Yesterday I discovered an access trail to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve (MSP) no more than 5 minutes from the house so when I found myself somewhat pressed for time this afternoon I decided to head over to do some more exploring. Having the dirt so close is a mixed blessing as the neighborhood roads are some of the finest I've seen. I did a point-to-point ride today so I was able to shred some qualify pavement on the way home. While I don't enjoy pictures of roads as much as trails, I thought some of you road-specific guys might like them so the last one is for you.
Against my better judgement I road a section of trail involving a steep, rocky climb that took 10-15 minutes to complete. It required a much greater effort than I really wanted to put forth, but once I started I figured I might as well finish. One thing I discovered while navigating some of the steeper, rockier sections was that out of the saddle, single speed style bursts of power are just as effective on a geared bike. Another realization was how effective my new Maxxis CrossMark rear tire is at maintaining traction, even during the aforementioned near maximal out of the saddle efforts. I'm quite impressed and wonder if a Larsen TT would climb even better?
2 comments:
Looks sweet.
Is it greener this year? Sure looks like it.
Take it easy on the In-N-Out.
I'm pretty sure that expending the energy to do a difficult 10-15 minute climb or riding more than 8-10 hours this week isn't going to destroy your off-season training any more than eating 15 lbs of cattle muscle and drinking 4 gallons of DC. When you're on desert vacay shred till you bleed I say (or at least shred till the wife makes you bleed from being gone so long!)
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