 I am enjoying riding with a group called, "The Cactus Club". They have no "A" group, instead calling the fastest paced group a "B" group. I suppose now I'm in the upper 20% of the attendees but working as hard as the weather permits to move up. Reflecting on the Ohio groups with whom I rode, this is a far cry from the "Rivet" group and the "A" group but probably on par with the middle of Ohio's "B" group. A lot of the cyclists in Cactus ride 12-20,000 miles a year and their fitness reflects that. Anyway, I started with the group but wanted a longer ride....  ...so bugged out and took a break at a gas station/market. I'm so used to sitting on concrete that even when there is an available bench, I still sit on the harder surface. This time, next to a mouse/rat trap.  The first pic was of Rincon Peak. I'm not sure if I'll ever hike to the top of that again, remote, super steep....yeah, probably not. Ohio friends have told me it appears cycling route options are limited and it's true. Yet, that's the only down side to being surrounded by mountains and it's an ok tradeoff for me.  With the rain and snow melt, filling the washes, you'd think by now drivers would know not to enter. The water doesn't appear that deep and it's not but the sand, drawn from upstream, is like quicksand for a vehicle. Finished the day with 40 miles as we watch another storm system approach.
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 I have three large bags of golf clubs, accumulated over time and most represent something that makes parting with them, difficult. I have my grandfather's driver, the first driver I bought, antique clubs having value, clubs I designed and developed, etc... Regarding the above driver, I found 74,000 of them at a couple of foundries in China several years ago. They didn't know what to do with them since the company that had placed the POs, closed. Under US law, the foundry is not expected to eat the inventory. If they make several good faith efforts to collect and no payment made, I could take over the inventory and so I did, passing the clubs on to a US retailer who disposed of them. Anyway, I am selling or throwing away enough less desirable clubs to have consolidated clubs into two golf bags.  Another 10" of snow fell on the surrounding mountains. As I type this, another system is passing through, sure to leave another good layer.  Cycling clubs and camps have not arrived in earnest yet but some have and included with the first wave is cycling friend from Ohio, Doug M. Actually, he started in Encinitas, CA, greeted with monster storms so came to Tucson for a few days. Alas, the road up Mount Lemmon is closed to all traffic for a few days but the weather was ok so he got in a few good rides. For this winter, FL is where you want to be, not the southwest.  The snow touched lower elevation peaks too but only briefly.  After putting in a 40 mile ride on Monday and then enduring 3 days of crummy weather, I got out for another 40 miles on Friday. One of my favorite views is Blackett's Ridge and Thimble Peak with the snow covered Mount Lemmon as a backdrop.
 Jack sits in front of our house. All that knowledge I brought with me about trees and plants is useless now. I don't know the names, let alone how to treat, 95% of these plants and there is a boatload of different types. I mean, it's southern AZ so probably just let nature take its course but no, not the case.  Our third consecutive day of rain, clouds and wind. It's way too much like I'm back in an Ohio early spring when the cumulative effect of months of similar conditions, would affect my mental state.  The washes are flowing again and with that, stupid drivers too. How embarrassing for that guy.  We wait for the clouds to lift to see how much snow has fallen up top.
 I've moved on from various levels of surprise, disbelief, etc... and now am at some kind of stunned numbness to what we have witnessed with this winter, lol. In an atypical winter season, we are greeted with what is typical weather as we begin a ride  Oh, there it is, the sun, obscured again.  Well, at least it's not raining as we head south towards the Santa Ritas and Mount Wrightson on a 40 mile ride.  We pause to have our pic taken in front of this stone sculpture. Beautiful scene.
 A group ride was organized from a local park which had multiple soccer and ball fields. Kind of chaotic getting in and out on the bike and the grouping was to take place in front of a barn having ants on top....what eves. There they were, quite large but barely visible. Sixty cyclists came out with 30 in the "B" group. Been awhile since I was in a group that large and it was enjoyable.  My extra miles over the last few weeks is showing some evidence I'm becoming a bit more fit. I was part of a group of 4 that got ahead and stayed ahead of all others so that was encouraging. I did eventually get popped from that small group so that was discouraging, lol. The route was only 28 miles so I kept going, getting on Woodland Ave which attracts many folks who come out to park and watch a variety of animals.  Wow, a Ford 8N tractor! I once owned one and it was a lot of fun to use it in Ohio to mow. Once my trees got tall enough and broad enough to blot out the sun, I didn't need to mow again.  I stood at the fence and this guy showed some interest in me.  The area very much reminds me of central FL where a similar farming area is located. Meantime.....  .....he had to come closer for a sniff. Finished with 40 miles.
