Clock Out, Click In

Easy Pima Canyon Hike

We hit the Pima Canyon trailhead promptly at 9:45 am, eager to take advantage of what could be the last cool weekend in Tucson.  We were bundled in jackets; the mountains, bundled in fog. A chilly April Sunday morning at 45 degrees.

  
Clouds roll over the mountains with spiny cholla in the foreground.

Way up the canyon, snow covers the peaks while ocotillo cacti bloom bright orange in the desert on the way to the canyon trail.

 

Octotillo blossoms.

We crossed the dry Pima Creek and continued on the trail up the canyon. It's been a dry winter, so not too many flowers blooming this spring. We saw some thistle and penstemon.

Thistle in the desert.

Arty blurred photo of trailside penstemon.

After Saturday's rain, the Sunday desert smelled fresh and beautiful with sage, creosote, and an unidentified vaguely minty scent.

We easily identified other hikers as locals or visitors by their hiking garb. Visitors were outfitted for safari with wide brimmed hats, SPF shirts and pants, walking sticks. Visitors limited themselves to one color: khaki. Locals dressed in jackets and even gloves, Tucsonans are not hearty when it comes to the cold. We dressed in layers and continually took them on and off through elevation changes, clouds, wind, and bright sunshine.

Snack time view, with desert trees in spring green.

We walked for about an hour, had a snack,  enjoyed the view and headed back out. We noticed some water in portions of the creek bed, but it didn't seem to be flowing. Perhaps the water has already gone underground for the summer.

Mighty saguaro.

 The trail traced the edge of the Coronado National Forest with subdivisions down the hill to our left and rocky slopes up the mountains on our right.  I inhaled deeply and zipped my jacket against the increasing wind. I am happy to be living so close to such a great trail!

Mt. Lemmon Interval Training

Climbing up Catalina Highway to Mt. Lemmon is a perfect springtime training ride. The desert floor warms up, but most of the mountain highway stays cool in the morning. Even chilly in the shade.  My training plan called for 3 x 20 min L4 intervals with 10 minute recovery to L1 in between.  L4 is  a heart rate approaching Lactic Threshold, for me about 159 beats per minute. L1 is a recovery heart rate, below 100. 

My training ride began at home, and my first interval started about 14 miles later at milepost zero of Catalina Highway. After I started my intervals, I didn't see L1 until I was back home sitting on my couch.

My first interval went well, I rode a moderately hard pace and stayed 155-160 bpm. Feeling perky and even fast until a man in a plaid jersey blew past me with not even a hello. Really, who wears plaid? Then I attempted to recover, while still climbing, and my heart rate would not go below 145.

 OK, time for interval number 2--this time, there were some flattish sections and I even passed a couple other riders. My heart rate went into the 160s.  I saw quite a few cyclists descending, most wearing jackets.  On the upside of the highway, sweat dripped down the side of my face.

Recovery in the 140s again.  As I was recovering,  a fellow in a High Road team jersey passed me. It was not Mark Cavendish.  I caught him during interval 3 and we rode together from Seven Cataracts to Middle Bear Canyon. Great to have someone to push me harder!

View up the highway from Seven Cataracts Overlook

 This section I remembered as "flattish" but it wasn't, had to get in my granny gear between Milepost 9 and 11. Oh, I dropped him in the granny gear section, and he couldn't catch me on the flat section! After 11, the road was beautifully flat beneath the ponderosa pines.

Shady pine trees.

Rock formation above Middle Bear Canyon parking area.

I pulled over to the parking area at about Milepost 12 to put on arm warmers and vest for the descent, and my temporary riding companion rode on by, going all the way up perhaps?

Here's a video, start of ride down (Milepost 12 to 11). Beware of wind noise!

MtLemApr 004 from Mary Reynolds on Vimeo.

On the way down, I stopped at Seven Cataracts to take some pictures. Met two U of A students who rode fixed gear bikes up and down the mountain.  They were charming and I was suitably impressed.

Fixed gears skidding into Seven Cataracts Overlook.

Seven Cataracts--not too much water in that gap.

 My fast descent continues with wind making my bike wobbly in certain sections. At about Milepost 6, I started to feel the desert heat again, rising up through Molino Canyon. I took a break to take some pictures of the views toward the Rincon Mountians:

Then I turned the other way and took the obligatory saguaro cactus shot:

 I saw a mountain biker coming up the road, said hi, and he waved back. Then I realized from the Specialized jersey that  it was Todd Wells, U.S. National Mountain Bike Champion! I jumped back on my bike, still in the big gears of descending and rode after him uphill to try to say a real hello.  Unbelievably, I caught him and could gasp/ask where are you headed? And he said "Milagrosa" a technical mountain bike trail. I wished him good luck with the rest of his season and he thanked me for the articles I had written. He was so cordial!

I flew down the mountain, happy to see such a cycling superstar in my hometown. At the bottom of the mountain, the rude headwind impaired my speed. It's not supposed to be hard to go downhill to Tanque Verde Road. But it was hard, and it was hot, and my cross-town journey seemed interminable.

