We had a wonderful camping trip to the magical Chiricahua Mountains last weekend. I happily borrowed some gear from our BikePacking program to comfortably negotiate the sub freezing night temperatures. Saturday we rode gravel bikes out and back over Pinery Canyon road to the town of Portal, AZ. The climbs were tough but the scenery unsurpassed. Most rode the climb up to the National Monument on Sunday, while a few of us ventured further south to tackle Turkey Creek Canyon.
Balance was the theme of the weekend and we hope many riders had a chance to press the reset button. After so many race cancellations lately, it was imperative that the team revert to a system that has worked so well in the past; camping and bonding in a beautiful backdrop and pushing our limits on the bike. It was my first time experiencing classic El Grupo programming and I’m hooked.
Thanks to Coach Ignacio and Daniela for sharing this place with us newbies. Thanks also to Mary Bell Cruz, Shannon Scott, and David Walker for their tireless support and a big thank you to Rosanne (Nona) and Michael (Tatone) for engineering superb meals for the entire entourage. We rode to new places, ate like royalty and enjoyed each others company for a memorable weekend.
Next up are some mountain bike races with the MBAA race in Lake Havasu on March 6 while a large contingent is heading up for another epic camping and race weekend on March 12-14 for the Cactus Cup in Phoenix. We have 25 riders registered and we look forward to this event!
Our practices will thus focus on the preparation for Cactus cup the next few weeks with a good attention paid to the mountain bike. Here is the practice schedule for the next two weeks;
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054DADA72CA3FC1-feb22
Team members also don’t forget about the opportunity and expectation to give back with helping out Colter, Nathaniel and the Bike Club. Here is their sign up to volunteer;
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054dada72ca3fc1-bike
Gord
