We nixed biking plans in favor of a hike. The dogs were a bit short on exercise for the week, only because all of their time was spent at the park as opposed to walking, jogging, or hiking.

We started at the 7th St. trail head, which for those new to the spot is the location with the Visitor’s Center. You can also pick up more detailed trail maps there.

In all, we covered 6.58 miles, which included two steep climbs on the north/south line equivalent to 21st St.

(click for larger detail)We also revisited a downhill section that I had to hike-a-bike down last time. For intermediate to advanced riders, this probably isn’t too much of a problem. It starts with a sharp turn followed by mini-steps covered in loose slate rock. It then turns nearly solid, followed by an uneven section again covered in loose rock. Eventually, it narrows down to straight single track that feeds into another trail.

Picture from last trip.I’ve gotten a good amount of training and practicing in since my last trip here - so I’m pretty sure I could manage it. Just need to bring my bike next time.

Sunday, I took the dogs out for a bit of bikejoring at Reach 11. They did alright - hung around 6 mph for just over 3 miles.

View From the Back

After that, I loaded back up with my drive train properly functioning, and headed out to Trail 100 again. I did a little bit of the route I took yesterday, and also hit a ravine-like area with a lot of drops and quick climbs (not sure on the name), as well as part of Shaw Butte.

Total was about 11.3 miles.

During the middle of the day on Saturday, I went for a quick spin on Trail 100. Weather was not half bad - high 70s.

Trail 100 has a lot of nice easy trails, with decent views for being in the middle of a sprawling city.

On a clear day, this would be a nice shot of downtown Phoenix: Not too far in, and I’m just over a mile outside of the 7th and Thunderbird trailhead - I had just finished a quick climb, and was a bit higher than street level and the parking lot. I clip in my right foot like usual, and start rolling. I put my left foot down - didn’t clip. I try again - didn’t clip again. A third time, and my foot gives way.

My left crank arm popped clean off, as if it had unscrewed.

Since I had just finished a climb and had a long, gradual downhill in front of me, the only near-logical thing to do was to clip the right foot back in and coast on down to the trailhead.

This is the first time I had rode with one leg - and with the clipless pedals, I could still pedal along. Until the right half started to slip out a little bit… so maybe not the brightest move.

Anyways, I made it back to the trailhead in one piece. It ended up being a really short ride, just under 6 miles. But it was fun nonetheless.

I didn’t have any tools with me, so I drove my bike over to DNA Cycles for a quick fix. The guys there had it done in a few minutes and they took care of my chain and Reba.