Back on the meandering bike path, trying to spin down, I felt the kiss of a tailwind, enjoyed the blooming yellow palo verde trees and sparkling blue spring sky.

A little more than four hours after I started, I was home with waffles, yogurt, shower.  Sat down on the couch, and finally recovered to my L1 heart rate.

Pre-riding Prescott Whiskey 50 Mountain Bike Race Course

Sunday dawned with sunshine and wind; and I called Brad to pre-ride the Whiskey 50 course in Prescott. We planned to ride Saturday, but I was crushed by illness that left me nauseous or sleeping the whole day. Wasn’t sure how an entire day of not eating would work for me on Sunday. Oh, OK, I had some chicken soup Saturday night. Hardly the carbo-loading I usually do.

Thankfully, we drove the first major climb of the Whiskey 50, up and up and out of downtown Prescott on paved roads that get steeper and steeper including Copper Basin Road. Prescottonian Ann-Marie at the wheel of the Land Rover (so expeditious we were!) provided insights into neighborhood politics of Prescott on our course tour.  I wondered if my granny gear was granny enough for this incline. Number one race fan Lisa was along for the ride—she and Ann-Marie were our rescue team in case I faltered after only a few miles.

View looking west.

At last, we reached the parking lot where the single track starts and stepped out into the chilly ponderosa pine forest. Brad bravely rode his single speed, prepared to muscle up the mountain trails if necessary.

 We hit the single track along Aspen Creek.  And we crossed the creek: splash! “Oooh, that’s cold,” said Brad, riding through the 3-foot wide creek.  I really didn’t think about water crossings, after riding the dusty trails of southern Arizona this spring.   We didn’t stay chilly for long because the trail steadily gained elevation. Saw a patch or two of snow and was happy to be riding in the shade instead of usual blazing sun.

Water bars challenged me: I made it over a few, then couldn’t maintain momentum on ever upward-sloping trail. Another mountain biker passed us chanting something I didn’t understand, but later Brad revealed was “get some, get some, get some!”  Was it self-affirmation or encouragement for Brad? We didn’t know.  I had to walk quite a bit and felt fairly weak, probably due to not eating the day before.

A little ridge-top riding with spectacular views west, south and east and mountains everywhere beneath the brilliant blue. Uh-oh. Water bars on the descent. I had to stop midway down a water bar and Brad sort of tumbled into me. But it was one of those slow motion mix-ups and no one was hurt. Soon after, I decided to let Brad lead on the descents, being more fearless than I.

We hit some fun double track and descended into prickly pear elevation. We passed a sweet smelling lilac bush and saw lots of other purple flowers. We arrived at the bottom of another jeep road climb, this is where I got hot. No more cool mountain air. My geared bike was a lifesaver as we rode a long time back up to Copper Basin Road. I waited for Brad at the intersection.

View toward Skully Valley from Copper Basin Road.

We snacked, we drank, we chatted with another Whiskey 50 pre-rider who of course, had met Brad before.  We didn’t turn left toward Skull Valley (a nine-mile descent, and climb back up the same road).

Instead, we turned right to continue climbing toward Sierra Prieta overlook where we planned to meet Ann-Marie and Lisa. Brad powered ahead, standing on his single speed. Pop. His powerful quads broke his chain. He had a chain tool and set to fixing it in the shade. I took some pictures out toward Skull Valley.

The road that broke Brad's chain.

A ’67 Chevy truck rumbled by downhill, clunking in a broken-sounding way. It stopped.  The driver got out and crawled under his truck to assess. I drank some water.  Brad realized that his repaired chain was now too short to fit. The truck driver backed up and asked us if we needed help and  explained: “my u-bolt is just about shot so I’m going back to the pass and try to coast into town.”

“I’ll go ahead and ride up the hill,” I said, not wanting to be in a broken truck. “But you can get a ride, Brad.”  I’m helpful that way. We had tried to call our rescue team, but cell phone coverage was spotty.

I took off,  and actually felt pretty strong on the climb. Hey! I’m not out of breath from the altitude! Small joys.  The truck didn’t catch me for another mile or so. Brad got out and we headed up the last .7 miles to the overlook. Brad rode the descents and  ran up the climbs with his bike, clearly practicing for cyclocross season.

At last, we reached our expedition team and were rewarded with hugs and Luna bars. We drove the dirt roads back to Prescott and saw a bit of the single track off in the woods.

Great to ride even a short section of the course and understand the magnitude of the climbing. Seemed like I recovered from wicked Saturday bug, and I felt strong at the end of the ride.

Here's the course map. We rode from Trail 393 south, Fire Road 53 North, Copper Basin Road, to Sierra Prieta overlook.

Back in Tucson, Mt. Lemmon Highway will be my training grounds for April. Getting to elevation on my road or mountain bike and doing hill repeats. Climbing the east side of Molino Pass on the Arizona Trail is another training ride that should get me ready for the Whiskey 50.