today. I climbed up the Lost Goldmine MTB loop to the LG proper trail junction. Sat down on the rocks and ate some PowerBar Gel, GU Rocktane and Jelly Belly Sport Beans (from my Interbike stash), sipped on some watered down Gatorade (I really need a new sport drink), and soaked in the views.

The MTB loop of Lost Goldmine is a really fun trail. The primitive singletrack twists and turns in and out of washes like a roller coaster. It’s a little tough to keep speed up, but it is great for practicing cornering or testing out a new front tire. My Maxxis Crossmarks do an excellent job rolling, and a fine job cornering. I’d like to try some new tires out though. Maybe the WTB Wolverine. I’ve heard really good things about that tire for Arizona desert conditions.

After all the exploring out on Lost Goldmine I thought it was about time to see how the singlespeed rolled through the new loop. Rode From the LG trailhead on Cloudview clockwise to the new singletrack then followed it back to the TH. It was an 8 mile loop of nearly all singletrack (excepting a short jaunt of Jeep road connectors). This trail is ready for early morning summer riding, and would make a great night ride.

I was surprised to find a fresh singletrack connector from the Red Rock Vista trail (the elevation peak at mile 6) to the Apacheland singletrack.

Going clockwise was challenging. The 34:18 setup on the Avalanche was just a bit high for me. I had to walk just a couple of steep spots that I couldn’t grind through. I’ll have to give it a go again ccw. It feels like it would flow better that way.

I highly recommend a tubeless setup with a hefty portion of your sealant of choice. The avalanche is running on tubed Maxxis Crossmarks with nothing but a tire liner to deter flats. That’s just not enough out there. You need a tubeless setup or slime tubes. The trails are still primitive enough to be strewn with spines. I flatted both tires, slow leaks that needed a CO2 shot just to make it back to the TH.

See my MotionBased log for the gps tracks.

Lunch rides are going to turn into pre-breakfast break-of-dawn rides soon here in the valley of the sun. Today I had lunch with the converted Avalanche onespeed out on Hawes. No reservations required.

Hawes dished up a healthy dose of desert singletrack painted high with wildflowers and cactus. Riding a hardtail singlespeed is giving me a new perspective on XC trail riding. Hawes seemed flatter today, where were the hills? Hawes isn’t all that technical to begin with, but as I was riding along feeling every rock on the trail I got to thinking that full suspension absorbs the essence of the trail.

It’s funny, years ago I dreamed of riding in the plushness of full suspension, now all I want is to feel the entire trail under my wheels. It feels like spending time with an old friend. It feels so good in fact, I’ve been considering going all natural with a rigid fork! Hopefully this is just a phase, because I surely don’t want to be one of those guys riding National on a hardtail singlespeed…hey, that actually sounds fun…especially if it’s a 29er.

I better get to South Mountain and let the Fuel EX 9 free down Geronimo, that should cure the singlespeed craze I’ve been in and get me thinking about how great more suspension would be. El Guapo?

For dessert I chugged a Lime Gatorade. I love lunch.

Last week I was in Scottsdale for a business lunch, and suggested to my colleague that we do a little riding first. He was all for it even though he hadn’t ridden in years. Watch out golf, mountain biking is the new business sport. (On the mountain you can really see what your business partners are made of.)

We made one single lap around the Ringtail Loop in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Clockwise from the 124th Street lot, beginning on the Lost Dog trail and finishing via the Anasazi Spur. At 3.4 miles, Ringtail is the perfect lunch ride.

I was on the singlespeed again, only my second official ride. I’m finding myself looking for more and more reasons to ride singlespeed over geared… the best option is to bring along a friend who needs a bike. They ride in the plushness of the Fuel EX9, I ride the serenity of singlespeed.

Ringtail is a great loop for singlespeed. There are no huge climbs to stall on, but enough climbing for a good workout. It’s even intermediately technical. Rocky in spots and some sweet switchbacks to turn. The technical spots are all on the west segment, from the Lost Dog turnoff to the junction with Sunrise. (Ahhh Sunrise. I could see your infamous switchback high up the mountain…onespeed and I will be back for you…) The east portion of Ringtail is not technical at all. It flows down past the small 128th Street lot, then gradually climbs back.

We had a great time. My business colleague rocked the trail and we both had a great time. Over lunch at George & Sons (just down the street from the 124th St. TH) we talked business and bikes. Good times.

Today was my first singlespeed ride since 1984. And that’s only if you count BMX riding the Arco in T.O. I tell you, I wasn’t very convinced singlespeeding was going to be anything special until I was riding in the San Tans one day. As I rode around on the Fuel EX 9, I thought…these trails are not so technical that I need this much bike…they’re not so steep that I need this many gears…especially a granny…

Then I thought about my trusty 2001 GT Avalanche sitting in the garage with flat tires and a 1997 LX drivetrain that only I knew how to shift properly. The Avalanche frame was a warranty frame for my 1995 GT Karakoram that cracked. Sweet memories on both bikes.

So I went ahead and spent some change for a Forte singlespeed conversion kit at Performance, a SRAM singlespeed chain, and a new hard-to-find five bolt 94 mm BCD front chain ring to fit the old school LX crank arm. My local shop up the street (Arizona Bike Source) had one in red.

So for under 50 bucks I got a new bike. Tack on the Maxxis Crossmark tires and total cost was a bit more…but the Crossmark 2.1 tires roll like pie crust. Went straight to the San Tans and had a blast burning through the trails. A hardtail is all the bike you need to ride the San Tans, and I dare say that ONE is all the gear you need too. I’m starting on 34/18 ratio, and after a few rides I might go to 16.

Fighting the tendency to shift is a hoot. Even after 9 miles my right index finger dropped down and ghost shifted down after cresting a hill and picking up speed on the down. On the climbs it was easy to remember I had no gears, I just hammered into them. Over the course of the trail, I think I actually rode faster on one speed that with all the gears. Go figure.

This is my year of exploration and now all the trails in the valley are new to me and my singlespeed. The adventure never ends, only the shifting.

From SanTan Singlespeed