Bike trail Review

Fantasy island Trail System, Tucson, AZ!

Now that we're done with the graduation rally, rv show and desert boondocking, time to get back to some biking! Quartzsite and Yuma were both pretty much a bust for any quality mountain biking. Since we are back in Tucson for RV repairs, I decided to head back over to the Fantasy Island Trail system to check out the loops that I missed on our previous visit!


The fantasy Island Trail system is listed as a beginner trail, and it is if you do only the 'main' Lone Cactus loop. However, when you combine the outer loops you can create just about any mileage you wish between 6 to 13 miles. When you add in the Christmas tree loop, Bo's Loop and Burro Pit, you still have a beginner friendly trail that keeps anyone from the racer to the freerider coming back for more!

All of the stunts have 'chicken trails' around them and are all very well built (those that I did anyway!). The trail is mostly flat, but goes in and out of a dry creek bed and a small valley, so any climbs are short but pretty steep. The terrain changes a couple times from loose sandy gravel to baby head rocks mixed in. If your not running Stan's or Slime, you are guaranteed to get flat as there are goat heads and dead cactus throughout the trail!

Bring plenty of water, the trail is DRY and you will suck up the dust! Also plan on giving your bike a bath afterward and the sand is this talcum powder fine and works its way into every crevice on you bike.

The trail system is conveintly located between a residential area and an army base, so it is currently under attack by developers. The local bikers are in serious danger of losing this fine trail. You can check out www.savefantasyisland.org for more information on what is being done to save the trail system!

Here is my photo adventure of the trail system, enjoy!

One of the first things you see here is the 'monuments' to dead inner tubes. If not prepared, you ARE going to get a flat

Next you come across this sign reminding you that you are next to an Air Force base, on one visit here, I could hear the target practice!

I was really surprised just how large the cacti were. I put bike next to this one to give some perspective on the size!

Speaking of cacti, its time for the 'open to interpretation' picture of the day!

Here is the entrance to the Dead cow loop, basically a sub loop of Burro pit. In the pic, you can see the cow head mounted on the tree and the working cow bell hung above the trail. I thought this was a fun and creative 'entrance' to the loop!

Now, because it was called the 'dead' cow loop, I never expected to see a 'live' cow here! It was really strange because the trail system is gated in, and I never saw another cow for the entire 13 miles?

As you finish up Bo's loop, you come to this cool over under feature. However, on the under part they only left about 5 feet of clearance, so better duck! The entrance into the under is also a 2 foot drop that you can't really see as you approach so it really catches you off guard!

As you finish up the trail, you come across this marker which really does sum it all up!

-Rich-

Quartzsite, AZ

Graduation, Dust, The Big Show, Dust, Snuggy Meets A Friend, Dust, Warm weather, Dust, Naked Bookstore Guy...

...Did I mention dust?! This was the finest, talcum powder like stuff I have ever seen, and it coated everything we owned by the time our week in the desert was done. Thanks to the full-timers group for selecting a convenient location for us, 2 miles off the main road with the 2 track access (who's idea was that anyway?)



Yeah, I know, its been a while since the last the post! Currently enjoying 72 degrees here in Yuma, AZ. This is the first internet we have had acess to since heading from Phoenix to our adventure in the desert.


We met up with the 'Full-Timer 2005 Graduation class' In Quartzsite (dust bowl!) Arizona. We stayed on BLM land, cheap, $20 for a 14 day pass. Park anywhere you want in the desert! Despite the dust, we had a wonderful time meeting all of the others that started their own full-timing adventures in 2005. We shared stories, travels, breakdowns and places we visited over wonderful pot luck dinners and warm campfires. Below is a borrowed picture of the 2 track into the campsite, followed by some of our group members 'wagon train'. Finally, a group pic of the 'graduating class'!




























