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| Fun in the sun! |
Between our trip to Sedona and bike packing on the Black Canyon Trail, we didn't have much time to explore the Phoenix riding scene. We were able to check out 3 different zones, each with different character and trails.
Brown's Ranch
Brown's Ranch was a good place to spin the legs after a day of traveling and get warmed up for the week of riding we had in store. It was fast rolling with good flow and optional technical sections. Overall, the ranch is quite flat so you barely notice the climbs but there wasn't much in terms of descents on our loop from the Pima-Dynamite Parking lots. We covered lots of ground (32km over 3 hours) and had to race the setting sun to make sure we didn't get locked in at dusk. Highlight trails included Cholla Mountain Loop and Scorpion. The trails were well signed and trailforks has lots of recommended loops in the area to keep you busy.
The parking lot closes at a different time each day depending on sunset and the park is closed after dark. We did learn later that you can still get out of the gate even if its closed as it has a sensor. A helpful tip for next time!
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Browns Ranch
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Gentle climbs among the saguaros
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Blue skies and big smiles
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Rolling through the chollas
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Such cactus!
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Cathedral Rock
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Spot the Steve
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| Racing sunset back to the car park |
South Mountain (SoMo)
South Mountain Preserve is rough and tougher than Brown's Ranch with lots of rock riding and optional lines. The mountain is very popular with hikers but they were very courteous to mountain bikers and you could always rely on an audience to cheer you through a tricky section.
We barely scratched the surface of SoMo and still have plenty of trails to explore. Some of the trails are more fun in a specific direction, so double check before you drop in! We had a great time linking together quick loops off the Pima Canyon climb before a technical out and back on National. The climbs were punchy and there was some steep descending that kept us on our toes. We also enjoyed a high speed rip down Javalina Canyon and got a bit lost once or twice.
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Up National so we can come back down
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Shady snack break
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Top of the pass
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Its all downhill from here
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It goes (up and down!)
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Hardtail pride down the waterfall
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| Big bikes on little bike trails |
Hawes
The Hawes trail system was my favourite because of the flowy climbs, fast, loose descents and epic views. This was also where we found the most mountain bikers, many of whom were pre-riding the trails for the upcoming enduro event. Red Mountain Rush was worth the climb and we will need to come back to ride double black Sunset Ridge and some of the jump trails like Big Sister.
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L'Alpe d'Huez climb (Hawes version)
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Red Mountain gets all the glory when you are riding Hawes
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This way to the top
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All the views
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Ready to drop into Red Mountain Rush
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Fast and loose
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We found the flow
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