Gearing Up To Get Outta Town!

This weekend I'm going over some details on my family vacation to El Paso, Texas. We'll be gone about nine days to visit relatives and friends. I am going to haul a couple of rigs down to do some riding on while I'm there. El Paso has a unique climate and terrain to take advantage of.

The climate is a desert climate that boasts over 300 days out of the year of sunshine. The air is brutally dry, so hydration and electrolytes should be a concern. About this time of the year, it's only in the 70's during the day, so I think I might have to have a light jacket or my wool jersey in the mornings, when I plan to ride. Dang it! That just sucks, because I sooo like to take a half an hour to layer up and geek out over my cold weather gear before I ride. (Just kidding!)

Then you have the terrain, which is sandy, rocky, and gravelly. The Franklin Mountains peirce the city almost in two from the north. On top of the mountain nearest to the city is a state park with several miles of trails to check out. In the vicinity, there are some other trails located on the west side of El Paso that have a few stunts and drops built in. Not sure I'm ready to "fly" yet, but I may give a few of these a try. Making a mistake in the desert could result in an arm and leg full of needles! Which reminds me: I have to get some sealant in my tubes!

The test sleds going down with me are probably going to be the Dos Niner and the Raleigh XXIX+G. I plan on it being a bit more "brutal" terrain than here, so a burly, wide rim and tire combo is going to be in order. The Dos has the Delgado Disc wheel set and the Raleigh has the Velocity "Blunt" wheel set, which are very similar to each other. Tires will be the Weir Wolfs and probably the Michelins. The XC AT Michelin is "only" a 2"er, but it has a tough 60tpi casing and some great knobs for traction. A real opposite from the Weir Wolf. I like contrast, and a big difference in tires might be an advantage to me for matching up better with the terrain.

Anyway, there still are alot of decisions to be made. I'll be updating as the week progresses and hopefully I'll still be blogging from Texas to let you all in on the sites and riding down that way.