Mars and Venus

I've had the great fortune to be able to ride my bike like it's my job for the past month. Many of these rides have been on the road, putting away mile after mile of paved bike lane as the desert expanses stretch away from me on either side and the sun pounds my legs and back. It's been beautiful to say the least. One amazing part is that cholla are in my life on these roads as well, dangling at the edges of the asphalt and threatening to turn my road tires into swiss cheese. Let's look and compare: Cholla on the trail....

Cholla on the road.....

Aackk, it's everywhere!! I believe, though, that my "blogging to relieve some of the fascination with cholla and therefore avoid a collision" is working...knock on dried-up, needle-free cactus... or wood. It's getting a little easier to avoid staring at the cacti while riding, although as I am writing and photo-taking, I am clearly still in luv. Oh well.

Even though I've been spending a great deal of time on my road bike, the Niner still gets attention, 3 or more X a week, usually on the Wednesday morning (6:30 am, what??) ride and on the weekends.....
On Saturday, Dejay and I headed east of town to "design the SSAZ course." This was one of those days where the differences between how men and women view events was clear. For example, what Dejay would call "design," I would probably refer to as "bushwack." The barbed wire fence that I found "threatening to my female parts," he considered a "hurdle." When we reached the 3-4 cattle guard gates that lead you through a maze of brush, wash, and cow pen, I thought 'if I were here during a race I would feel completely "lost,"' but oh no, this is just a "unique feature."
My favorite, though was this: would you call it a "trail??"

....I usually refer to these as "rivers." I don't know, what do you think??
Alright, to be fair, snow in the desert eventually equals water, so these bodies of H2O are a natural consequence of the recent weather and they have inhabited the normal area where the Chiba Falls trail runs. Pretty cool to see water in the desert, actually. It made me feel like I was back in Pisgah, picking my way across forest creeks and rivers.

So the short and long of it.....you'll know you're on course for SSAZ if you see this:


And, unless the next three weeks drains the new lake, this:
Also, be warned. We've contracted with little brown aliens to ensure your ride is as sticky and prickly as you'd expect it to be out here. We were forced to use the SSAZ riders in our negotiations after we came under attack. But don't worry, they aren't as painful as they are annoying. Perhaps there will be tasty beverages to soothe your frustrations if you're not too busy racing.
Speaking of racing, Single Speed Worlds registration is open. All females are guaranteed entry if they attempt registration. I guess that means my spoke card will be hanging around my room as decoration unless someone has another creative idea for what to do with it......