Ellie has recently joined our team as our part-time bike mechanic, to help us with our extra repairs and bike builds, especially during the busy season. Ellie grew up in Tucson where she began working with community bike projects in the early 2000’s. After spending many formative years in the Pacific Northwest working as a mechanic and in bicycle youth programming, she returned full time to Tucson in 2017. Since returning, Ellie has been an instrumental part of teaching and co-managing the amazing organization that is BICAS. Ellie remains involved at BICAS as well as working with after school youth bike clubs.
Ellie loves to get out on bikepacking and climbing trips with her buds all over the Southwest and beyond. We’re so excited to have Ellie sharing her depth of bicycle mechanic prowess and Tucson bike community knowledge here at Campfire Cycling.
Nine years ago in Xela – December. 9, 2024
I am still feeling nostalgic from my recent recent visit to Guatemala. On this date nine years ago, here’s a shot from a fun ride I did on a whim with some friends outside the city of Xela. I was so impressed with everyone’s bike handling skills through the unknown terrain. Lots of laughs, lunch with some cows, and only a little blood from a small crash.
Resilience, Volcanos, and Bikeable Dreams in Guatemala –December. 2, 2024
I was incredibly fortunate to take a recent trip to Guatemala over the past two weeks. From 2009-2011 I had lived in the city of Xela, primarily working for a US based non-profit program focused on training more bilingual health care professionals in the US with an emphasis on global healthcare and practices as well as wholistic care that would incorporate regional healthcare beliefs. I hadn’t visited in almost a decade. I’m always floored by the natural beauty of this volcanic region as well as the kindness and hospitality I receive from the locals.
While living there I used my bike often, mainly for short rides to get outside the city, as well as a few longer trips. The cobbled inner city streets and steep inclines make getting around by bike a trying task. A big thing I noticed in this visit was the increase in traffic, and struggled a lot with the resulting air pollution. Had me thinking a lot about city infrastructure and how much of a difference it can make on community health when resources exist and can be allocated into designing a bike-able city. I’m returning from my trip again inspired by the resilience of the people there who work hard for social and environmental justice in the face of much less access to funds and resources. I commit to finding more ways to support those efforts, locally and globally.
Packing Smart with the Oveja Negra Super Wedgie –November. 25, 2024
For my tidbit, I will be highlighting one of my favorite frame bag set ups; This great customer pick of an Oveja Negra Super Wedgie leaves space for a bottle cage for easy water access. And the subtle black camo looks great against the Matte Turismo Olive frame of one of my favorite bikes, the Kona Sutra Ltd.
Looping the scenic Santa Rita foothills – November. 18, 2024
It’s the perfect weather for bike season in Tucson and I’m enjoying returning to some of my favorite routes and spending more time in the saddle. Heading out for a ride in the eastern foothills of the Santa Rita mountains for a fun loop I try to squeeze in each year. I love riding through the transition from grasslands to the shade of oaks. Fingers crossed we see some pronghorn!
Ironwood’s Rocky Ride Recap – November. 11, 2024
Congrats to all the participants of this past weekend’s intermediate bikepacking trip through Ironwood national monument. It was beautiful, the weather was excellent, but we sure did shake and rattle your brains with this very rocky route. I was so impressed with the handling skills of everyone. Low gears, engage the core, and keep those arms loose to absorb the shock. I hope everyone feels like they leveled up, are confident going into their next adventure, and got some good follow up rest.
Alleybat Scavenger Hunt! – November. 04, 2024
As this Halloween season comes to an end I am grateful for all the fun events of these past days. The highlight was joining in for a second year of mischief with the Alley Bat bicycle scavenger hunt. This year teams put more thought into themed costumes, though mine was pretty last minute. I love strategizing fun routes and creative responses to obscure challenges so this is the event for me. Thanks to all the organizers.
Cyclovia Tucson!! – October. 28, 2024
This past weekend Tucson celebrated the 21st Cyclovia event organized by Living Streets Alliance. All the friends at LSA have been working so hard to get the word out and help people fix up their bikes all around town. For the last minute repairs Campfire and a handful of other bike shops were out to offer free on the spot help, my favorite style of repair! We got a great location for watching everyone bike by on streets closed to motorized traffic, many in their Halloween costumes, as well as a front row seat to the youth mariachi and dance performances. But my shoutout goes to the sweet neighborhood pups who hung out on the corner with us for the morning. Looking forward to the next event.
