T-shirt Touring in December

With my last papers turned in for the semester, we celebrated the beginning of winter break with a short 4-day bike tour. The route totaled 155 miles of dirt and back roads, taking us from Sedona to Jerome, Prescott, Camp Verde, and finally back to Sedona. At first I thought 50 mile days would be a breeze, however I soon realized that dirt "roads," short winter days, and my protesting legs that haven't seen a loaded bike since the summer, makes for a challenging and full day.

We learned several things during the trip. One is that it's hard to predict the condition of backroads in Arizona, and that many of these roads aren't marked at all; there were several "where in the world are we" moments and plenty of backtracking to get on course. One road that we planned to take for about 20 miles ended up being pretty much a giant un-rideable sand trap that wound through rugged no-man's land hills of the desert. The alternative route ended up in mixed blessing of unsigned middle-of knowhere hike and bike hill climbing, followed by an insanely steep/treacherous descent into a canyon, followed by one of the best rides I've ever had, darting through rock fields in a lush oak and cottonwood lined river canyon. That about sums up the trip: insanely burly riding, epic views, and best rides ever, all in a t-shirt in December. Weird. Here are a few pictures, the rest are here.

Our first taste of dirt riding leaving Sedona

Derek over the hood of a law enforcement car. Not in handcuffs!

Looking down on Jerome after the long climb up

Day 2 Leaving Jerome

Javelina

The faces of Derek: Happy Beer Face

Happy Snickers Face

Happy Downhill Face

Looking down on Camp Verde

The Rawland lives!

Here's the new bike that has been in the works this winter, a Rawland Drakkar:

It's a steel frame all around awesome go anywhere bike designed for 650b or 29er wheels. I chose sturdy Velocity Dyad 650b's since the plan is to use it for loaded touring. Disc brakes, mountain gearing, a tall head tube and Salsa dirt drop bars round it out as a comfy dirt touring bike that fits like a glove. Since I was breaking the piggy bank, I sprung for these as well:

Our first test ride was through muddy snow covered Forest Service roads just south of Flagstaff. Strangely I don't have any pictures, although Derek has some up on his site. We rolled though mud, rubble, and 6 inch thick snow drifts which were actually a lot nicer to ride through than the mud. We also got lost just enough to put a little fear into my gut, making it back in time to load the car while a fiery sunset lit up the hills.

Over the whole sliding around in the mud and snow thing, we headed down the hill 25 miles to the red rocks of Sedona for a ride along the Bell Rock trail. It was fun, especially since we were riding bikes in t-shirts in December. The final verdict on the new bike is I couldn't be happier. It fits great, handles great, and at 27lbs isn't too shabby for a touring bike.