Nomad Spring - Week 5 (Arizona-Colorado)

Part 6 of blog posts from my 7 week road trip!

On the road by 5 am Saturday, Brownloaf was carrying me north for the first time in a month.  Back through Globe, AZ, this time following Arizona route 77 across the Salt River Canyon to the interestingly-named town of Show Low.

Descending the magnificent Salt River Canyon.

Ascending the other side of the canyon - big climb!

Continuing onward, Petrified Forest National Park was a worthwhile detour.  Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, there is a national park with a lot to see!

Petrified trees abound!  Video clip above is before reaching the park-vast open area!

After entering New Mexico, my 6th state of the trip, I passed through Gallup and the mighty Navajo reservation before finally reaching Colorado and the town of Durango.

Cruising across the NW corner of New Mexico.

Durango is a fun outdoorsy, kinda touristy, little town in the rugged San Juan mountains.  I was fortunate to be able to reacquaint myself with an old bike racing friend, Cody Cupp, who took me on an evening ride with his friends.  We saw the popular Durango-Silverton historic steam train multiple times on our ride-exciting for me (train nerd).

Home of Ned Overend, Todd Wells, and other cycling legends; Durango riding was a blast!

Thanks for the tour ride, Cody!

FS campground just outside Durango.

Come Sunday morning, I was back on the road with Brownloaf reliably carrying me further into the mountains of Colorado.  First stop-the hot springs village of Pagosa Springs.

Pagosa Springs with resorts and hot springs lining the river.

Highest elevation yet!

After crossing 10,856 ft Wolf Creek Pass, I continued across Colorado with a stress-free southern tailwind.  Second stop of the day: the town of Salida.

Great beer and food at Soulcraft brewery in Salida.

I’ve been to Salida years before and seen the mountain bike trails from a distance.  Riding them was great, and I managed to put together a fantastic quick 20+ mile loop.  The trails were mostly fast and roller coaster flowy, but with technical rock challenges as well.

Fun "Dude" themed trails in Salida.

View towards Monarch Crest from upper Salida trails.

The final leg of the day was from Salida north through Buena Vista and Leadville to I-70 east.  It only took a few minutes on the interstate (yuck) for me to make the decision to get off and take the old highway over Loveland Pass instead.

Leadville - the highest city in N America.

Loveland Pass would be the highest elevation reached on the trip, and highest ever reached by the Brownloaf, at 11,990 ft!  Despite climbing at 20 mph in 2nd gear due to the thin air and steep grade, the Brownloaf performed admirably with no issues.

Loveland Pass at nearly 12k feet above sea level!

Finally across the continental divide, it was a relatively easy journey traversing the Rockies to the mountain town of Nederland, where Martin, dear family friend and father of Jiri, welcomed me into his home.

Settled in for the work week, Martin and I hunkered down as a major storm passed through the mountains, blowing down several trees, knocking out electricity, cellular, and internet.  Fortunately, Martin’s house was not damaged-only his shed and yard were affected by falling pine trees.  Many of his neighbors had trees fall as well, but thankfully nobody was injured.  Winds of over 100 mph were recorded in the area!

After the impressive storm, snow continued to fall on and off throughout the week.  Now I understand why Jiri and Bri choose to live in Tucson until well into May…  Hard to believe I was in 90+ degree heat only a few days earlier.

What it looked like on and off throughout the May week in Nederland.

Martin was an incredible host, cooking delicious Czech-inspired meals every evening after our walk to one of three local breweries.  Later in the week, I got out for a longer run and found the elk herd (see videos below-the elk probably thought I was crazy for running in that weather).  It may have been the quintessential Colorado mountain cabin lifestyle week!

Moose behind Martin's house!

Lots of cleanup work to do after the big storm.

Martin was off to Croatia and the Czech Republic the week after my stay.  It was fun hearing about his trip plans and later seeing his photos from that trip.

On Friday evening, I was back in the Brownloaf heading down the mountains and into the plains of America.  After a quick stop at Trader Joes in Boulder, Brownloaf carried me hastily (60-65mph) north towards Wyoming.

