PHX

There was a cold snap in Sedona and we knew are time was coming to a close there...for now at least. Our blood has gotten very thin with the warm temps, so 40 degrees felt impossibly cold. We did a last ride on Highline/Baldwin with super nice guy Jimmy who owns the Bike and Bean. It was cool riding Highline again first because its a great trail and secondly because it wasn't scary the second time. It was pure fun.

Tim dipped out on riding to take care of the hiccup with the van. Long story short, sometimes it takes an electrical guru to fix an electrical problem. And that electrical guru happened to live in the Black Hills on the way up to Jerome. It was a simple fix which are the most beautiful kind. So far, the hiccup has gone away.

Searching warmer temps we headed south to Phoenix. It was the band's last ride together as Collin was heading to San Diego, we were heading to New Mexico and Nate was heading back to D.C. Luckily we had a charismatic host in Gabe. Gabe is the head hunter and administrative guru at BetterRide.net He is a big wordly kid and has a pump track around a pool in his back yard. The boys were in heaven.

Good thing for me it wasn't pump tracking only, but we got to get out and do some proper xc riding at South Mountain on the National Trail. What a cool park right in the center of Phoenix. I've ridden there before, but Gabe showed us some local secret trails.

Of course the boys showed their stuff and cleared some things that Gabe hasn't seen anyone clear before. They are good riders and even if they stayed in the hollers of the George Washington Forest and no one ever saw their riding, I would know that they are some of the best riders around. I did pretty good, but struggled making the transition to powdery gray rocks from Sedona's grippy red. I chicken out on some rocky drops.

It was cool staying in Tempe and being able to walk to stores and restaurants which was something I wasn't expecting.