Today I am one year older. Not really older a year in a day, but a year older in “the how people calculate it method”. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to spend today riding mountain bikes in South Mountain Desert Park, in Phoenix, all day. It was a humbling experience. I have blood everywhere. I was going at least mediocre by the end of the 38 mile/4 hour ride. When I rode for Specialized, we did camps at this park, so I thought I knew the trails pretty well. Not so. I rode the National Trail over the ridge and zigzagged back down. Too much walking for me, but I haven’t ridden stuff like that recently. I need to get some new equipment. I’m having a pedal release problem that is making sure that I am a “friend of the ground/rock” way too often. I am meeting up with some guys tomorrow, so maybe I won’t embarrass myself too much.

Pretty thorny. A man with a dog (English Setter) pretty high up took this photo for me.

I love saguro cactus. They can live up to 200 years old I think.

View of the desert.

Birthday present from Trudi.

And another that is coming in handy.

Better than free drinks, free desert.

I am flying back to Austin later this afternoon. Kind of an in and out trip. It is amazing how quickly someone can improve at something that they were once very good at. Yesterday I was 100X better riding my MTB bike than the day before. I was riding ledges and sketchy shit that I didn’t even come close to riding the day before. I think explaining technics to someone helps refresh it for you. Plus, I was riding less than 30psi, which made my tires hookup a ton better. It is nice to have some kind of form (although pitiful as it is) to ride to areas that the “average guy” can’t get to. It is rewarding looking off the edge of a mountain that you climbed on your bike, especially if you climbed it off-road. It seems more of you, nature and the bike, that way.

I saw these guys riding over to the mountain. If you ever see me doing this, you have my permission to shoot me.

Example of what was unridable, then ridable.

Another example of why we ride.

No matter how good I thought I was-I didn't do those stripes on the socks justice.

The oatmeal (instant) at Starbucks isn't that bad after you dump all the condiments on it.