Some intro for this story...
I’m a professional skateboarder, and in my spare time I like to trail run and thru-hike. Going into 2023, I had all sorts of plans for a big year of skateboarding and long trail adventures, but New Years’ Eve suggested otherwise. I made the mistake of skating a gap that was just a little too big for my comfort level at the spry age of 35, and as such... completely destroyed my heel.
I entered the New Year hoping for a minor bruise.... maybe a couple weeks off. But, as February approached it was looking more like a deep bone bruise or stress fracture. Like I’m sure many of you reading this, I’m completely incapable of maintaining anything remotely resembling sanity when I’m injured, especially if it’s my lower body. So much of joy from movement for me comes from using my legs to the point of utter exhaustion.
So going into March, I started getting into cycling as it was the one activity that didn’t seem to put too much stress on my heel and gave me that feeling of 'going far' that I’d been looking for. I always kind-of-hated cycling beyond commuting. So much gear is necessary and at such a cost, plus... let’s just say the aesthetics leave something to be desired.
Something about being a lifelong skateboarder made me cringe at the thought of putting on spandex (something I now realize is a necessity), but after doing my first 'century' around town, I realized this was my best bet for keeping my mental health above water. By some serious good fortune, a friend at Fairdale reached out and offered to give me a bike (!!!). So, I upgraded to a gravel bike and started wondering what was possible with this new piece of gear and a little bit of training. I watched a handful of bike-packing videos online (like this one) to find some inspiration. This kind of adventure seemed like the perfect way to integrate my love of lightweight backpacking and cycling.
Phoenix can be a place of brutal, soul-crushing suburban sprawl, but if you squint hard enough you’ll realize we’re blessed with some pretty remarkable access to world class trails and desert mountain ranges (among a few other upsides). I’d hiked the Arizona Trail a few years ago and gained a whole new appreciation for this state I’d grew up in and spent most of my life trying to leave.
The Maricopa Trail, a 250-ish mile loop (this is the original loop, there is a recent addition that tacks on an out-and-back, making it about 315 total) which circumnavigates the Phoenix Valley, seemed like a perfect challenge to tackle. And the best part.... I could leave right from my front door! The route connects mountain bike trails, gravel roads, foothills and strings it all together with canal and city bike paths (thank you to the people who made this possible!) One of the most appealing things about bike-packing for me is that you can have this whole adventure entirely self-propelled if you plan everything out right.
I had three days to do this whole thing before a speaking engagement with the city for a new skate park, so I started at an hour before sunrise with hopes of hitting around 80 miles per day. Arizona had what felt like the wettest winter I can remember, so the wildflowers were in full swing and the late-winter sunrise was pretty special going into South Mountain. I knew traversing the entire length of S. Mountain via the National Trail was going to be one of the toughest sections of the route so I wanted to get it out of the way while I was still fresh.
It was both beautiful and brutal, with more time 'hike-a-biking' than I had planned for. But, I was still hopeful to make faster progress on the cruisier parts of the trail to come. Moving into the outskirts of Phoenix, I made my way into a gravel wash.... and here’s where things really started to get a little out of my depth. I’m not even sure how it happened but I was suddenly riding into thick mud, the trail having been flooded by recent storms.
Not sure what to do, I tried to portage my bike as best I could, but with the extra weight of the mud, plus all my gear, I could barely lift my bike. It took me the better part of an hour to move about a half mile. I was only halfway through the first day and already wanted to bail, feeling stressed out about all the water and mud in my bike.
I called a buddy who helped calm me down and assess the problems and then made my way into the Estrella Mountain foothills during the hottest part of the day. I had planned on filtering water along the route and filling up when possible, but during the stress of phone calls and gear repair, I’d let that step lapse my mind. I had about a 15-mile section and one soft flask of water, not something I’m proud about but a bit thrilling if I have to admit. I made it to the visitor center, having fullllly dried out..... and got well rehydrated before moving into a city section.
The city section was boring and honestly, pretty funny sitting in rush hour traffic after having had the really intense push through the mountains. One of the benefits during this trip was that I barely had to bring food, knowing there’d be plenty of places along the route. I loaded up on a ~2,000 calorie burrito bowl at Café Rio and headed into the White Tank Mountains around dusk.
Now this was exactly what I was looking for! Cruisy foothills, riding into the cool night with towering saguaros looming over me. I pushed for another 20 miles or so to get as close to that 80 mile mark as I could, hopefully setting me up to get to Lake Pleasant early in the morning. To my surprise, right at the trailhead on the far end of the park, I found a discarded memory foam mattress (don’t judge me)! So, I threw my groundsheet on it sometime before midnight and caught some Z’s.
The morning of the second day of a really big, multi-day push is always interesting. Muscles I didn’t even know existed were definitely feeling the efforts. But, I couldn’t complain too much–this was exactly what I came out here looking for!
I hit the grocery store to charge up some devices, eat a couple bagels and then made my way toward the Lake. The next sections were really sunny and exposed, and unfortunately with all the infrastructure surrounding the Lake, I never even got a glimpse of it. Just baking in the sun, trying to avoid some seriously menacing looking cacti and knowing somewhere only a half a mile East was a big, beautiful body of water. After another 20 or so miles of desert single-track, I found myself nearing the town of Anthem, but in my effort to get off trail and up into a little strip mall, I got a flat.
I’m far from an expert, but I did get sealant in my tubes, so I was hoping if I could just manage to get my wheel off and pumped up I’d be off in no time. A half hour turned into a couple hours and finally, some success with the help of a random church worker. I hunkered down at a fast food restaurant to regroup before setting back out just shy of sunset. The setback was a huge blow to my motivation and put me about 30 miles behind where I’d hoped (and needed) to be.
Moving into a long and intense section of the Cave Creek Wilderness, I was determined to at least give it a go. But after experiencing the first set of hills, I knew I was in for a brutal night of hiking up.... and even down hills.
I felt crushed. And then my light died with no cord to charge (I dropped it somewhere along the way). It’s never easy to make the decision to quit, but it was the only viable option for me, so I made an effort to enjoy completing over half of this trail despite not being properly equipped (a mountain bike with suspension is really what’s needed to enjoy all this trail has to offer).
Gotta’ start somewhere though!
As I pedaled back towards home, I tried my best to re-frame defeat: It’s fun being a beginner and eating shit over and over again until you start to gain some competency
And in fact, it’s the only way I’ve ever really learned.
Ryan Lay
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