On the road again-Boulder, CO.

Come to find out, Wyoming is one of my favorite states!  More to come…

Nomad Spring - Weeks 3-4 (Tucson-Prescott)

Part 5 of blog posts from my 7 week road trip!

Now in Tucson, AZ it was time for a couple weeks of riding and hanging with friends Jiri and Brianne.  Thanks to them being very gracious hosts, it was a wonderful stay in the sunny desert city surrounded by mountains.

Hard to believe Brown Loaf drove all the way to Tucson, AZ!

The Sonoran desert was abloom!

The fun started with a mountain bike ride on Mount Lemmon.  Very fun descending the dry granite trails weaving through layers of biomes at different elevations.

Climbing Mount Lemmon w/ Jiri and Bri on day 1 in Tucson.

We go way back!

Jiri, "Jirka," enjoying a slab on the Lemmon descent.

Tucson is a surprisingly populated city and there are many breweries.

Compliments to the chefs, Jiri and Bri.

A couple days later, we celebrated Jiri’s birthday with a mountain bike classic ride, the “Lemmon Drop.”  Despite being an oldie, this ride was no joke.  Very technical, rough, and lots of hard ascending; despite the net 10k feet of descending.  It was an unforgettable ride and special day being able to celebrate Jiri’s birthday in-person together.

The day started high above the ~2000 ft desert floor.

There's a ski area at the top of Lemmon!

I love these plants that grow at intermediate elevation.

Come Thursday and we were on the road again, this time in Jiri and Bri’s truck en route to Prescott, AZ for the Whiskey 50 mountain bike race.  The Whiskey 50 is an event that had been on my radar for decades, and one that my dad and I long ago planned to travel to together.  When Jiri invited me to do the race with them, I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to make a trip of it, finally race the event, and check out the area for my old man!

Number plate affixed to trusty do-it-all stead.

It was a great event with big attendance, a festival scene, and a fun area.  Prescott is an outdoor town and I got the impression that the Whiskey 50 is the “Prescott Olympics” of the year.

Since moving to Tucson, Jirka forgot what it feels like to ride when it's 55 degrees! lol

Racing these days is bittersweet for me because I’m not prepared the way I used to be.  It definitely requires a different mindset and a focus on having fun, pushing myself, and enjoying the journey.  With that attitude, I felt as though I was back in the early days of teenage bike racing.  Pretty funny that Jiri and I were race buddies who got each other into it at age 16.

The first half of the 50 mile (or was it 45 miles?) race was mostly road, but the second half was mostly fun flowy singletrack.  There were plenty of granite slabs, twists, and turns to make for a good time passing “on your left” or inside the turns for some exciting moments.  It was a race-after all-and good fun!

Our crew!

Congrats to Jirka for winning the amateur race!  For context, I was 40-something place.  There are legit fast racers in the amateur field!

Post-race in Prescott.

Couldn't pass this beer up!

Back to Tucson on Sunday, Jiri showed me the local trails in town.  Even for a hot afternoon, it was a blast ripping along through the undulating desert trails.  An abundance of rocks, flat corners, and views made for a ripping good time!

Lovely trails within Tucson.

The desert was so full of life.

Week 2 in Tucson was relaxing with a couple rides and a trail run with Bri, complete with hill repeats among the saguaros.  After cooling off in the pool in the evenings we enjoyed season 1 of  “Tokyo Vice” while wearing our blue light glasses 🤓

Running through Saguaro "forest" with Bri!

Road riding "the loop" with Jirka.

The road rides sometimes include singletrack!  Just watch out for poles...

Fascinating Iron-Cross Blister Beetle of Tucson/Sonoran Desert.

Come Friday evening, it was our last time together.  Sad to leave the Tucson Oasis and my dear friends, it was necessary to continue the journey and begin heading north.  Ski to Sea was 3 weeks away and I needed to be back in Bellingham to XC ski race in “The Bellingham Olympics.”  

Next destination Colorado!