We capped off the time here with a wonderful campfire cerimony where everyone recieved their 'diplomas'. It was cold that night, around 32-35, not a cloud in the sky. The nearest city is almost 20 miles away, so the stars were the brightest I've ever seen! Here's our diplomas':


In between swapping stories with other full-timers, we took some time out to visit the largest RV Show and Flea Market, I think, on the planet. This little town in the desert swells up over a million people for this week long show. We looked at a few rigs and are really starting to lust over the diesel pushers. Our gasser has been good to us but, it would be really nice to have the stability of the bus chassis, the power and fuel economy of the diesel. Most important for me would be the pac or Jake brake to help you down the mountains. I've had my share of white knuckle descent's and smoked brakes on the Georgie Boy to make me really want to upgrade, we'll see!

While checking out the flea market (with the limited space in the RV, we can't buy anything, that's a good thing!) we kept hearing people talk about the 'naked bookstore guy'. So, of course, we had to go investigate. Sure enough, this guy is a legend in these parts, has over 80,000 books, mostly in a tent, and can point you to any genre or author in an instant! He is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the town, so we had to do the tourist thing and get a pic of him (we did buy a couple of books too!)



Almost everyone we spoke with said every RV'er needs to experience the spectacle that is Quartzsite at least once. I agree, just be prepared for the dust invasion and 3 day clean up that follows!!

We have spent the last couple of days washing everything we own, The motorhome got cleaned inside and out. A fresh coat of wax for the car, the coach and the bikes. Now that we are put back together and clean, we are headed back to Tucson for some RV repairs (refrigerator and water pump). We will pass through Phoenix again and head towards Palm Springs, to revist what we missed on the last visit (we both sick with the flu there in Dec!) mainly the Tramway and Joshua Tree NP. Then its over to San Diego (can't wait to see the zoo) at the beginning of March. Followed up by the Pamona, CA FMCA Rally in mid march. Then we begin working our way up the CA coast!



Rich

Tucson Wrap-up

Here we are making our way through Phoenix(driving through big cities is an exercise in frustration!), on our way to Quartzite, AZ. We're on our way to meet up with the 2005 Full-timers graduating class members. We will be 'boondooking' in the AZ desert with other folks who started full-timing this past year (I think around 40 rigs are registered to attend), should be interesting!

Our overall impression of Tucson was, great place to visit, wouldn't want to live there. The biggest problem, its too dry! We didn't think it was possible to be too dry (low humidity is a requirement of our place to live search). Tucson has not had rain in something like 100 days! While the weather was nearly perfect for January, mid 70's during the day, 40's at night. Things are dry, dead and brown.

Tucson did meet a couple of our 'place to live' search critera.

First, it has to have a good biking community, both road and mountain biking. In previous post we talked about our group road ride with the seniors at Voyager RV park. The roads are good, many with bike lanes, lots of group rides. The mountain bike trail system here has something for everyone. You can go into the mountain for some hard core climbing and wicked downhill runs (which we didn't do) and some flat land, fun trails. One in particular, the Fantasy Island trail system, while considered a begginer trail, had some fun expert loops to keep the experienced riders coming back for more!

Next we are looking for close proximity (within a days drive) to some sort of wine country. Which, typically means mountains, temperate weather, some sort of seasonal weather changes (mild, changes) Now Tucson is none of these things, but we did find wine. Not many people are aware of the Tucson wine country, but it is slowly emerging. A great example of Tucson wines is Callaghan Vineyards. (ww.callaghanvineyards.com) they make some outstanding Syrahs and Zinfindels!

Time to move on, look for more from Quartzite, coming soon!

Rich

Biosphere 2

No, not a remake of the early 90's movie starring(?) Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin!

Biosphere 2 a privately funded, part research project and part (allegedly!) scare tactic by the doomsday cults on the billonaire who funded it. Do know what Biosphere 1 is? (Answer later)

This facility was completely self contained and self sufficient in its day (late nineties when 8 soles stayed in for 2 years) now open to the public, looking for a buyer to keep it going. (Asking price only $150,000,000.00!

The tour itself was pretty interesting; but didn't get into as much of the building as I would have liked. I want to get into the guts, see how the thing worked! But they obviously don't want to show you the CO2 scrubbers or oxygen supply system they forget to tell you about on the tour or in the 'official' history! (info on the alleged doomesdays scare, CO2 scrubbers, O2 supply system provided by doing a google search on the biosphere!)

