Road Trip Ride #9: McDowell Mountain

Because of the snow in northern Arizona, our hopes of riding Sedona and Flagstaff were dashed.  Instead, we continued on to Phoenix where we visited the Bicycle Ranch Trailhead bike shop to get the low-down on local rides.  While there are many, many options for riding in and around the Phoenix area, if we wanted a three to five hour ride, we were advised to check out the McDowell Sonoran Preserve/McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

Taking the Gateway Loop and Windgate Pass out of the Gateway trail-head, we then tackled Tom’s Thumb.  A very steep climb with many very tight switchbacks.  It was gruelling.  Once at the top, the descent was a little disappointing; the trail remained very steep, rocky and full of those tight switchbacks meaning we were always on the brakes, unable to really open it up and bomb the hill.

From Tom’s Thumb we joined the Rock Knob Trail and crossed into the McDowell Regional Park and onto the Pemberton Trail.  Wide open and fairly flat, this 15 mile trail meanders its way around a big circle, offering us more mileage than excitement.

From Pemberton, we followed the Dixie Mine, Coachwhip, Windmill and Bell Pass trails west and back onto the Gateway Loop trail for the final stretch back to the trail-head.  Again, the Bell Pass Trail demanded a big effort to surmount while the descent demanded lots of braking.  With the bikes in the van we enjoyed the most spectacular sun-set.  Though our mouths were agape, we were silenced with awe, a spectacle well worth the day’s effort.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/252907338

Ahh, the desert and her lovely adornments.

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