Chuska Challenge

A few of my friends participated in the Cove Classic up on the Navajo Reservation a few months ago and raved about it. The race was put on by NavajoYES, a group empowering Navajo youth to get out & be active. Another event was approaching, the Chuska Challenge, and I was eager to check it out. I had never really spent any time on the Navajo Reservation other than driving through on my way to the Four Corners region like most people.

What I found, was the Chuska Mountains are anything but a barren, rock strewn landscape that so many envision when they hear the words Navajo Reservation. I had seen these mountains before, but never knew the name. They are clearly visible from the Four Corners Monument, sitting almost due south. I had always wondered if the mountains I was looking at were in Arizona or New Mexico. Both, actually, but mostly in Arizona.

Cool logo greeting riders to the camping area at the start/finish.

I left the Valley early on Friday knowing it was a good 6 hour drive to the venue. The close-up view of the Chuska's was eye popping. A huge near vertical upheaval of slickrock at the base of the mountain giving way to pine trees. The road up was no joke, well constructed, but steep and loaded with the tightest switchbacks I'd ever driven on. It didn't take long to gain elevation!!

Slickrock fortress guarding the mountain.

No. 2, I was the second person to pick up their race packet!

Found a nice place tucked in between the huge trees.

People began to fill in Friday evening and my buddies, Neil & Ryan also made the drive. Neil has been very active in the communities up this way helping them develop & build new trails. Mountain biking is really catching on up here.

The brochure stated there would be food available from a vendor Friday night. What they meant was a full table spread of local fare for a donation. Excellent!!

On race day there were two options for riders. They could do the race or ride on a self-paced supported tour of the area. I really wanted to do both, so I signed up for the race with the idea of eating lunch afterwards, then going out for a bit of a tour. Sounded good to me.

At the starting line it was made known that a pro rider from Durango had made the trek over. So, about 5 minutes before we started, they changed up the course!! Talk about grassroots racing!! Originally, we were going to ride one outer loop of about 6 miles, then a series of short inner loops totaling 12-13 miles. Instead, we were now going to do 3 outer loops. No biggie, it's only 18 miles.

Almost the full field of racers!! Neil is all business on the left!!

It was a good mix of riders from Arizona, New Mexico and Durango areas. I think there were a couple from So. Cal too.

The camp area sits at 9,000' and the course pretty much goes up from there. I thought I was ready for that. Guess not. The easy 1/2 mile rollout on pavement had me breathing hard leading into the first climb. The good news was it spread everyone out really quick.

The loop was all 2-track except the bit of pavement near the start/finish.

 The first climb was a bit rugged, but all rideable. I really didn't mind that the course was all 2-track. Some of it felt like singletrack and these roads didn't get used a whole bunch.

The leaves were passed their peak color, but some still hung around.

Impressive view to the west towards Monument Valley.

I leapfrogged a couple of guys the entire first lap, but eventually stayed ahead. The lap ended up being over 7 1/2 miles, not a huge deal, but when sucking wind and expecting 6 it was a wakeup call. Each lap had about 1200' of gain as well and my legs were feeling it.

I half contemplated calling it quits and finishing the day on the tour route, but I came to my senses and started to feel decent on lap 2. At the end of the second lap I stopped for a quick snack at the start/finish line. Just as I was getting set to tackle lap 3, the pro rider from Durango finished his race!! I took off and thanked him for not lapping me, Neil rolled in a few minutes later to claim 2nd overall. Dude is super strong!!

Around the backside of the course it felt like we were riding through someone's compound.

Hogan under construction.

Bare aspens near the high point of the route.

I had to get off and push for two short bits before starting a long downhill back to the pavement. The upper portion of the descent was a jeep road typical of southern Arizona, rocky, loose and chunky!! I went a bit above my comfort level on speed the first lap, being a tad more cautious on the next two.

Chunkalicious fun!!

It must've looked incredible up here a few weeks ago.

That's Sleeping Ute Mtn. in Colorado in the distance. Cool!!

Striations of color through the trees.

I relaxed on lap 3, took all my pics on the final circuit. I had a feeling I wasn't going to catch anyone or get passed either. I was holding out hope I'd qualify for one of the sweet trophies since they had a bunch of categories and not a ton of riders.

Correction: There was a bit of singletrack, about 100 yards freshly made for the event!!

By freshly made, I mean the racers created it by following the flags!!

The final approach into the finish.

A bit faster and/or older and I could've snagged one of these!! I finished 7th overall out of 23.

I was pretty worked over when I finished. Neil was hanging out too and neither of us had a huge desire to ride the first 2/3rd of the race course again to get to the Tour turnoff. It was a nice afternoon and there was plenty of entertainment scheduled. First of which was a heavy metal band from Kayenta!! Commence the head bangin'. They rocked it. Sounded solid and they remarked how this was the coolest venue they ever played.

Ethnic De Generation

There were a few locals performing traditional Navajo songs, very cool.

Golden Hour set in and the wind ramped up again.