Here's the complex itself. It sits down in a 'crater' type depression, so you see nothing as you drive to the front entrance and approach the complex.

Once inside, they take you through the different biomes of the complex, here is the 'prairie' or flat land area of the complex.








Here is the view from the rain forest canopy looking down to the ocean. 1 million gallon living reef. The end you see here is the wave and tide machine, to duplicate nature. The other end is a beach where the inhabitants could swim and fish.



Her is the mechanical buildings, they did not tour through these areas and they are separated by quite a distance from the main complex. After doing some internet research. They put carbon dioxide scrubbers and oxygen generation equipment in when it was found out the plants inside could not clean up and then produce oxygen quick enough to support its human and animal inhabitants.



The geometric area in the center of the picture is the living quarters and laboratory areas. The tour started here. Living quarters were very spacious given the space. The entire complex could be monitored and controls from this area. The controls room was really cool! The dome is the 'lung' of the complex. This was one of the most interesting aspects of the complex. Inside the dome is basically a huge (40 ton) aluminum disc suspended from the sides by a rubber bladder, underneath it is a water storage area. Basically, the complex could either explode or implode (when sealed off from the outside world) from pressure changes from the sun heating things up during the day. The disc/bladder system would move up or down to equalize the pressure from the complex, the water would condense in this area, thus the water collection basin. The tour took through an undergound tunnel into the underside of the 'lung' this is as close to the mechanics of the Biosphere as we got.



Here is the agriculture section of the complex. Nothing growing here currently, but the land was prepared and waiting for new inhabitants. Cool part of the ag building was the ceiling. With electronic equipments and lights to be able to replicate almost any type of weather condition they wish.

So, there it is. Overall, if you're in the Tucson area, worth checking out. Even though it was considered a success (the inhabitants made it the 2 years of the project) , researchers found out we have a long way to go before we can recreate our world on another planet. That reminds me, what is Biosphere 1? The earth, of course!

A bike ride and pickle balling

Today started early with a morning bike ride with a group from the RV park. We met at the gate at 8:30 (when it was a chilly 40 degrees!), then we loaded up and drove to a park in the NE corner of Tucson for a 22 mile bike ride. I was a little concerned about being able to keep up, since I'm not the fastest rider, but that was no problem today. We only averaged 9-11mph. with several stops, including a delicious lunch stop at mile 13.

After we got back, we had about an hour to rest before Rich headed off to play pickleball. Pickleball is like tennis, but on a much smaller court. Rich played for 2 hours before heading home. I relaxed and watched TV for awhile before taking Snuggles on my bike, over to watch the action and get a few pictures. You can see in one pic, how small the court is.

Tonight is sushi night! We found a place for cheap and excellent sushi. We stumbled upon it when we were going to the local Trader Joe’s. Tomorrow we head out of town to see the Biosphere. I’m looking forward to it!

Plans For 1st Quater of 2006!

Here's a map of our planned stops for the first three months of the year. You can click the picture for a closer look.



Here are a few details:

• Current location, Tucson, Az. Mountain biking, wineries(who knew?!) and basically staying warm and enjoying the sunshine!
• Jan 16-21, Mesa Az. Continuing to stay warm in the heart of winter. Meeting up with some folks from Maverick RAnch in town for the Jackson Barrett car auction.
• Jan 21-26, Quartzite, AZ. 2005 Full-timer graduation rally. A celebration of all the folks who 'bagged it' in 05, expected attendance 40 rigs!
• Jan 26-Feb 14. Desert Hot Springs, Ca. Catching up things we missed on our last time in town due to illness; Joshua Tree NP, the tram etc...
• Feb 14-15, Yuma, AZ.
  
• Feb 26-Mar 12. San Diego, CA
• MAr 19-25 Pamona, CA. FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) RV Rally. Expected attendance, thousands!
• Mar 25-28 Santa Barbara, CA. Quick stop to say hi to parental units and aunts/uncles
• MAr 30-april 8 Paso Robles, CA. Wine COuntry!!
• April 8-12 Montery, CA. Sea Otter Classic mountain bike race, and Wine!
• 
  

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States we've visited map

Someone on an RV bulletin board posted a link to an on-line version of those vinyl maps you see plastered on Rv's with stick on states that people have visited. Here's what ours looks like as we begin Bag-It-Tour 2006 from Tucson, AZ.




