Picketpost to nowhere

I try to ride my age in miles on my birthday each year, but I wasn't able to ride on my birthday, so I started making plans for New Years.

I floated the idea of riding Picketpost to Kelvin, which I had never ridden, and Jake jumped at the idea. He mentioned he had never seen the Coke Ovens up close, so I made a route that would take us by the Coke Ovens, cross the Gila River and finish in Florence via some easy dirt road riding. This would also allow us to drop a vehicle in Florence on our way to the Picketpost Trailhead for a shorter overall trip. Win-win, right?

I saw that John had recently ridden this area so I figured we had a couple places to cross the river based on his ride report.

We loaded up early, dropped off my truck in Florence and got on the bikes just as the sun was coming up.

Picketpost selfie

Jake rides up one of many climbs

We started out nice and easy and started ticking off the miles, stopping plenty for pictures. It had rained pretty good for the past several days, so there were some wet spots here and there, but the trail was in great shape.

Looking east

We didn't see anyone else out on the Arizona Trail (AZT), but did cross paths with some folks out four-wheeling.

It was cool to see so much water out in the desert!

Water crossing!

Waterfalls!

The climbs never seemed to stop, even though my GPS showed that we were "ridiculously close to the top". 

Unrelated note: I don't think Jake trusts my GPS anymore.

Jake rides up one of many climbs

Finally we reached the top and were rewarded with a great view.

Looking south

I took my phone out of airplane mode and was able to send a few texts to my wife. Then it was time to head down to the river. It's all downhill, or at least it looked that way on the GPS.

Still south

Yup, south

Geology

We finally reached the point where the AZT heads east towards Kelvin, but we went west to check out the Coke Ovens.

Coke Ovens

Coke Ovens with bikes

I was pretty tired by this point so I took off of my pack, shoes, helmet and gloves and sat down to eat some snacks. I didn't quite pack enough food, but Jake shared some of his goodies.

I was excited to get over the river and have a nice easy roll into town to get a burger!

We rode down to the river and looked for a nice place to cross.

Looking south, but not heading south [Photo by Jake]

The problem was all that rain cause the river to swell! I felt foolish for not considering this. We tested a few spots and ended up in a bunch of mud. In the end the river looked too deep and fast to cross safely.

After ruling out the river we contemplated lugging our bikes up and over a mountain to get home. That didn't seem feasible either so we ended up with the only option left: take an additional ten mile detour though some rugged jeep roads.

We were able to send some texts home saying we'd be late, but mostly had no service.

While we were backtracking to the jeep roads, we met a couple out four-wheeling in a pickup who offered to take us across the river. Once they saw the water though they turned around and decided to go out the jeep roads too. Thankfully they were willing to carry a couple of dirty muddy mountain bikers and their gear too. Those jeep roads are no joke though and it took several hours to get back to town.

I didn't get all my miles, but I definitely got my elevation. We had an adventure and stayed alive. Next time I think I'll stick to the plan!

2016 by the numbers

Here are my bicycling totals for 2016. Elevation gain is way up! I also did my longest ride of 62 miles, and finished the Kentucky Camp endurance event.

2016

Distance	1,717.1 mi
Time	158h 57m
Elev Gain	65,043 ft
Rides	160

Here are my 2015 numbers for comparison

2015

Distance	1,650.0 mi
Time	131h 38m
Elev Gain	36,732 ft
Rides	152

Strava includes yearly summaries so I pulled the numbers from there.

2015 by the numbers

Here are my bicycling totals for 2015. My total miles are down a bit, but I did increase my elevation gain. I also rode a bunch of new trail.

2015
Distance	1,650.0 mi
Time	131h 38m
Elev Gain	36,732 ft
Rides	152

Here are my running totals for 2015. I spent more time running and hiking with the dog:

2015
Distance	394.1 mi
Time	115h 4m
Elev Gain	10,712 ft
Runs	309

Strava now includes yearly summaries so I just pulled the numbers from there.