I relocated my car to help block the wind, but sometime during the night the tent practically caved in on me!! That's never happened. It made things a bit interesting during the night, but I managed a sound couple hours of snooze time.

I was stirring early on Sunday, packed up and began the long drive home. Sure was some beautiful country to see. I'll be looking forward to the events next year to explore more around the Four Corners region.

Heading down the mountain I stopped at Buffalo Pass to take a peek.

Plenty of mountains & landmarks to pick out.

Quite the view too.

A huge Thank You to those involved from NavajoYES for putting on these events and getting the local community and beyond involved. It may be time to check out the new bikepacking route up there, hmmm.

Until next year.

Sedona: Modified BFL

I was locked & loaded for a massive 100+ mile ride in Flagstaff. It was a ride I tried to do back in May, but just wasn't feeling it barely 2 miles in. Then I started watching the 10-day forecast...50% chance of showers. Bleh. I wasn't going to ride in the rain if I didn't have to. What to do? Sedona's forecast was looking much better, but I still opted to hold out another day. I didn't want to do the Flagstaff ride on a Sunday because I'd finish way too late for my early work start on Monday. Sedona's not a bad Plan B. I had a big route there that was in need of redemption as well. I had tried a modified AES BFL loop back in March, but my cranks busted halfway through!!

I made a couple of minor tweaks to that route and set out for some fun on the red rocks.

Hiline did not need modification.

Hiline gets you in the proper frame of mind for the day, super views & stellar trail.

A slippery barefoot crossing of Oak Creek led to my first alteration of the route.

A short spin up the road from Oak Creek leads to Ridge trail, it's a 5 minute HAB at first, but it gets good quick enough. I took another trail, Secret Slickrock, that I had never been on. Wasn't overly impressed with it, so next time I'd just stay on Ridge before crossing the next road.

From here I linked up with Sketch, then a CCW loop on Carroll Canyon - Old Post to Skywalker. This was a really good route over to the top of Herkenham trail. I tacked on another fun loop going down Scorpion trail then returning back to the top of Herkenham via the pavement.

It was a little warm out, so I stopped into the hotel on the corner and asked for some water/ice. They were happy to oblige and I was topped off for the next big chunk of the day.

The main route continued onto Ledge-n-Airy - Drano - Last Frontier, but then I axed Girdner/Rupp in favor of Western Civilization over to Cockscomb. It was a huge win in my book. No frustrating Dry Creek crossings on Girdner, it was ALL rideable.

I was now on one of my favorite sections of the BFL route: Cockscomb - Aerie - Mescal Mtn. I ran into a large group of riders from So Cal at the Aerie trailhead and they commented that I must be out on a big adventure!! Not sure what gave it away. Our conversation soon turned to the AZTR750 and come to find out they are friends with Sarah Jansen, of broken crank arm fame!!

A little too crowded for my tastes.

Mescal Mtn trail.

I've been meaning to ride the upper portion of Canyon of Fools for a while, so why not today? I took a look at the time when I reached the split and departed Mescal Mtn trail. Canyon of Fools is a hoot, the faster you go the better it gets!! High banked turns, mini-wallrides, some jumps, rocks and hopefully no one stopped in the trail since it's nothing but blind corners through a gulley!!

More Mescal awesomesauce.

It took me just under 25 minutes to make the full loop back around, not too bad. I dumped onto Chuck Wagon and forgot how long and twisty that trail was, especially when you start craving pizza.

Twisting through the trees on Chuck Wagon.

I took the 1/4 mile detour to Famous Pizza on US89A for a much needed food break. I tried to make it quick knowing I still had a bunch more to ride.

I cut out most of the Thunder Mountain suckfest by taking Andante, which was a junior version of Thunder Mountain with slightly less suckage.

Coffee Pot rock from the Teacup Trail.

I got heckled by some 4x4's for HAB'ing up a steep section on Jordan trail. 'Is that one of those new bikes that work by walking next to it?' Hehe, always a comedian in the group. When I was done pushing I rode by them as they picked their way slowly over the rocks.

Grand Central took me down to US89A and through town. It was now getting long in the afternoon and I really wanted to get through my bonus loop in the Hogs area before sunset.

I was able to finish my double loop through the Hogs in twilight. Hogwash - Pigtail - Peccary - Hogwash - Twin Buttes - Hog Heaven - Mystic.

Pigtail is about as close to a downhill flow trail as you'll find around here.

I dumped out on Chapel road and put on my lights. I now had a decision to make. Bail off my route and finish in 20 minutes via the pavement. Or stick with my planned altered finish of: Chapel - Little Horse - HT - Easy Breezy - Templeton - Slim Shady. If I did that I was looking at another 1 1/2 hours of riding. I really wanted to stick to the trail, but also didn't want to get home super late either. So, for once, I actually bailed to the road for a quick finish. Next time I'm staying on the trail!! The shorter autumn days weren't helping any.

At the end of the day it was a fantastic route with minimal BS. I think I'd only cut out a couple of my 'just for fun' loops and create an 'official' new route for the BFL.

Sedona Modified BFL flyover

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