Rich

Holiday wrap-up

In an earlier post, we promised to let you know how the 'giftless' (except for kids) Christmas went. Well, it was the most stressfree, enjoyable Christmas ever! We all got a kick out of sitting around eating, drinking and watching nieces and nephews tear open packages, remove the contents and proceed to play with box ;)

Here is a pic of our nephew Conner showing his Hollywood pose. In the background, our step sisters/brother Leah, Cammie and Edgar and their son kai(SP?). Next pic has neice Gillian playing dress-up and Isabella dressing down, her mom Rebecca is in the background. (Rebecca, get some clothes on that kid!)























We spent the first part of Christmas eve at Laura's Dads doing the 'kids' Christmas. That was fun, but, by the end of day Laura and I were 'kidded out'. Spent the second half of the day with my mom, dinner hosted by my Uncle and cousins. Nice quiet evening, nice dinner and good conversation. Laura, on the other hand, was losing it fast, here comes the flu!

Christmas day, after sleeping in, we headed off to Laura's dads for 'adult' Christmas. Awesome dinner (ALWAYS the case when you go there!) lots of good wine(again, always the case!) and good times and great conversation with the family. We did exchange small gifts with parents, who requested pictures of us on our adventure. We are planning to have some professional shots done in some really cool location (Sedona, Grand Canyon or something) of us with the coach and bikes, not just of parental units but as a keepsake of the adventure!

The week between Christmas and New Year was really quiet as the flu had really set in, and by Wednesday, Laura's voice was completely shot! I used the opportunity to go around and visit customers that I'm still working with while on the road. Firming up marketing plans for 06, lunching and just visiting, lots of questions about the adventure! Its really nice to be able to maintain this business while on the road, both for future connections and the incremental $'s its bringing in! We made some attempts to get around and visit some friends both mountain biking and otherwise, but with Laura not able to talk, it was difficult. We did not get a chance to everyone we wanted. We'll make sure we make the rounds on the next trip(as yet unplanned)

New Year's rolls around and Laura is in no shape to party. We dropped some stuff off at the house. We stopped by our friends the Mitchells' to say hey! Their son Yale got a cowbell for Christmas. We pulled from the internet a list of songs with cowbell in it and plucked the ones George had in his collection into the cd player. We then proceeded to play the cowbell to the songs, what a riot! Turned out not such a riot with the flu, Laura said it was like we were beating on her head! That evening, we headed over to Moss' house, some mountain biking friends who were having a get together, great to see everyone, but Laura was fading fast. We visited for a few hours, then back to house. Laura was out by 9:30, I was out by 12:05.

Enter New Years day. Trails-Edge, the bike shop we race for, holds a New Years day ride every year. I planned ahead and brought enough bike clothes to make the ride. The weather wasn't bad, temps in the mid 30's, but no sun! Here is a pic of the motley crew that made the ride. IT was a casual pace (to shake off hangovers for some) with a long stop in the middle for some chat at the coffee shop. Ended up around 15 miles total. I miss these group rides, but man you keep the weather!!


Tuesday the 3rd time to head out for the flight back to Vegas. Got over to my moms early, took her to lunch to say thanks for watching Snuggles while we were home. I think Snuggles needed the break from us. When came in to my moms, Snuggles didn't even look up from her cinnamon graham cracker(leave it to grandma to load the grand kids up with junk food!) to acknowledge us.

After a LONG flight home, both legs of the trip were delayed at least an hour. We pulled back into Vegas at 1:30 in the morning. We slept in the coach, parked in the storage area that night and headed towards Tucson on Wednesday morning.

Overall, great to be home to spend time with family and friends(those we made it too, anyway) Didn't even really mind the temps or the snow on ground. But, we really noticed the lack of sunshine. The sun did not even creep out in the 10 days we were in Michigan.


Now, random parting thought. I believe this a Botero sculpture, its in Laura's dad living room. I think the message Botero is trying to get across here is steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are BAD!




Rich