Wednesday, January 17, 2007

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo race venue

I may be home for a while. This place is a pretty compelling spot to hunker down and train for a while. I have access to quite a bit of singletrack including the race course. I’m way secluded, a 20-minute drive on dirt from a lonely stretch of two-lane highway. It costs me nothing to stay here other than the propane needed to keep my POD from freezing and the gasoline needed to run my little generator.


There are miles and miles of empty dirt roads and double-tracks serving a gas pipeline and many bovine companions scattered across the desert. It’s about 1000 feet higher than Tucson, which means that it’s a little colder and probably a little windier than other places I could pick. But that also means it’s better for training.

There are three very cool people staying out here who I can visit with if I need to hear a human voice. I’ll not share their identities for the sake of their privacy.

pretty singletrack

Yesterday I rode the race course all day long. It is a good course, very fast and fun. Not too flat, not too much climbing. Unlike the Moab course, there are no dismounts. Riding it now one has to get off to open or climb over a gate here and there, but there is no hike-a-bike. I could remove my granny gear for the race. This would be an outstanding singlespeed course, but a big ring comes in handy now and then.

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