Return to the Caldera – October. 21, 2024
I took a trip to Santa Fe this past weekend to visit a good friend. We had planned to return to the Valles Caldera, where we did a bikepacking trip two years ago, but a surprise cold (and wet!) spell cancelled our plans for an overnight outing. We instead decided to let the area dry out for a day before doing a long day ride. All was well until about 15 miles in when we hit a surprisingly muddy slope and our bikes took the majority of the mud with us. Living in such a dry place, and generally avoiding riding on wet trails, the “peanut butter” mud experience is not one I’ve had to experience often. Locked up rear wheels and chains coated in mud! Maximum tire clearance recommendations are real! But we managed to get through that part, saw a ton of elk, golden aspens, and volcanic slopes, and had an overall incredible time in a beautiful place
One more Ode to fall colors – October. 14, 2024
Last week I featured my October 2023 bikepacking trip. This week we rewind further to 2022 and my October trip to bike the Tahoe Twirl, https://bikepacking.com/routes/tahoe-twirl/. While riding on the east side of the lake along the Tahoe Rim Trail I was told by two visiting cyclists that we were on what has been deemed “The Most Scenic Trail” in the U.S. I’m not sure how to fact check this but I don’t disagree.
Remembering Chama Charmer: Fallen Trees and Hot Springs – October. 07, 2024
Wherever you are, reading these tidbits, I hope you’re getting some fall colors nearby. We have to travel to higher elevation to catch much of the spectacular fall show but luckily there are plenty of options within a day’s drive. Last year at this time I took a short trip with some friends to bikepack the Chama Charmer route in northern New Mexico, https://bikepacking.com/routes/chama-ojo-caliente/. While we had to lift our bikes over at least 50 fallen trees in the first day, the reward was worth it. And any route that ends at hot springs is a real trea
A Perfect Seattle Weekend – September. 30, 2024
I took a long weekend for a quick trip to Seattle to catch up with some dear friends, visit the city I spent many formative years of my life in, and catch some fall colors and cool temperatures. And of course to pack in as much biking as I could. Thanks to Jason and Martina for the borrowed bikes and great times. First time mountain biking at Raging River. Despite the 2,400′ of vertical climb followed by a pedal-less decent, I was informed this was not downhill. Just a great time. Answering my request for a gravel ride on the Tolt Pipeline my friend Donald found an ideal 35 mile loop from Duval out and around Marckworth State Forest. And perhaps the most fun of all was joining my friend Jim for the 42 mile Dirty Chilly 2024 route around Bainbridge Island that utilizes just about every bit of single track that you could find. Such a creative route. If you’re in a place with cooler weather soak it up, we’re still deep in summer temps in Tucson but this trip has me feeling dreamy about summer rides, very in love with my friends, and in need of a rest day.
Advanced 2 Nighter: Lobo Lupes Upper Lollipop – September. 23, 2024
I joined in this past weekend for Campfire’s Advanced Bikepacking trip through the White Mountains of Apache- Sitgreaves National Forest, current and traditional home of the White Mountain and San Carlos Apache. I particularly loved riding through the “Montane and Subalpine Grasslands”, as described by Forrest Radarian, teacher and creator of El Lobo Lupus, a bikepacking route of which we followed 110 miles of.
I rode the bulk of the Lobo Lupus route in June, minus this section, and it was a treat to see the rest of the route and get a better sense of orientation in these mountains. We also rode by my favorite mountain biking trail, Los Burros, where I once saw my first wolf, told someone I loved them for the first time, and have shared many laughs in the nearby campground with dear friends. I chose to share a photo from one of those past trips, out riding with a friend who has inspired me on the trails. I hope to get out there with her again to spend more time appreciating these mountains by bike. Thank you to all the incredible role models I have that allow me to see place as part of the adventure biking community.
A Contribution to the Library – September. 16, 2024
This week Campfire received a sweet gift from a customer who had heard we have a building library of inspiring bikepacking books and journals and thought we might enjoying this one. Thank you for thinking of us! Beautiful photos. Come by for a visit, have a seat at our table, and peruse the new addition.
