Pass Mountain Trail

#followcamfriday sampling one of the roughtes trails I have ever had the pleasure of laying tires on with Alex Petitdemange at Hawes in Mesa, Arizona

I always film with a gimbal for a myriad of reasons that I will not bore you with. The one downside of this filming technique is that it completely smooths out the trail and never quite does justice to the jank factor. Trust me when I tell you that this is one of the roughest and most awkward sections of trail in the state, and I absolutely love it. It's relatively flat, full of loose rock and cactus, with completely nonsensical turns scraped into the hillside by the boots of hikers. I wouldn't have it any other way.  

What can I say, I am a man who prefers natural, rough, eroded trails that are hard to keep the wheels turning on. Flow trail tend to make me sleepy if I am being honest. It's all fun, and any time on the bike is better than not riding, but this is truly where my heart lies. Making sense of the puzzle is stimulating. The feet of hikers seem to make for the best trails in my opinion. This is definitely not for everyone, but if you like riding through a sea of mailboxes while listening to you rims ping in despair, this is your happy place. If you see the ground moving behind the person you are following, you are in the right place. 

Another factor in all of this is the fact that Alex makes everything look effortless. The subtle nuances of his riding and light technique truly shine in this one. The name of the game is to keep the wheels turning and Alex is a master of riding light and not hanging up on the squares. I am basically back there hanging on for dear life and hoping to not get thrown on the ground by a rolling boulder. I got lucky a few times on this one and was absolutely on the limit of mental and physical output to hold Ales's wheel. 

Pass Mountain offers quite the contrast to the rest of the Hawes trail system. I would wager to bet that this one sees more hiking traffic than tires, while the rest of the trail system seems to be optimized for cycling endeavors. There is something beautiful to me about the absence of flow. Alex had ridden this one before, but it had been about 8 years since he last laid eyes on it and it is basically a different trail than it once was. This was my first lap and Alex was doing an amazing job of jank navigation. This is the type of trail that is flat enough so you want to pedal everywhere, but it is so rough that you will hit you feet on everything constantly. Critical line choice and light, active riding is the only way. Alex is the master. 

As is true with just about any trail in Arizona, nothing is soft, and everything will hurt you if you touch it. If I had to choose between crashing on a pile of loose rocks or a Cholla cactus, I would take the rocks all day long. I forgot my comb on this trip, apparently I need to learn that lesson again. Last year when I was in Tucson I carried a plastic fork on my handlebars, attached with an elastic band. I used it more than once. 

I got to drive on a track for the first time in my life this week and as it goes, I chased Alex around in his car to show me the lines on the tarmac. Some things never change, this is the story of my life. Follow cam till I die. In all seriousness, Alex was nice enough to teach me a thing or two about driving fast cars on a track. The precision that he has in his riding is evident in the car and vice versa. The two skills complement each other and the similarities are very evident. I have a good eye for lines on the bike but the track is foreign to me. I have tons to learn about driving and this will not be my last visit to the track. Anything that goes fast is alright with me.