"Like sledding on jagged rocks"

Here are some pics from my last ride. Don't worry, my bike wasn't harmed and is still running smooth. I was skeptical about getting this Giant xtc frame, but I've done this to it many times without the same issues that plagued the "crackandfail" cannondale.

This is an awesome trail system in Tucson Mountain park. It has plenty of this super technical rock sledding, fast windy singletrack, some tough hills, nasty staircases, and too much wash riding. A wash is an empty creek that's filled with rocks of all sizes and has no bottom. The primary purpose of a wash is to make bikers wonder why they got off the sofa, which has the same ability to swallow entire humans.

This is the second time I've fallen hard on this section. Both times I was glad I didn't fall into the ravine (wash) on the right of the trail nor on the cacti bordering the left. The rocky trail is the least worst choice to land upon. The first time I fell, my bike went in the ravine, and I was terrified something had happened to it. It was perfect. Good bike.


I have to carry more speed to clear the rocks, but that makes it scary. I can either ride this at a speed that I'm comfortable falling at and fall, or I can go a too fast to really consider falling a viable option, be terrified for a second, and then get the rush that keeps you coming back out. It's all about attitude.

In either case, falling is not comfortable.

Other obstacles I haven't encountered include but are not limited the following:
smuggling, illegal immigration, and vertical horizons.


"take care of yourselves and each other," j. springer.