 Most of the clouds moved out as I drive to Oro Valley for a group ride.  A rare sight, snow crept all the way to about the 2500' level.  Table Mountain on the left with plenty of snow. Unfortunately, the 40 mile ride was interrupted by a flat tire, mine. While removing the punctured tube, I forgot to check for the source of the flat so potentially it was still in the tire. Rather than risk becoming a serial flatter, I told the group to continue without me as I turned around. Bummer.
 Not snow but sleet accumulates on our patio. Unbelievable. As a small point of reference, I belong to a cycling group that will send out an email the night before a group ride, alerting members of a start time change if the forecast temp is below 32 degrees. I've received more notices this season than in all the previous seasons combined. It's not close.  The next morning, a fresh layer of snow on the surrounding mountains. Then, another cold front moves through and lowers the snow level dangerously close to us. More to come.
 well, ok, this is a good weather day as I sit at Harvest Restaurant, waiting for carpet cleaners to finish with my condo.  I'll miss the time in front of a real fire place in the winter. Something about the atmosphere of a real fire always appealed to me whether it was inside or outside. This will be one of the last visits as my wonderful 2/1 condo will be for sale in another day or two. Given the views and location, it is expected to sell quickly. I acquired the unit in 2012 and the appreciation is impressive.  OK, but WTF is up with the weather this winter???? I mean, COME ON!!!! Sure, it's relative but for southern AZ, it has been an extraordinarily cold (well, most days the highs are in the 60s) winter. Typically, by this point, we'd have many days in the 70's and 80's but yet another cold front came through and with it, rain and wind.
 Strava, what a fun app. After a ride or hike, the activity is transferred from my Garmin to Strava. There, the activity is available for analysis. Of course, speed, elevation gain, all the usual metrics can be seen but within each activity, there are usually segments, for example, a hike from the base to a peak would be one segment where my time to complete the segment is compared to other Strava users. Within that segment would be smaller segments, again with my time, the elevation gain of that segment, the average grade, etc.. all visible. One of the points of comparison is not only how you compared to all Strava users who did the segment but also how you performed against Strava users who I "follow". Had to laugh when I looked at a cycling segment from Sunday's ride and saw who was at #9, lol. He must have been with a group, taking it east.
 The waters have receded and behind them, deep crevices on some of our trails.  Our wonderful sunsets are beautiful even when there aren't many clouds in the sky to amplify.  I'm selling my condo so on a recent trip to clean, I was trapped between my condo and suv by a herd of 13 javelinas. They were spread out, vacuuming nuts that have fallen from the trees  I joined the Bicycle Ranch shop ride on Saturday morning. Only 16 of us and rather than two separate groups of "A" and "B" riders, we all went out as one. The outcome was predictable. At mile 9, some guy who had been keeping the pace reasonable rotated off the front, the next guy rose and began sprinting and I was left gasping. LOL. I finished with 31 miles, far short of the group's 55 mile route because....  ....I wanted to have something left in the tank for the next morning when Amy and I drove to Amado, unloaded our bikes and headed west to Arivaca.  The pavement and views matched, awesome. We had a strong, gusty head wind as we headed west but took comfort that the return would be a bunch more enjoyable and....  ....so it was. Not only with a tail wind but mostly down hill too, yeehaw! The Santa Ritas in the distance with Mount Wrightson the highest peak.  We finished with 43 miles and 2000' of climbing. That gave me 138 miles for the week.  I'm at a kinda trim 170 pounds. My cycling fitness deteriorated quite a bit in the last 4 years as I pursued hiking, which I enjoy a bit more than cycling. Hiking too is great for fitness but it just does not translate well for cycling. I suffered one too many indignities in recent group rides (getting blown out the back of easier paced groups, passed by people who never should be able to do that, tired legs after too few miles, envious of my Ohio cycling buddies I follow on Strava who ride far faster and farther than me, etc...) so I put in a 138 mile week. I noticed the difference so will continue for awhile but hiking is never far from my mind.
 I checked a road that we frequently cross on our bikes and still too sandy and wet to cross. Shouldn't be much longer unless this is fed from melting snow than it may be awhile.  Amazing how deep the sand accumulates over some roads.  Here, the force of the water flow was so great it stripped away the asphalt. We decided to head higher to check out the snow and so....  ....20 miles up we found suitable snow to release Jack from his leash.  Great views through the trees.  Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a ball but Jack seemed satisfied to chase snow balls even though they disintegrated once he pounced on them.  Yeah, I must say, my least favorite environment, snow. So it's nice to get in the car, drive down the mountain and watch the outside temp climb and the snow clear. Nice series of days in the 70's coming up.
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