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.
Heartfelt Moments at Fuga’s Community Ride – February. 10, 2025
It was a treat to make it out to FUGA’s (Familias Unidad Ganando Accesibilidad) monthly Westside community ride. What a great way to start the day. I was particularly moved by a pair of siblings, older brother looking out for and encouraging the younger, one of the smallest in the group who was giving it his all to stay the pace. Surrounding riders joined in shouts of encouragement and even offering a tow when he needed a rest. I love what FUGA does in the Tucson community, building up riding skills and confidence for all ages and bringing people together to share in joyful space.
Investigating Patagonia’s Water crossings – February. 03, 2025
A few weeks back I went out for a ride around Patagonia, AZ with a friend. This area has become a destination for many interested in gravel riding. We’re lucky in Tucson to be able to enjoy day rides in this beautiful neighboring region. It’s been a particularly dry winter out here so you can imagine my naive surprise when we hit our first of a handful of water crossings. I couldn’t imagine where the source was, no snowmelt for miles and yet more water than I had seen in years out here.
Upon return to town I spotted a poster warning cyclists to use safety precautions when entering these crossings, flooded from the discharge from South32’s mine of about ONE MILLION GALLONS per day, and set to increase! The notification cited a couple of cyclist accidents caused by the unexpected water levels, but more horrific to me was learning of the quantity of water used in production in an area where water scarcity is a reality with the water table already dropping. You can visit the the Patagonia Alliance (PARA) for more information.
Bighorns and Stunning Views in Kofa – January. 27, 2025
The Kofa bikepacking route has been on my radar over the past couple years as a handful of friends have traveled the 3-4 hours from Tucson to ride through the wildlife refuge. This past week I got to check it out for myself. Having grown up so close I can’t believe it was my first time to visit this incredibly beautiful part of the desert. We were so lucky to see a herd of big horn sheep, took shelter from a little rain in a couple of the old cabins, and were totally wowed by the views.
New shop cat? – January. 20, 2025
Late last week this furry little friend casually strolled into the shop. I was confused enough to ask the customer I was attending to if the cat “was with him”. After taking a thorough tour of the shop through every nook and cranny, the cat wandered to the basement and wasn’t seen again for a couple days until it emerged on Saturday mid shift with a loud meow when it reached the top of the stairs.
Worried that it hadn’t eaten in days, David fished it out a tasty treat from the trash, and henceforth created a monster. Not sure if this is our new shop cat, but it will definitely make itself known, loudly meowing incessantly, blocking my reach for every tool in an attempt to get some pets, and offering to assist at the register with every transaction. Will it come back? We better start taking name suggestions.
My Fargo gets a new outfit! – January. 13, 2025
My partner has something of an addiction to raffles. They’re a great opportunity to donate to something you care about and gamble a little with the chance of a prize. Last year’s big winning was a custom frame bag, which was generous regifted to me to help outfit my new Salsa Fargo. The bag just arrived, in colors to match my other bags, and I can’t wait to overload it and go riding! It’s a lot of work to make a custom bag, who’s making them near you?
My end of the year Redington ride home! – January. 6, 2025
To close out 2024 I went on an overnight bikepacking trip with a small handful of friends to a very special canyon. The 9 mile road to the trailhead is steep, rocky, loose, and absolutely beautiful. We drove out, biked in, hiked down, and spent a quiet night under the Sycamores. I’d been feeling the itch for a longer ride and decided in the morning to give it a go, letting my friends know I’d see them back in Tucson. It’s been two years since I had biked over Redington pass, which splits two of our mountain ranges, and seemed about time to revisit.
It was a slow slog on a loaded mountain bike to get me over in the past but I felt great when I dropped to the edge of the city in the afternoon and hit asphalt. I can’t say the 16 additional miles that followed to cross the city all the way to the west side where I live were any amount of fun, but I’m glad I made the choice to push myself and got a solo day in the saddle to really check in with my body. Being able to ride from (or to) my doorstep is one of my favorite things about where I live.
New Year, Dirt Roads, and Big Plans – December. 30, 2024
Started the year out right with a New Year’s Day ride with my friend Benji on a loop through northern Ironwood National Monument. I love the roller coaster rolling dirt roads and breathtaking scenery of this ride. A much needed moment to reflect on the year, all the beauty and the suffering, and commit to working towards a better 2025 for everyone.
Disc Truckin’ – December. 16, 2024
It’s been a week of Surly Disc Truckers featuring these two fun builds! I’m sure more tidbits will be coming your way about Mary’s frame up custom build. Meanwhile I got to deck out Chris’s new Surly, customized through Campfire’s Make-it-Mine feature with some fun color highlights, inspired by another disc trucker spotted on display in our shop. New bike days are the best and always a treat to see a customer roll out on their new bike with so many adventures ahead of them.
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 treat.