AZT Bellota

#followcafriday with those classic AZT singletrack feels on Bellota to Milagrosa with Sam, Randy, Josh and Kyle

Why yes, that is a plastic fork attached to my handlebars with a rubber band. Thank you for asking. This is the easiest and fastest way to remove the dredded Cholla cactus from my hand or a friends body. This thing comes in handy way too often unfortunately. It's like taping tire plugs to your bars, when you need things in a rush, this is the best place. This officially makes me a local. 

It should also be noted that I always have a utensil to eat a can of fish at any point in the ride. You always have to be prepared for this sort of thing. Most people prefer the cardboard like texture of a bar in a wrapper, but I have always prefered fish in the can. Pro tip- bring a spare baggie to put the can in after you eat the fish so your pack or your bibs don't smell like sardines for the next week. Don't say I never did anything for you. 

This was my first time riding the Reddington side of the Bellota AZT. We accessed this by first climbing Agua Caliente and then "riding" off the back side to Reddington road. Good luck team. I feel like Randy may have sandbagged us, but we are stronger for it. Fortunately, we ran into some of Sam's friends at the start of the descent and they had cookies. After you are a few hours into the ride and your shins are bleeding  from riding through bushes and cactus, cookies fix everything. Energy levels peeking. 

Bellota dumps onto Milagrosa, ending the ride on one of the best bits of trail in the state. The descent from the top of Bellota, all the way to the bottom of Millie is many miles of smashing and smiles. I recommend that you stop at the tree with the tequila chained to it if you have been out for 5ish hours. Randy had to go to work, so we kept the train rolling. 

When I watch Sam Schultz ride, I remember why bikes are fun still. We basically have the same goal- spend as much time in the air as possible and egg your friends on to do the same. Basically, just pull up off of anything and everything that resembles a bump. A golf ball sized pebble in the trail, a 1 inch tuft of grass, a small stick laying near the trail, anything really. All I see is jumps. When I go for a "ride",  this is actually code for- I am just out here looking for things to jump off of. I care  little about anything else in life. Sam knows the drill. 

So, go ride your bike and jump some shit. Nothing else actually matters. Wheel size? Nope. Tire choice? Nope. Pedal choice? Nope. Just go ride your damn bike and hit some sweet fucking jumps. You can thank me later. Instagram will always be there to stare at later after you have pedaled a few miles and hucked some shit. Live for it.