Author: Tim Racette

Well, it’s been 3 weeks since Evie and I moved to Pinetop, AZ. We’ve had a little time to explore some of the area and all I can say is YEAH! This place is awesome!

When you see a new part of the country for the first time or visit a small town during a bike race it always seems like it’d be a great place to live, but it’s always in the back of your mind as to what’s this place really like without a big festival going on, or when I’m not visiting on vacation. Pinetop was kind of the opposite…

Upon our first visit to the town of Pinetop-Lakeside (it’s actually two towns that merged), we were not overly impressed. Once we met a few of the locals and began to explore the area more boy were we blown away! This is a total mtbers training ground paradise! More on that later.

Move-in Day and a Bike Race

We arrived in Pinetop on Oct 1 and got the keys to our new place that we’re renting. Our house sits just behind Woodland Lake Park, a really quaint little park about 1 square mile that has a small lake and some really cool mountain bike trails. So far Evie’s commute consists of a 20-min ride on singletrack!

Luckily we didn’t have to drive the moving truck out, that arrived on Friday (along with TJ and Chloe) who came to stay for the weekend and ride in the Tour of the White Mountains, a race put on by Epic Rides, the same people who put on the Whiskey 50, Grand Junction Off-road, and 24-hrs in the Old Pueblo.

A course marking error sent the lead 12 or so guys the wrong way, so once we all stopped to chat with race officials we decided to just cruise and enjoy the ride. It turned out to be a great day! I didn’t really have any expectations, just a good way to checkout the local trails.

A Mountain Biker’s Dream

So Pinetop is a lot like Bend, OR, only a little higher in elevation (Pinetop sits at 7000′). The trails are a mix of rocky technical slow sections and fast smooth twists through pine trees. There’s a good amount of elevation gain, about 1000′ per hour when you’re just out riding.

Since Pinetop sits on the edge of the Colorado plateau (right on the Mogollon Rim) you can head south and begin to drop in elevation really quickly. There are a half dozen or so Cat 2 climbs to be had within a 50-mile ride, lots of clean roads, endless gravel fire roads, and about 200-miles of connecting mountain bike trails.

With a little cold and snow in the winter means you’ll keep your toughness, while still being able to ride year round. Plus if you do wanna wimp out, it’s only a 3-hr drive to Phoenix and 4-hrs to Tucson. Not to mention you ride 30-miles south and it warms up 20 degrees as you drop off the rim!

Climate & Seasons

Thus far it’s been in the 40s in the morning and 60s/70s during the day. Winter’s can dip down into the 20s at night, but then back up into the 40s and 50s during the day. Summers in the 70s and 80s, but dry, and NO BUGS!

We’ll see some snow in the winter, but not a ton, and any snow that does stick won’t last too long since it warms up during the day. Sunrise Ski resort is about 25-miles to the east of town and rises another 2000′ so the base is at 9,000, summit at 11,100.

We went over there a few weeks ago to hike and checkout the fall colors, along with the downhill mountain bike trails! In the summer they run lifts so get ready to do some big hitting! We walked some of the DH runs and they were sweet! They have a really neat Whistler vibe. Trees, roots, big boulders, etc. Can’t wait to ride ’em.

Thinking I Might Stick Around – So Come Visit!

Evie started work on the 15th and I’ve been busy finishing up a new project for some friends of mine who opened a new bike shop in Fountain Hills, McDowell Mountain Cycles. We’ve had a chance to meet a lot of people in town and are looking forward to more exploring!

For a town of 5000 they sure have a lot of awesome restaurants and cool little shops. With the endless system of trails and so many other cool places nearby like Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Durango I could see calling Pinetop my home for a long time so come visit! We have a spare bedroom waiting!

This year has been pretty incredible. It started off with 3 months in Arizona, followed by my buddy Steve’s wedding in California, Sea Otter w/ Evie and the Linear Sport Crew. That momentum carried me into the racing season placing 2nd at both the Fontana and Wisconsin ProXCT’s. I once again stood on the podium at mtb nationals, and to top it off Evie and I got married! It’s been a busy year to say the least.

I’m excited to begin my newest adventure, which includes a move to Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ sometime next month.

The journey started a few months back when Evie saw an opening for the town manager position. She applied and next thing we knew we were flying out to AZ for the final round of interviews.

