Re:
Once again our wonderful customs/Royal Mail delivery service lost the reference details for the serviced forks. So after some investigation and some painful telephone calls, I could finally pay the customs charge EVEN though they were mine. The arrived with 3 days to spare before the latest adventure.
The planets aligned and after a crazy week with work, I picked up a hire car and started to explore the trails around Phoenix, Arizona.
Below are a few highlights from 2 solid days of riding. Day 1 was at Pass Mountain, to the east of Phoenix. Right in the sticks, visually it was out of this world with breath-taking vistas everywhere you looked. It was the hardest riding I've ever done and to be really honest, it was a real struggle. The trails were super-gnarly and even on a modern bike it'd be uncomfortable and in many spots, unrideable. It was heavily worn, I guess due to it's popularity with the final stretch from the base back up to the top-end trail-head the only solid bit of riding all day. That all said, it was an adventure and I survived although my bars did their best to puncture by chest on one super-sketchy decent.
I even found a desert mini version of Mountain Mayhem...8 hour enduro.
Day 2 took in the Desert Classic trail at South Mountain. It's a gigantic public park, one of the biggest in the US and this was a delight to ride. Perhaps not quite as visually stunning to begin with, once you headed out of the gated communities and passed 1,500ft, you were right back in the middle of nowhere. The trails were brilliant with a real mix of rock, rocky sections, loose gravel and sand, some flow and lots of undulation. It kept your attention all the time. As an out and back, it was a good grind followed by a very welcome and super-fun return. As a proper trail I did meet a few folks - all commented on the bike, one on my accent and best of all a fellow Kona-nut. Yep, in the middle of the desert I found myself chatting about A'ha's, Explosif's and Manomano's.
As for the bike, once again it was faultless and particularly on Desert Classic, it was right at home. Mark worked his magic on the forks which performed amazingly (again) and well, they look the nuts right? The red accents of the decals and top-caps reflect the flames.
PS: everything you've read about cycling or running at altitude in the desert is true. It's brutal. I was getting through 4-5 litres of water and anything over 1,500ft...boy you feel it more than say the Alps.