Matchy Matchy – September. 9, 2024
In a recent Tidbit I highlighted our staff’s matching Panaracer tires. This week I’d like to point out our excellent fashion and my new matching rubber with Josh and Toby, Adidas Five Ten cycling shoes. Soon you’ll hardly be able to tell us apart.
New Fork Seeking Cool Summer Mornings – September. 2, 2024
I recently replaced the fork on my El Mariachi just in time to return to some morning mountain bike rides as it cools off here. I neglected my old fox suspension fork for too long on this 10-year-old Hardtail but fortunately due to the kindness of our customers and a passed along fork, I’ve been able to continue riding it for the past year. However, the increased travel on the borrowed fork threw the geometry of my bike off a bit too much. With a brand new one now it feels great to have this running back in its original fit, plus some upgrades to be able to share a wheel set with my Salsa Fargo. Hoping for more cool and cloudy mornings like this one.
In Bike Mechanics, We Trust – August. 26, 2024
I’ve been loving our new shop set up, each of us getting to tailor our work benches to our needs. The project is still coming along but allowing us better focus to take care of all your bike’s needs. Thank you Park Tools for your vote of confidence. And don’t worry, we still like to poke our heads out to say hi.
cuties_coyoties – August. 19, 2024
Finally dropping below 100 degrees in Tucson which means cooler mornings for hikes and rides before I head to work. I rolled down the Santa Cruz river path the other morning enjoying some extra cloud coverage and the feeling of pedaling fast. Until I was slowed by the site of these two cute little coyotes taking a rest in the cool sand of the wash below. Moments later I spotted a heron in a pool of water left from the prior evening’s rain. Excited to be back out riding after a long, hot summer.
Panaracer Love – August. 12, 2024
Have we mentioned how much we love Panaracer GravelKing SK tires? In fact I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love them once they tried them. Pictured here is our staff bike parking area… pure GravelKings in a variety of sizes, set up tubeless or with tubes, they perform great in our desert environment. Fun for hitting the dirt roads, efficient on the city streets, so much that we all seem to commute on them. I’ve even ridden a bit of the Arizona Trail on these and had a blast. It’s a pretty cute line up of bikes too.
Birthday Bikepacking – August. 5, 2024
As we enter into August I’m reminiscing about some of my favorite bikepacking trips. Early August is my dear friend Becky’s birthday. We met many years ago through community bike projects and over the years discovered our shared love of adventure cycling, bikepacking, and mountain biking. While we don’t live in the same state, we try to meet up when possible for our birthdays to celebrate with some adventure. For a couple years in a row we spent becky’s birthday in Southwest Colorado. This photo was from a trip where we checked out an “exploratory route” that had us bush whacking down a mountain on a hardly existent trail, pushing our bike up scree fields, camping at high elevation in a lightning storm, and finally riding a beautiful section of the Colorado Trail followed by one of the most fun descent I’ve ever done. I hope for many more years of birthday adventuring together.
Reorganizing the Shop – July. 26, 2024
Lots of exciting reorganization happening in the shop this week. Supplemental electrolytes are a daily part of my life in the Tucson summers. We’ve got a bunch of options now for keeping you (and me) hydrated and energized for your rides.
Coworker Appreciation – July. 19, 2024
Taking a moment this week to express appreciation for my coworkers at Campfire and all the mutual support I see through the busy and challenging times. Candid moment of Jake fixing Toby’s neck pains. I love working with these two.
FUGA’s Summer Vibes Block Party – July. 12, 2024
A shout out to FUGA (Familias Unidas Ganando Acesibilidad, www.fugatucson.org) for their recent Summer Vibes Block Party. When I left work to head over to the block party to help out at the mechanic station where FUGA was offering free minor bike repair, I wondered if the event would be called off. Monsoon storms had been hitting all day across the city and we seemed to be directly in another one. However, when I rolled up everything was all set up, the music was playing, and the street was full of people wet and laughing. FUGA really does know how to bring the good vibes. Check out their twice a month community rides and other local activities.
BICAS Summer Camp – July. 5, 2024
Last week, I co-instructed a week long Summer Camp at BICAS (www.bicas.org), called Youth Earn-A-Bike. Our group of kids ages 9-12 worked hard all week refurbishing donated bicycles and learning about mechanics so they could take them home at the end of the week after a test ride through the neighborhood. Congrats to the campers and thank you to Campfire for accommodating my schedule.