Riding With an Olympian

#followcamfriday riding with former olympian Sam Schultz and Kyle Mears at sunset on Lower Agua Caliente in Tucson, Arizona. 

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Sam Schultz is a legend. He represented our country at the 2012 summer olympics in London, placing 15th in Cross Country. Sam was also XC national champion that year. In addition to being the nicest guy you will ever meet, Sam absolutely shreds on the bike. Throw Kyle Mears into the mix and an Agua Caliente lap at sunset, and we have FollowCamFriday gold. 

This was "first lap" for Kyle so we made him lead. Sam has ridden this one a number of times, so he was trying to pimp Kyle in every turn that snuck up on him. Kyle and Sam have been friends for years and I first introduced in Moab while hanging with Kyle. Sam's dog Pancho has a crush on Pete. 

In addition to being a bad-ass on the bike, Sam helped start the NICA chapter in Missoula, Montana. Sam is responsible for getting a bunch of local kids into the sport and the scene up there has been growing strong ever since. He now coaches at the Cycling House in Tucson part-time, running week long camps for aspiring roadies. A man of many talents. He is riding the latest release from Rocky Mountain Bikes and I had to wait a few weeks to show you this. Didn't want to spoil the surprise. 

To be very clear, Kyle Mears is the toughest dude I know. When Kyle crashes, the ground breaks. Brick shit house. On this particular day, Kyle fell victim to a pile of loose baby-heads in a sharp turn after a fast straight. As this was his first run and the sun was perfectly blinding, these sort of things happen. This crash would have put me in the hospital, no question. It didn't even phase Kyle. I thought Sam was going to run him over. 

I posted a video of Agua Caliente about a month ago, but we only rode the top section, before descending into the Milagrosa trail valley. This is Agua Caliente proper. I am am not sure which bottom section I like better. This one is more used and eroded and usually full of hikers, but is amazingly rough and rugged at speed. The other version is less used and more natural and has more cactus to stick into your body. I love them both. 

I left Tucson a couple of weeks ago now, and I am honestly missing AZ a ton. Seventy degree days, a proper crew, and post ride margs are an indication of life, properly lived. The skiing is starting to come around, time to confuse my body with a change of seasons.