AES: Hot AF Ripsey Loop

 Up next on the Arizona Endurance Series, AES, calendar was Ripsey. The impending forecast wasn't looking favorable as temps were going to be hovering around 100º. We decided it would be wise to cancel the 60 mile option and move the 33 miler up to the 7:30a time slot. I was planning all along to be there since I'm the official Passage Steward for Ripsey with the ATA and I haven't been out there in a while.

My car was reading a pleasant 52º when I arrived at the Kelvin trailhead. Nice. I saw Ian's car, but he had mentioned he planned to roll out sometime around 5a to beat the heat. Matt was there getting things ready to go. He was one of the few riders at the recent West Siiide Series and it appeared it would be just the two of us heading out today. Matt was ready to go at 7:15a, so I told him to take the extra 15 minutes of cool temps and get after it. I followed about 5 minutes later.

This route is a bit of a conundrum for me, I love it, but not stoked on the Florence-Kelvin Hwy climb...which I had just ridden a couple weeks ago during the Queen's Ransom bikepack. It's tough following that event knowing there isn't a glorious SAG stop waiting for you at the top of the 4 1/4 mile climb!! Haha. I swapped out cogs on the singlespeed converting the 30x22 back to 30x20. I was curious to see how I'd fare on the climb as I walked a bunch during the QR. I'm sure the heat played a part, the loaded bike and legs that were on day 4 of the ride. We'll see.

A short climb to get things going. Such a beautiful day to be outside.

There it is, snaking its way up the incline.

I settled into a nice mix of standing to mash the pedals and seated riding. I never really felt like I was struggling on the climb. I passed by my mental checkpoints along the way: wooden powerlines, red tank, high voltage power lines and finally mile marker 24. Less than a mile to the top now!!

So stoked to clean the entire thing. I really wasn't sure I could do it.

Isolation and huge views from here. I wanted to snap a photo earlier of the Apache Kid road sign, but it was missing.

My buddy, Maxwell, recently sent me a link about the Apache Kid Kelvin Grade.Massacre. Interesting history. Such a wild time in the pioneer days.

I was now on a long sustained downhill along the Flo-Kel Hwy, free, easy miles!! I saw someone riding towards me and thought it may be Matt, but it was Ian. His dropper post was beginning to fail and he didn't want to spend a bunch of time on a low seat. I mentioned he could ziptie a stick to the seatpost to keep it up and besides, he was almost to the AZT, hardly any seated pedaling there!! He opted to continue back on the roads. Now it was just Matt and I and I had barely caught a glimpse of him near the top of the Flo-Kel Hwy climb.

Lack of rain meant more sand along Tecolote Ranch Rd. almost all rideable...almost. Following Matt & Ian's tracks for a while.

The remoteness is real out here.

This bit of sand isn't usually rideable. Ripsey Ranch junction and the growth of a new Cottonwood to provide some shade. Great spot for a snack.

I soon linked up with the Arizona Trail, AZT, then made my way up Cougar Hill, walked a couple short bits. This view from the top is worth it.

I love the trail through this section. Long distance views of the Gila River Canyons.

End of the singletrack for a couple of miles. There has to be a singletrack project in the works here. Hmmm.

Looks like a running race is coming next weekend.

Short 2-track climb leads to the Ripsey Wash decent.

At the end of last spring, a professional trail crew was out working the tread in this section. I could tell immediately, better riding surface and the often encroaching vegetation was well off the trail.

These improvements extended all the way down through the multitude of wash crossings. Well done!!

I had planned to top off water here, but there were about 1000 bees all around the barrel. Not worth it.

The Big Hill getting closer as the temps begin to ramp up.

Hedgehog blooms are probably my favorite cactus flower, so vibrant.

I really enjoy the next bit of singletrack that leads into the main Ripsey Wash. There are a few tight switchbacks that I always have fun trying to clean. Today was a good day as I was able to ride the extremely tight righthander on the final descent. Of course I followed that up with a dab on the next left one, which wasn't nearly as tight but I think I went a tad too far on the trail's edge and slid out.

Say whaa?? A public water cache in no man's land. Thank you!! I grabbed a splash so I wouldn't have to ration what I had.

One final easy singletrack section before a moderate sand trap that leads to the climb up the Big Hill.

The grade is a bit too steep for my singlespeed legs, so there was a lot of walking...and a few shade breaks as it was now hovering in the mid-90's.

It wasn't pretty getting here, but it's an all-time classic view. Ripsey Ridgeline in all its glory. Only 5.5 'mostly' downhill miles remaining.

Another cactus favorite, the Fishhook Pincushion.

Ray Mine off in the distance as I near the finish.

Usually those few uphills on the way down don't bother me, but they were rough today in the heat. I was quite glad when I got over the final one and could relax for the home stretch.

I rolled in just before 1:30p and was surprised to see Matt still there. He finished about 50 minutes ahead.

I'm glad I came out and did the ride. Things got hot right about where I expected. It was 100º when I reached the Kelvin trailhead. Time to pack up and head for refreshments in Florence.

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AES: West Siiide Series - A Stetson Spanking

 About a month or so ago I was thinking about adding another route to the Arizona Endurance Series, AES, calendar. Over the past couple of years I've been slowly learning how to properly connect the trail systems in the NW corner of the Valley. Some of the trail systems are worth the drive, others are small, but if passing through are pretty good. I'm stoked how these routes came out and next year we'll have more time to promote the event. This year was very last minute and only a few folks showed up for the early 6a departure from Deem Hills.

I was planning on doing the west side route, the Stetson Spanking. There was a section or two on this route I had yet to ride, hopefully it was decent.