Pinetop-Lakeside is an interesting town. It sits at 7000′ up on the Mogollon rim (the southern edge of the Colorado plateau) about 2-hrs east of Flagstaff, 3-hrs NE of Phoenix, a great location. The little mountain town of 4500 people sees cooler temperatures than Phoenix in the summer, but still get’s a little bit of snow in the winter.

The town’s motto is ‘Celebrate the Seasons’ and that’s exactly what the area offers, outdoor activities for every season.

Mountain bike trails out your door, endless fire roads to train on. Long gradual pavement climbs that take you up past 10k feet.

The town itself has a lot of cool little shops and restaurants including a brewery, olive oil shop, and numerous ski shops.

Sunrise Park is about 40-miles from town and offers downhill skiing in the winter with a vertical of 1800′ plus XC skiing at the base. In the summer they run lifts for down hill trails, woo! Excited to check these out.

Overall the area has a lot to offer and Evie and I excited to start a new chapter in our lives. We’ll certainly miss our friends back home (which is only a plane ride away), but we know you’ll want to come visit 🙂

The next few weeks will be filled with finding a place to live, packing, and finishing out the WORS mtb series.

We just got back from the Dakota Five-0 in Spearfish, SD an absolute blast of a weekend. The trails, the people, the food, they’re all amazing. I ended up 12th with a time of 3:59 after a wrong turn took me off course to Old Baldy Summit and back down. Evie finished 4th overall in the women and took home some cash, a sweet flask, and a brand new Quarq XX1 power meter, yeah!

I’m currently sitting 6th overall in WORS, hoping to snag a top 5 this weekend at Lake Geneva and cap off the season with one of my favorite courses!

I know I probably won’t get to see everyone before I leave, but rest assured I’ll be back.

Here’s to old friends & new adventures!

As the biggest race of the season comes to a close, I sit down on the couch and let out a big sigh, what next? Here’s a look at my trip to mountain bike nationals.

It’s Carnage Out There!

This being the second year nat’ls was held at Bear Creek, I knew what to expect coming in and I knew that played to my advantage. Coming off a 2nd place finish at WORS Cup I also knew I was riding strong.

East coast riding is littered with bowling ball sized jagged rock gardens for days. Rocks big enough that you can’t just motor over them, you have to use your whole body to pump and finesse the bike. While fitness comes into play, it’s more bike control and riding strong enough equipment.

I was lucky to have plenty of practice this winter in Arizona ripping trails, descending South Mountain and Bell Pass gave me a lot of confidence on my bike. The Trek Top Fuel was once again amazing! With the new Fox CTD shock I’m running this year I had the advantage of a rear remote which was fantastic. You don’t want to take your hands off the bar even for a second at Bear Creek!

Next Year…

While another 5th place finish and spot on the podium was great, I certainly had the potential to do more. After hitting my pedal and leading the prologue lap I dropped my chain coming into the first climb. That was the first of many dropped chains in my race.

Turns out my clutch had broken on my rear derailleur. Brian at Shimano got me fixed up after the race, but unfortunately it was after the fact. On the plus side, while dozens of riders littered the trail fixing flat tires, my Racing Ralph’s w/ Snake Skin were flawless.

Super happy with the way I was riding and ripping through the rocky descents. After falling to last place at the start of the first climb I moved up to 3rd by the time we got halfway down the descent. I was ripping, handling my bike great, but I knew the two leaders (guy’s I’ve raced against earlier this season) would be tough to catch.

I pinned it down the descent and across the start finish straight and began lap 2 of 3. At the start of the descent on lap 2 I came around a corner real hot and lost my front wheel. That sent me sliding pretty good and it took me  minute to get moving again after the impact. I’m glad my only crash of the day was on a fast corner and not down one of the jagged rock gardens. Regardless, I was passed by Brad and another rider and it took me a good 5-10 mins to get any sort of rhythm back.

I rolled through the start/finish ready to go out on my last lap feeling defeated. I muscled my way up the climb and then rode down the descent at a conservative pace.

I’m certainly no quitter, but that race had me questioning whether or not I’d finish, call it bad luck or what-have-you, sometimes it’s just not your day. I had the legs and handling skills to win, but I was out of the race before it even got going.

While my result wasn’t quite what I was looking for, it was still a fun weekend. Joe and Brian both did super well in the pro race, Evie podium’d in all 3 of her races and Brad took 3rd in the XC race. Good times with good friends (and family!)

Thanks to Lynn Senkerik for all the cheers and awesome photos!