2014 by the numbers

Here are my bicycling and running results for 2014:

2014 Highlights

	Ride	Run
Total Activities	180	102
Total Distance (mi)	1,941	151
Total Time (hrs)	150:38:03	36:32:45
Average Speed	12.88 mi/hr	14:33 min/mi
Total Elevation (ft)	31,876	1,852
Total Segments	1,141	2
Longest Activity (mi)	51	4

For comparison, here are my results from 2013:

2013 Highlights

	Ride	Run
Total Activities	200	39
Total Distance (mi)	2,032	90
Total Time (hrs)	164:22:07	22:24:45
Average Speed	12.36 mi/hr	14:58 min/mi
Total Elevation (ft)	27,666	120
Total Segments	1,210	8
Longest Activity (mi)	41	4

I did about the same number of cycling miles in less time. This means I'm slightly faster. This is probably mostly due to getting a road bike.

I also did more running/hiking/dog walking. This is probably mostly due to getting a dog.

I did more long rides this year, including my longest, a fifty miler.

Longest Rides

	2012	2013	2014	2015	All-Time
Rides over 25 mi	4	7	12	1	24
Rides over 50 mi			1		1

Here is a chart. Jeff, the units are U.S. survey miles.

I used the Strava Annual Summary to generate these reports.

http://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/annualSummary.php 

Bikepacking: Salty Gila Attempt

Over the last couple of years I decided I'd like do some bikepacking. I read blogs and forums posts, reviewed gear lists and photographs and started collecting the necessary gear.

I had seen the Salty Gila Tour route posted last year but wasn't ready to tackle it at that time. When I saw that it was happening again, I knew I wanted to give it a try. It was close home and would allow plenty of places to bail if things went wrong. Two-hundred miles of dirt roads, mountain bike trails and pavement over three days. What could go wrong?

In preparation for this trip, I replaced my worn-out tires and brake pads, and got the bike tuned up. I had my bags packed with plenty of food and water. I was ready to go.

Loaded up and ready to go.

On Friday morning, I rode over to meet John and Larry, the other two adventurers. Right as I was pulling up, I shifted into the small ring and my rear tire started rubbing on the front derailleur. There was no way I was riding two hundred miles in the big ring. I said hello, explained my tire situation and said I would try to catch up. I went back home to put my old tire back on.

Now would be a good time to explain that I replaced my tires because the old rear tire had a slice in the sidewall that I repaired by sewing with dental floss and supergluing. With no other options at seven in the morning, I installed the tire. It went on without complaint.

With the old tire of questionable durability installed, I headed out. I knew I could shave off a mile or two from the route by following the road instead of the canal, so I took the shortcut. I kept a decent pace in my attempt to catch up. After forty-five minutes of not seeing them, I stopped to check the SPOT tracker page on my phone. Somehow, I was ahead of them! I backed off my pace and stopped at a grocery store to get a sandwich.

I continued riding and soon hit the TRW trail. Finally, some singletrack.

Singletrack.

Red Mountain in the distance.

Living free and in the wild.

I reached the Power Road trailhead and decided to wait. Less than five minutes later, they arrived.

John leading the way.

We headed onto the Hawes trail system and started moving. Pretty soon, I found myself off the bike and in the dirt. While I was brushing the sand out of my ears, Larry pointed at my bike and a broken derailleur hanger.

Dangling derailleur.

My options at this point were limited. I could try to shorten the chain and make it a single-speed, or walk out and get a ride home. Since I was only twenty miles in, I decided called it quits and get picked up at the trailhead.

I had to borrow Larry's chain tool to take off the chain, since my brand tool was neatly hung on the pegboard at home. After making sure I was OK to make out, I wished John and Larry good luck as they continued on with the tour.

With my chain removed, I had to push the bike uphill, but at least I could at least ride the downhills. I figured it was less than a mile to the road.

Salt River in the distance.

Somehow I took the wrong turn and it was more like three. At least it was on a familiar trail. Near the end, I dropped my GPS. After a short back-track, I found it. I continued on and made my way to the Walgreen's parking lot to wait for my wife to pick me up.

Water in the desert.

Unfortunately, the ride didn't go as planned, but I still had fun. I'm sure I'll give a go in the future. Oh, I did get some road rash when I crashed.

It's only a flesh wound.