100 Um just 33.3 miles of Nowhere

When I signed up this year,  I never intended to ride.  I've only been riding for 3 years. I can't ride a century or even half a century. I just thought Camp Kesem was a fun cause to support. 

But I started thinking that I could ride part of it,  or maybe I could get a couple of friends to ride 33.3 miles so our combined miles would total the 100 mile.  But if I could do that, maybe I could be brave enough to ask the bike club I ride with to join me.  So 33 miles of nowhere event was born...

To my amazement when I posted the event, people actually signed up.  Even more surprising,  people showed up. and then rode.  Up and down, then up and down a path for a great cause.  It seems cyclist are by nature really attracted to free stuff and great causes. 

  
We chose a really intense route.  Okay, maybe more casual - ride north then south, then north again  then little a south to the end.

The city of Peoria has been kind enough to build a great canal bike path.  Almost 20 miles of cement trail without a single car.  The only problem is that it does not actually go anywhere.  The northern end just drops into the desert and southern end turns into gravel - maybe not the most impressive route but perfect for what we needed.  

The riders did amazing, working their way through the route's challenges.  long bridges, sharp hairpin turns,

and those steep climbs were no match for our cyclist

Our expert cyclist took advantage of the long stretches to show off their mad drafting skills

While others just needed a few moment to figure out life.   How many cyclist does it take to ... sort of thing

North End of Nowhere

These fierce ladies did amazing reaching their personal goals for the day. Neither had ridden 33 miles before the event.  I hear one celebrated her birthday by exceeding the required 33 miles and actually rode 50!  Woot Woot!

To add a little fun to the day . We created a very high tech 100 MON raffle - come back with pictures of local celebrities to receive  a chance at winning cool  100 MON  stuff....   Not a very fancy but it worked.











Our celebrity sightings included Swiss royalty, she came in her finest attire to cheer on the riders!




Lots of riders enjoyed getting a pic with the less famous but notorious Flat Al and our great sponsors!

At the south end of the route the riders were treated to a day at Al's Flat tire and bike shop. Where anyone could  learn to change a tire,  ask questions about their bike, or get a chance to ride a fat bike....   Good times good times,    Although I think there may have been a few donations made to the homeless guy.....

 The words of wisdom and encouragement left along the way

 was just what we needed to finish the day!!

West Valley Causal Bike Group is just a Meetup group. But it has provided lots of  people with a shame free way to start cycling,  heaps of  rides that challenge and increase skills. And has produced a community for people who just like to ride bikes.




I am so proud of our event results:   500+ miles were ridden, 2 very large boxes of pastries were consumed, 15 item including 100MON items were raffled off, and many cyclist donated directly to Camp Kesem!!!   Great job!!!

33.3 miles to Nowhere 2015!!!!

Thanksgiving was my holiday to work this year.   Two days - 24 hours of moms and babies Thankful for a good job.  But  I was not thinking much about Tday dinner or shopping...  I was thinking - If you give a mouse a cookie.   My friend's  kid read the book to me the other day so I guess the phrase just stuck in my head..

Somewhere along the way the thought changed to - If you give a girl a bike...  I spent two days - in-between all those moms and their babies  thinking about what I would do if you gave me a bike about now.   I looked a maps and tried to connect trails. I worried that they might be to hard for me, or I might get lost.  I planned to stick to one new trail and if it got to difficult  I could just turn around and go back to the beginning.

But, if you give a girl a bike....... She will pick the one trail on the map that is actually private property, closed to people and bikes and not being used so it can "reforest"          wa wa waaaaaa.....

She will then drive straight to the closest bike/coffee place to come up with plan B.  Thank Goodness for  coffee

I decided if I pumped up the tires, I could make the mtb ride a bit like a roadie and see what I could find in Carefree.   It's one of my favorite places for a day trip/sight seeing/ hike.  And now it becoming a fun place to mountain bike!

This is Elephant mountain....   I don't see an Elephant ....   I see a Gorilla  laying on it's back  with its nose in the air...

