Guideline Eyewear sent me a pair of Cabo sunglasses in December to try out. (It’s one of the perks of being the infamous mountain biking blogger I am… OK, it’s the only perk). They arrived Christmas eve…so festively, I put them under the tree, and opened them in the morning.

It doesn’t take long for me to know if I like a pair of sunglasses or not. It’s usually love at first sight, first fit, and first sweat (if it’s love at all)… all of which you can get in one ride. I’m lucky, living in Arizona, to have spectacular riding weather all winter long, so I have taken the Cabo lenses out on many rides, mountain and road.

First off, the Cabo is for the mountain biker who wants a great pair of everyday sunglasses without spending the cash equivalent of a brand new XO derailleur. I shop for shades that I can actually replace when they break (kids, crashes, butts). At $50 retail ($38 in the outlet store now) the Cabo is priced just right for the rider who wants to get the best gear his hard earned pennies can buy. Here is the skinny after wearing them nearly every day for three months:

Sight: The Cabo look really cool – style, shape, color (In fact the new 2013 line-up includes even more sweet designs as well, including the Draft model). The most important view though, is the view from inside out. The polarized polycarbonate lens is crisp. The best lens I have used at this price point. The polarized lens reduce glare and really make the rocks pop on the trail.

Fit: I must have a “medium to large face,” because they fit me well, and the marketing copy says that’s the size face they fit. The nose pads are slim, and stay put where they belong. On most sunglasses I have owned, the nose pads are what usually break or tear, or simply wear out first. The Cabo pads, because of their low profile, look like they will endure a mountain bikers’ abuse. The Cabo are also featherweight. They look and feel really good.

Sweat: When I ride, I like to climb. Climbing means large drops of sweat will be beading off my forehead. If my shades fit too close to my medium to large face, and are touching my eyebrows, the beads of climbing sweat will fall across the lenses – not good when navigating technical terrain. The Cabos pass the sweat test.

There’s not much I don’t like about the Cabo. Interchangeable lenses would be a plus. I tested the gray lens and it is solid in full Arizona sun. But I prefer an amber lens while riding in overcast and rainy conditions. Lucky for me Arizona has full sun over 300 days a year.

The Cabo get my recommendation. The 100% UVA/UVB protection keep my eyes safe, while the fit, feel and look have made them my everyday sunglasses of choice. They have replaced my old sunglasses, which I have worn for the last 4 years, and have now been demoted to my lawn mowing/safety goggles, and backup riding shades for when I can’t find my Cabos.

Other Cabo Reviews:
Adventure Cycling
Cabo Review at Cabelas’s

A long break from blogging… I’ll ease you back in with a few photos from the trail… Be jealous my cold weather friends! Enjoy

The Gold Canyon trail system keeps getting better and better…

Beverly Sunset

VOAZ Loop, PMP. Love at first ride.

Sweet Deems. Really good riding out at the park. I rode the whole system in less than 2 hours ride time

Looking East to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve from the Deems.

View of the towers from Gila Trail West SoMo.

ELEVATION – Elements of Perfection from Whistler Blackcomb on Vimeo.

Goodbye Arizona summer…hello mid 70s morning rides again. It’s the best time of year to be a Phoenician Mountain Biker. Triple digit temps are on the way out, and perfect temps are fast approaching. Lunch rides are just around the bend. Let the good times roll!

Length: 3 miles
Descriptors: Buff, Singletrack, Climb, Steep, Twisty, Mild Tech, Ridgeline, Switchbacks
Access: 19th Avenue and Chandler Blvd, Marker 33 off National
Options: Out-n-back, connects with: Gila, National

The Skinny: Pyramid is steep. Switchbacks and exposure all the way up or all the way down. Bring heart, legs, lungs, and prayers.

Pyramid Trail, aka Marker 33, aka Gila View, aka 620 (this trail has more names than a native Hawaiian.) I call it Olympus, because you have to be an MTB god to climb it. It was built at the same time as Bees (Bursera), by the VOAZ crew.

Unlike Bees, the trail builders had hikers in mind when they cut this trail. It’s narrow, steep, with super tight switchbacks, all the way to the top. The switchbacks get tighter and the pitch gets steeper as you ascend. There is nothing easy about Olympus. But who said getting to heaven would be easy?

There are a couple of ways you can get there: You can drop into Pyramid from National at Marker 33. The Marker 33 trail has been there for years. It ventured out to the rock Pyramid and ended before dropping down the mountain. It’s tight rugged singletrack, that has been slowly improved over the years. If you only want to go down, get there from Marker 33. (You’ll still have to get to National, and that means plenty of climbing)

You can also start at the 19th Ave & Chandler Blvd. Trailhead. There are about 20 places to park and you cant miss the trailhead. It’s right under the “Road Ends” sign. There are maps at the TH.

Olympus National Bees Loop at EveryTrail

OK. Now that you all know San Tan is Dynamite… we can move on.

