I rolled away from the car today with bare arms and legs. My tan has faded significantly over the past few months and my form is limited but man, how sweet it was to ride in shorts and a jersey! My legs didn't feel that good, and I had a few aches and pains on the bike, but after 12 hours in the car yesterday I figure it's to be expected. They should come around over the next few days so that when Kris arrives on Thursday I'm ready to throw down on the National trail.
The area experienced severe rain this past weekend and I saw the evidence of the resulting floods on the trails. It was difficult to follow the route in sections as all previous tracks had been wiped clean. At one point, upon entering a wash, I couldn't see where the trail exited on the other side so started following some fresh hoof prints. I assumed the prints were left by horses but after arriving at a watering trough after a few minutes of riding I realized I'd been following a group of thirsty cows! At times I encountered puddles which seemed out of place in the amongst the cactus, sand and rock of the desert. Some trails had seen no traffic since the storms and these, especially the Secret Trail, were the hardest to follow. Even on the road leading into the park I drove over sand and debris deposited by the massive run off. Average rainfall for Scottsdale in November is .80 inches. There was no recorded precipitation until the last day of the month - November 30th, Friday - when it nearly doubled the average with 1.53 inches!
1 comment:
OK, that's it!
Against my families best wishes, I will be strapping the bike to the top of the minivan in February when we drive to San Diego for a litte vacay.
I'll get up and ride at 5 a.m. if I have to, but I will ride for three hours nonetheless.
I just have to find the right, safe, easy to find my way back road near Mission Bay.
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