I call this  Gorilla between two cactus

  If you give a girl a bike   she will find the only sandal wearing,  mariachi base player covered in flower in Carefree...

Gotta love our blue skies this time of year..    I know for all of you who are in your snow and ice season you might attach a different emotion to our great weather.   But someone has to enjoy it!!

      

And if the blue sky gets old..   There is a little Autumn to enjoy

A Saguaro Farm I think

I did actually find some trail to ride..   A bit more loose rock than I like and no single track.   But it was a good attempt.

In between the buck shot on that sign - It says No shooting...   It's the wild wild west!

Slim picking at the horse stable today.   They seemed to be down to a cow and two donkeys.   None of them were to interested in a ride.

 

      Looks like there is going to be a new baby at the stable at Chistmas. 

    I think this guy was hoping he had found a new "friend"

Cute but just not that interested

Solar panels line the horse stables   - a sort of old west meet new....

Must admit I was not really paying much attention to the child reading his book.   But I don't think is goes well if you give a mouse a cookie.  But giving a girl a bike makes for a great day.   Not exactly the day I had planned - But a great day in the end.  I got in 10 miles of  on and off road and lots of hills.   

 Happy Thankgiving!

Bucky goes to Prescott

You know that moment.  That very awkward moment when you’ve ask the ladies,  - Can I bring my bike on the girls non cycling weekend/music concert road trip?  And the conversation gets quiet and a tad uncomfortable while they try to come up with a reason to say no.  But the best they come up with is  " It's probably to big and won't fit but if you can cover it up so it doesn’t get my car dirty."  Well yippee!! Because my bike is very packable and I've spent way to much time researching trail routes close to the hotel to leave the bike at home now. 

Bucky's 29er wheels in a garment bag and a random blanket over the chain bits - gets him a ride in the car.

Iron King Trail

Getting into the trail proved to be a bit tricky. I blame the signs. They are building a nice new parking area and the signs have not caught up.  I thought I knew where I was going. 

My first attempt was to follow this path through the underpass

But that was just gross

 So I went back up the trail, across the road, over this dirt mound and along the trail behind the mound.  All the while ignoring the cyclist that were riding off in the other direct

All that work just got me back to this cement trail, the one that all the other cyclist had seem to taking.  

Finally,   I got into the trail and found what the big deal was about and why this trail came so highly recommended.  There were lots of cool stuff to see along the way.

They had several old rail cars parked along the way.  There was a sign that said don't climb on the car but  Bucky could not resist.

Fancy bridges...... 

These have to be some tough flowers to last this long into the summer! 

This is a complicated as the trail got.  Nice smooth gravel with big blue skies.  Except for a bit to much heat this was almost a perfect ride. 

 Suddenly the terrain changes and these impressive granite rock formations appear almost out of no where.

Usually in Arizona, anything this cool gets bought and maintained by the state.  Interesting to see that this trail runs right against privately owned property.   Bucky couldn't resist just "stepping into the cattle grazing zone

The lake!!!! I had been told there was a lake.  It took me two tries to find it.  Seems I did not go far enough on the first day.  Did I say that out loud? Day two I just kept going down the hill and this great view will pop up.   So pretty and peaceful early in the morning.  Worth coming back to find it. 

The ride included a nice history in geology. The pic is hard to read but it kinda of says these granite rocks are about 1.6 billion years old, give or take a few billion and were created from a buried molten mass called a batholith. Good to know

Don't know how I took this pictures...  Guess my phone likes taking different pictures. 

On the way back I stopped and took this picture.   Excited to see a bird sitting  in it's nest.  Um well  as I got closer It was just a prickly pear cactus on the side of a rock...  No bird.   If I had turned to the right I might have gotten the black birds all flying around something.  But no,  just this cactus for everyone to enjoy. 

This cute guy came running along as I was headed out. And seemed very curious about getting his picture taken...     

This is a great trail.  It may not have been very technical,  and the morning was very warm.  But I was still glad I made  the effort to get the bike out.