KOFA

Kenny and I got to talking and decided to head west on the 26th.  The destination was Kofa NWR.  Kofa is short for King of Arizona, from the KofA Mine.  The Kofa Mountains, King Valley, and Castle Dome Mountains are all contained in the NWR.  

Kenny rolled out on his KLR, and I was in the Taco.  

Hammered west on I-10 to exit 53 where we regrouped and found dirt.  Which turned to sand, the Mud, then SAND.  Kenny wasn't happy.  Kenny was throwing rooster tails about 20' up...

Then we started to climb into the foothills and outta the sandy valley.  

Then finally reached the NWR boundary.  

The next stop was the Hovatter homestead site.  Pretty much only the landscaping along the circle driveway.  Some more info http://apcrp.org/BLOCK_KATHY/HOVATTER_GRAVES/Hovatter_Graves_042610.htm

Gravesite was kinda spooky, so time to roll again.  Took a few minutes to find the next road/trail.  I wasn't sure about it until it finally turned West and smooth-ish.  My mirrors got folded in a few times, and some new pin striping all down the sides.  But it was fun.  

Had some lunch and turned south.  In and out of some washes, and some good sized climbs and descents across larger drainages.  

Kenny was in the wrong gear for his first attempt at this climb, so I had a chance at action shots...

Wheelie!!!!!

Dropped into a nasty wash that turned out to be Engesser Pass.  Into the King Valley.  Then on towards the Kofa Mine area.  And finally out King Rd towards the highway with the setting sun in our faces.  

Homeward bound.  

GPS http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=25575936

-Ryan

Kentucky Camp

The season is upon us in Arizona for longer rides.  And there just isn't anything quite like getting along an AES ( Az Endurance Series) event/ride/race.  Today was Kentucky Camp south of Tucson.  Drove down with the John Henry setup as a SS.  Got ready, signed in, and found a spot at the back of the pack.  Up, down, around and over.  A nice mix of smooth dirt roads, rough dirt roads, flowy singletrack through handlebar high grass, chunky singletrack, and plenty of HAB.  I was feeling some early twinges of cramps from just before the second visit to Kentucky Camp all the way to the finish.  But I was able to keep drinking and eating pretzels and gummy bears to actually get back to the point of riding most of the uphills in the last few miles.  Finished up the 46 miles in 7:15.

-Ryan