Talladega Nights...

Cari and I made it to Phoenix-- it has RAINED most of the day. She is racing Valley of the Sun-- and I'm helping her out. Of course the past couple days have been AWESOME. Riding a lot and enjoying our times. Read the Captions for a better idea of how things have been going.

We rode around 'Star Pass' a resort-esque community near Tucson-- At the end of the ride, we rolled up to an intersection and had to wait for the train to pass-- notice this guy-- no helmet & a nice snot collection happening on the back of his shorts...

Cari's uncle Jeff and aunt Sydney's house decided they needed to get rid of some furniture-- we were all taking bets on how long it would actually sit on the curb. They were right, it didn't sit long and here is the documentation of the last sighting of the love seat... I was found out and the woman who was taking the couch gave me huge smile and waved-- I was mortified... This covert photo operation was obviously not that discrete. bummer. I'll work on that.

We rode in Saguaro National Park East on Thursday-- They have a most excellent 8 mile, one-way loop that is windy and hilly. Riding here felt like a video game-- we didn't really have to worry about car and the foliage (super cacti) came right up to the side of the road. BEAUTIFUL. Because Cari was preparing for the race this weekend, she did one lap and left me to do one more lap and then to ride home.

Although the extra lap was almost as excellent as the first, Cari wasn't there to pull me off of this huge saguaro... some old lady was kind enough to help pull the spines out of my rear. My ride home was good urban riding training! Cari was able to get her bike fixed and I got in a great ride! Mission accomplished! (and no worries, the picture was a staged self-photo and no injuries were incurred while taking it).

That night we went to an Arizona vs. Cal basketball game! 14,200 people packed the arena! it was quite the game. Arizona won.

Bio-lesson #1. Meet the Ocotillo. A desert plant with some sweet modifications. Of course it has a photosynthetic stem (my favorite plant evolutionary feat), but also you'll see that this specific one has leaves that have grown under the spines. With rainfall the plant becomes lush growing small ovate leaves that appear within 24 hrs! CRAZY!!!! Who knew.

Destination Phoenix. The beautiful Desert sky. Just awesome!!!
You can see, Cari is really excited about the time trial. It was cold ~40 degrees and WET. Valley of the Sun Stage race is this weekend and I'll update tomorrow!