The route begins with a few fast miles on a multi-use pathway.

Should be a good sunrise in a few minutes.

It was about time to turn off my lights and as I reached up to shut off my helmet light, it died. Right on cue. Talk about perfect. Not that I had to worry much, I also run a dynamo light mounted on my forks.

The sunrise show delivered as I topped out at Thunderbird Conservation Park.

A mile of quiet pavement leads here, the New River trail.

A couple of miles along Happy Valley Rd. brought me to the south end of Sunrise Mtn. Preserve.

The climbing really begins here and the trail is great.

This was the moment things got interesting...

I was feeling really good, legs felt strong, weather was nice, but the small can of Pepsi I had in my side pocket of my hip pack popped out and began to spring a leak. Drat. I guess I'll drink it now. I was enjoying the view and thinking about the rest of the day. When I went to start riding again, I happened to look down and saw one of my slider bolts was missing!! Gah!! Two others were on the verge of falling out as well. No surprise the fourth one was also backing out. For an instant I was shocked, then I realized what had happened.

The night before I had put new brake pads and rotor on the rear wheel. In my focus to ensure my chain tension was correct, I neglected to tighten all four slider bolts. The were of the Torx variety too and I didn't have the large Torx wrench I needed. In hindsight, I could've used my multitool to at least get them more than hand tight, but oh well. The tensioning screws were working overload, but had kept everything steady. I debated briefly about finishing the ride, but better sense took over and I knew I should cut the route short. First order of business was to get to the north side of Sunrise Mtn. to the trailhead. I could then ride Happy Valley Rd. most of the way back.

*Another side note here. I had also planned to replace my front brake pads and rotor the night before, but my bleed screw stripped out. My pads were already metal on metal, so that wasn't going to cut it. Then I figured I could simply swap my front brakes from the Voodoo. Worked like a charm. All this stuff done so I could ride today and I forget to tighten those four important bolts. Sheesh.

That's not optimal.

It's a good sized bolt too.

Looking back, I was supposed to ride down those distant trails, but opted to skip them.

New trail that was added since my last visit here. I heard it was good.

High above Peoria, West Wing Mtn. center stage.

Pyramid Peak is the dominant feature. My car is on the far right of this photo. Notice all those white homes.

I continued on route until the first bailout option. I had to tighten the bolts a couple of times.

The original route climbs up this trail. It's a great climb too.

Wrapping around the mountain.

Made it to the trailhead on the north end.

I decided to phone a friend for assistance. Mike S. lives nearby and he happened to be home. He drove over to the trailhead with the exact set of Torx wrenches I have...at home in my toolbox. I figured three tight bolts was way better than none and since it was an hour drive to get here, I might as well get some more trail miles in. I really wanted to check out Calderwood Butte, as I hadn't ridden there before. It was next up on route anyway.

But first, since my AES ride was over, I'd loop back around to the south side of Sunrise Mtn. to check out that new trail I had seen earlier.

There's actually two new trails, but this one dead ends at a scenic overlook. The other new trail is up on the hill.

It was a really nice grade, singlespeed friendly too. That's a new-ish Safeway shopping center below, which would be a key resupply option for the big 105 mile route.

At the top of the climb were two other riders. One fella said he saw me coming up and I was either struggling or on a singlespeed. Ha! They were both amazed I was on the one gear. I almost cleaned the climb, just one dab and go coming around the final switchback.

I figured since I was here, I'd walk down the trail I rode up earlier in hopes I could locate the lost bolt. I didn't know how easy they would be to replace and I sent George at Binary HQ a text asking for one. He later replied that he'd send a new set, not Torx!! Cool.

Anyway, I ended up walking down the entire trail and no luck locating it. Oh well, it was worth a try. Now on to Calderwood Butte.

The trail entrance is right off the sidewalk.

It's a good climb to the first ridgeline. You can see where the trail begins, slightly left of center.

A short push brought me here, where it splits two neighborhoods.

A bit more walking after the switchback ahead.

Cool section of trail as it cuts into the Butte.

It starts off smooth, then gets steep, loose and chundery. Definitely best riding this direction. S -> N.

Overall, it was a good addition to the route.

On my way over to the next system at West Wing Mtn. I was linking to a trail through a community I've accessed in the past. This time more fencing was installed around the gated community. It was apparent they didn't want anyone coming through...however, a construction vehicle was going in right as I rode up, so I piggybacked on his entry. At the end of the street the signed trail is there and looks very official. After about 50' of trail there's another sign facing the opposite direction stating you are entering private property, etc. I was able to reach the guy doing the 105 miler, telling him to go around if he got the message. I've since updated the gpx to avoid this area.

The Paloma Regional Preserve butts up against the private property.

I began cutting a bit more of the AES route now, making more of a beeline back to Deem Hills. I skipped the Ridgeline trail, which is incredible BTW, but I figured why press my luck?

The shortcut option was fast!!

Keefer Hill trail, fun stuff.

A lone standout by the encroaching subdivision. The trail cuts between the two and contours along the hillside.

Remember the earlier photo with all the white houses? Here they are in all their boring whiteness. Not sure what they were envisioning here.

At least there's a fantastic trail the skirts by the homes.

Cool view of Pyramid Peak.

One final climb, then a super fun, berm filled descent on Lupine trail.

From the exit of Lupine, it was only a few miles of pavement back to Deem Hills. In the end, it may have been another DNF, but I'm glad I hung around to check out some new-to-me trails. It was a good day on the bike regardless. There were only 3 other riders, funny part about that is this: Each one did a different route. One east sider, one west sider and one who did the full 105. Nice work fellas.

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