8 February 2010 - 12:08Where to Begin…

SSUSA was a hoot, but not without its penalties.

So much has happened, that I’ll have to break it up into two posts.

We arrived in Tucson on Thursday afternoon, after starting the day around 4am. Our trip consisted of a sketchy drive in blowing snow, 3 airports and a cab ride before we reached our final destination.

Tucson is a fantastic place.

We met up with Dejay and crew and headed out for dinner at a place called Martinez, where I had some of the best tacos I’ve had in a long time. I pretty much used a whole bottle of salsa, it was going well with the Fat Tire ale.

The next day we got our bikes built, but we had found that Mandy’s front brake line was badly kinked. We tried an emergency line shortening, but it wasn’t going to work. Luckily, Dejay had a spare front Magura Marta kicking around, which we put to use.

As I got the bikes dialed in, other folks started showing up, Dejay’s front yard was filling up with bikes and people. It was pretty cool getting to meet everyone as we hung out. Well, before we knew it, it was time for the malt liquor.

After a lunch stop, about 19 of us rallied to ride Starr Pass in Tucson Mountain Park. It is a pretty extensive network of trails on the west side of the city, rolly and fun.

Friday night’s shenanigans was spent at the Surly Wench. It’s a super cool place, and it served as the meeting spot for everyone regoistered for SSUSA. The highlight was the $2 Lagunitas IPA pints. Very tasty.

We left around midnight, it was time to rest up for SSUSA!

More to come, stay tuned…