Apologies for the post drought. Work, family, sleep, and too many road rides have put a damper on my relationship with the mountain. Now that 12 of my last 15 rides have been on the road…I know there is something is wrong with me. I’ve been resisting the urge to buy lycra. Here are some shots from the past few months…

When the Saguaro were blooming I watched the bees swarm out on Wild Horse. No Strava KOMs to brag about here, but I did get a few runs in at the pit. Reminded me of Whistler days…

I rode Olympus to National to Bees. Killer climbing. Love getting to West National this way. I bombed down the big stuff on National with ease, then crashed on a easy turn on the buff singletrack!

Praying Saguaro midway up Mount Olympus.

Went to Sedona! for a family wedding. I was jealous of all the riders I saw…

I did manage to find 15 minutes to swing by Over The Edge Sedona and check out their new shop. “Super D” had a good time… I rode a RIP 9 out on the pump track for a few minutes…I’ll be back to OTE Sedona soon for the full demo.

San Tan Shadow

San Tan

SuperMoon

Road Buddies

Sweet plate I recently saw. The sweet roof rack up top gives away this is a Rad Biker, not a rad baker.

The Road Ends here. More mountain biking ahead of me this summer. Plans for Sedona, Mogollon Rim, maybe Flag, maybe Utah…

The new trail out at San Tan park is Dynamite. The Goldmine TH off Wagon Wheel and Skyline has been worthless to mountain bikers for years. The only way into the park was a horrendous Hike-a-bike I called the rite of passage. I’d tried to ride it plenty of times, but it was a wicked way to start a ride, especially in the San Tans where the rest of the riding is easy XC.

But now we have Dynamite (and so do the hikers, horses and runners…I’m not a trail runner but if I was, this would be a great morning run.) Dynamite bypasses the rite of passage, with a gradual bench cut climb skirting its way into the park through classic desert hills and views.

I’d read the chatter on MTBR about the new trail. But on page two of the thread, Freeskier46‘s description peek my interest enough to go see for myself…

What can I say, that trail is really nice! Sure it’s a bit wide right now due to the new construction, but the grade is BCT-esque and it’s a good one mile + climb to the top. From the TH it’s 2.5 miles until you connect in with the San Tan trail. This will definitely be my preferred way to enter the park.

It’s BeesKneesian climb, but a little less steep. It’s wide, buff, with nice views. San Tan has always been one of my favorite places for sweet desert views. The riding is very moderate, but when you just want to pedal and soak up views, San Tan in nice.

Saturday morning the Park had just seen some good rain. It was cold, the trails were tacky and made for excellent San Tanning.

UPDATE: I am gearing up for the 100 mile 2013 Tour de Cure course! Support the cause with a donation here.

Team Sugar Daddy's

The Tour de Cure 2012 in Phoenix last week was pretty amazing. I’ve summed up my experience in numbers below. Special thanks to my family and friends who donated:

Manning Group, Beehive Property Management, Anonymous (thanks Mike!), Avior Group, Nani & Pappa, Mom & Dad, Uncle Grant, Anonymous (thanks Mark), Mein Fetcher, Anonymous (thanks sis), Anonymous (thanks sis), 707 Marketing (thanks bro), mtbr: randyharris, mtbr: Dave Woodhams, All Frills Aprons

Donations
$620: dollars I raised
$2,770.00: Sugar Daddies raised (top 10 in family/friends team)
$362,630: Total raised in Phoenix

Fuel
2.5: packs of Clif Shot Bloks
2: Honey Stinger Waffles
4: Power Gels
1: Bottle Red Gatorade
3: Bottles water
2: Advil

Ride
18: miles I stayed up with the lead group before getting dropped
20: minutes I rode completely solo before the second group caught me
1: cone I ran into around a corner (but I stayed on bike!)
1: near crash skid when the group all hit the brakes
Too much: spandex, lycra and stretchy pants
Too many to count: volunteers helping everywhere! Thank you!
5: number of times I said “Go red rider”
80.8: total miles ridden by me!

Heard on the ride: “You know what they say…it’s easier to keep up than catch up” (as she and her gang passed me on my left).

Smile. It's 7 am

I did it.

I heard about the new tech loop on Little Pan from Dale on the mtbr forum. Whenever I hear about a new trail, I fixate on it until I can find a time to ride it… and Tuesday afternoon I made the hour long pilgrimage out to the Table Mesa traihead to explore new to me BCT!

The recent rains had firmed up the tech loop a bit. Descriptions from other riders say it is still a bit soft and needs riders! I put in my two loops worth, compacting it just a bit more. I first rode up to the north entrance and rode ccw. It was rough, rugged, and soft in many spots, but oh so much fun. There are just enough tech features to keep you on (or off) your bike. I did not clean them all. Some moves were pretty big risk, exposure, sharp rocks. It’ll be challenging for seasoned riders.

After one lap I wanted to test the flow clockwise from the southern entrance. I’m so glad I did because the trail felt much better this way. Either better flow or I was finally warmed up. Either way, I recommend this little loop on your next visit to Little Pan.

(Not many photos. Had too much fun riding! See the mtbr post by dale for sweet shots)