Steve meet Prickly Pear, Prickly Pear steve

So some of you may know I'm an avid cyclist- mtber, and a roadie.  I used to live in Tucson.  Four friends and I were connecting two trails via a cow trail we found. We were wayy, wayy out in BFE.  I'd ridden both connectors a few times and never seen anyone there. A couple of weeks earlier I'd broken my ankle and it was sealed in an aircast. i could not clip out on the right side.
We're having a great old time...perfect weather, perfect trail...there's a little hill, where this sweet singletrack cuts across the steep hillside which falls off to my right.  I manage to spin the rear wheel out-- and start to fall down the hill--i'm windmilling like crazy cause i can't clip out!  I plunge down the hill- and land back first ontop of a HUGE prickly pear cactus.  I'm totally skewered...i can't get up. Feet uphill, still clipped into my bike. I'm yelling and cursing. My friends come down the hilll, and literally lift me and bike straight out of the cactus. Luckily i had a CamelBak on so the center of my back was spine-free- the rest of me was covered.  These aren't wimpy little spines- but big 2-3 inchers...I stood there with a multi-tool pulling them out of my arms, legs, shoulders, hands, neck for half an hour. I managed all but the ones i couldn't reach-- in my ass.  "Guys, I need help here"
"fuck no man, i'm not pulling spines out of your hairy stinky ass"
Finally, Miles came to my rescue. Drop the shorts-- and he starts pulling these spines out.

This is when the first of FOUR sets of hikers comes by. Me with my shorts around my ankles, looking like I have the measles with all the red spots, Miles crouched with a pair of pliers yanking spines out of my butt. The rest of the monkeys standing around smiling...

200+ spines, and i still had to ride 3 hours out.

Steve.....where's the pics

OH man, f'n ouch! On the cactus and the ride out.
Z

Steve, How'd your ankle fair out of this encounter? Were the pears (red) in season or out? Could have made nopales (prickly pear leaves)! I have a great recipe if your feeling vengeful.

Mooch-- you should know me by now-- i never have a camera.  I might have pictures of that area- it was connecting the Arizona Trail from Mt Lemmon Highway to Milagrosa ridge...a guy named John "Pinto" Taylor and I cut some of it ( a quarter mile section through shin-dagger). Here's a picture of someone i don't know on the trail--


Frank-- It was early winter, so no nopalitos yet, fruit were past.  Funny you mention the nopalos, the desert is a great place for munchies.  In May/June we would stash a tent pole on this road ride out by the Desert Museum and chow on the Saguaro fruit (better than Gu). 
My ankle faired ok- it was the third time i'd broken the same ankle (drunk night bouldering, snowboarding- #1, #2), so it was already messed permanently. To be honest it was so long ago I barely remember my ankle. I do have a vivid, vivid picture in my mind of after pulling all the obvious spines i pulled my short leg up- and all these spines just popped up- they weren't poking through the lycra, but had gone into my skin, then slipped inside the shorts. I actually had spines coming out of my skin for about 3 months after-- you'd feel some little bump that looked like a pimple, and out would pop some 3/8" long spine.

Steve- let's hook up sometime and hit some of the trails here in the Peninsula - and bring a fishing pole

In Belmont, we have WaterDog trail - 5 mile loop of everything you want = 99% single track. There is also a pond that we can fish after...lot's of Bass and Bluegills Lot's of poison oak 

Saratoga Gap along Skyline Blvd - FAST single track (similar to a roller coaster ride) that leads to a wide open dirt road with a view - then back to another single track that loops back to single track # 1. There is also a pond - never fished it....YET  Saw some euros (European men who act like they are STILL in Europe) skinny dipping at the pond a few years back....almost lost my eyesight 

i'm down with that!  I've ridden alot down along skyline- Skaggs (that's actually where i broke my ankle just before this epic).  We do Coe backcountry each year- ever ridden down there?  Good riding and fishing...though usually i am far, far too cooked by the end of those rides to even THINK about fishing

I hate skeggs - gotta have GPS when riding that area - I almost got lost the few times I've been there - too many trail systems to remember 

well you can stick on my wheel and i'll take you for a beauty of a loop.

I'm doing a half marathon on superbowl sunday- but will then pick the bike back up- let's plan on going in Feb! (i'm travelling like a dawg in march)

You guys have got to try Henry Coe St. Park for biking/fishing. Start at the south gate and you'll reach the first pond in about 45 minutes on fire road. FULL of fish - big crappie and mostly smallish LMB. I've been up half a dozen times and I've been the only one fishing - There are 3 or 4 ponds in the park. The nearer the park entrances, the more pressure they get. 

Steve, That is some crazy shit. I once put my hand on a small house cactus and that took an hour to clean up.  I can't even imagine what happened to you. The funny thing is as I am reading your story I keep think that the falling down in windmill fashion with a broken ankle is pretty darn bad.  Then you trump that with the cactus.  OUCH!

By the way Joel, There are some nice fishing areas with bike trials all along 280.  Just don't let anyone see you.  .  Dude, water dog sucks for real fish.  The biggest bass I caught out of there was probably 6 1/2 inches. 

Jason 

jason-- yah i was younger and far more stupid...riding with a busted ankle was dumb, though come to think of it, climbing with a broken ankle was dumb too, or driving 8 hours back from JTree with a broken ankle...mind you this was the same time period that i found out i could ride all day, and started doing 24 hour races

COE Rocks!!!
I always tell people up here, Skeggs is like Tamarancho on Steriods, and COE is like Tyrannosauraus Skeggs. You ever do the 10 and 10 up there? 10K in 10 Hours?

I've been riding there for about 8 or 10 years maybe- i prefer the Hunting hollow entrance for riding- but little beats the fishing way out there at the southern entrance- that's why we try to do the Coe backcountry weekend each year.

Never did the 10 and 10 thing, but for those thinking about it, do be mindful of the weather, or you'll be posting something like "Cooked my brain at Coe" under this thread. It gets hot, and there's little or no shade for long stretches. Nothing that can't be mitigated by time of day and lots of fluids...definitely worth the effort IMO.

Its probably fair to say that you should never really ride in Coe between May and Oct.  Winter brings TONS of ticks. Check and check often. Singletrack closed for 48hours after a rain...there's a zillion rules.