Cactus attack !!!

05:30 the alarm was set for this morning !!

Trail riding in Arizona is best done at sunrise, when there is some hope that the temperature is below 100F!

A bunch of Phils friends turned up for a 40 mile single track loop in the desert (and forest - but I wouldn't confuse the English readers by mentioning forest, as I saw the 'forest' sign , but I didn;t see any trees!!)

It transpired that the guys are all motocross/enduro racers - at expert level. I managed to keep their dust in sight (some may say binoculars were required for this !) for the first part of the loop, but towards the end, I was completely knackered and unable to ride even vaguely properly !
Even the scenery had it in for me - a cactus jumped out and tried to attack my arm. I rode a bit further with my new friend, but with every bump the cactus spikes moved in my arm causing more extreme pain (wuss!!)

The reaction is to try to pull the things out - even tho' common sense tells you not to. Phil took pity, and pulled the main parts off me with the use of 2 sticks. Even in the swimming pool an hour later, I was still picking the spikes out !!

Absolutely great fun and a fab ride.

Phil sizes up a cactus;


The trail heads up towards the rocks..


From here you can see the trail zigzag on the left side of the photo;