This year we opted to go a little more posh and "base camp" out of a VRBO in Sedona, AZ. You may be wondering..."Why Sedona? Moab, sure, Fruita, Yup! But what's in Sedona?" Oh, only about 300 miles of trails and mind blowing scenery right from your doorstep.
It was pretty nice to be based out of a house where we could roll out of the garage and ride to most of the trail heads. We did drive one day when we wanted to check out some trails on the North side of town.
We basically all landed in Arizona on Saturday and made it to the house Saturday evening. Team Vegan did have a slight delay and rolled in a day later. Sunday's ride was HOT! We got a bit of a late start and were out in the desert cooking during the heat of the day. By 2 or 3 in the afternoon we were pretty much all in survival mode just looking to get back to the comfort of our little resort on the golf course.
We did meet a couple of characters on day 1. A local who kind of had something to prove with a buddy who rides in denim. I think we also suffered from a flat or two on that first day.
Day two was pretty similar. We got out a little earlier to try and beat the heat but we were still out there when it was close to 100 degrees.
On Tuesday we decided to head for higher ground and meet up with a Charlottesville buddy that recently moved to Flagstaff. Unfortunately, Chris had befriended some local riders who had been pent up all winter and hadn't just spent the last two days trying to cook their brains in the desert sun. All things considered it was a great ride and a good day in Flag.
Wednesday was a rest day for some of us. Johanna, Fenton, Kyle and Richard opted for a little pre Grand Canyon ride. I think they were out the door by 6:00 and a few hours later we were all headed up to the Grand Canyon for a little day trip.
By the end of the week temps had cooled down into the 70's and it was pretty ideal for riding. I think we had some rain in the early part of Thursday so we waited it out and the group split up for two different afternoon rides. J and Richard explored the Airport trails and the rest of us (minus Fenton who was beginning his own personal journey into hell) rode some of the stuff closer to town.
The last ride of the week was just a bit North of town and was pretty much perfect. Being the last ride of the week I decided to throw the gauntlet down as we approached a short rise before a decent descent. As I expected, Kyle and Richard answered the call and the three of us were tearing through baby heads like nobody's business. I did manage to bonk myself about 300 yards from the car...which I would say is just about ideal.
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