Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Odyssey on wheels

BRYAN LEE

Tucson Citizen

Scott Morris has a picture diary of his solo mountain bike trip of the Arizona Trail on the following Web site: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=141838

Excerpts:

• Pace: "I tried to temper my pace. I'm as hot headed as the next short-course racer, so this was a challenge. A major goal of this trip was to keep overuse injuries at bay, and I knew that pacing has a lot to do with this."

• Obstructions: "I descended into a meadow and was met with 20 pairs of glowing eyes. Neither cats nor bears run in packs, so they must be cows, dummy."

• Coyotes: "I heard them moving close to me. I thought maybe they were after my block of parmesan cheese."

• North of Tucson: "I was treated to an electric sunrise . . . For the next 30 miles the desert spoke silence."

• Apache Trail: "The stars came out (no moon yet) and I began to think how small and insignificant I am, on my little bike, traveling ever so slowly in this huge landscape and even larger universe. I am nothing."

• Technique: "It was also nice to put my technical skills into service. Line selection, line selection. It was all about efficiency and minimal effort; and with that came speed."

• San Francisco Peaks: "I'm glad the riding was so good and the fall colors so vibrant, because it took my mind off the doubt."

• Approaching the Grand Canyon: "I felt the strength in my legs on every climb. I knew I had to savor each and every one of these moments, because this was one of those days when everything comes together and you fly."

• Pain: "Everything else disappeared as I became entombed in my private sanctuary of suffering. The only thing that mattered was the aim, the goal. Who I was, who I knew, what I owned, the state of world - it all became irrelevant. What I experienced was a pure, raw and simple silence. Once I recognized it, the suffering became pleasurable."