Chuck Wagon Trail – Sedona, AZ…

Enjoying the last ride...

For our last mountain bike ride in Sedona we wanted to do something fun and easy to be kind to our tired legs.

A-Man seeing red...

We headed to the west end of Sedona and rolled north up Chuck Wagon Trail.

Climbing my last slickrock....

By Sedona standards Chuck Wagon offered us some twisty buff singletrack without a ton of climbing.

Thin red line...

I decided to ride my 29er hardtail on the last day. It was fun to be on a different bike for a change of pace, but I would choose a long travel full suspension bike for riding in the Sedona area every time.

The end of our time in Sedona was bittersweet...

Making it to the end of Chuck Wagon we returned south on Gunslinger Trail which was fast and curvy.

A few last drops...

It was a bit sad to wrap up the riding in Sedona, but all good things must come to an end. We had a great time and got to see a lot of the primo trails in the area. At the same time we left many amazing trails unridden. I think I would need a solid month in Sedona to feel like I had explored the area fully.

Hmmm….that sounds like a plan…=-)

The Hogs Trails – Sedona, AZ…

Taking in an awesome view of Sedona from Hog Heaven Trail...

Our 2nd last day or riding in Sedona arrived Sunday and we wanted to continue to explore some of the best trails of the area.

A-Man climbs away from Chicken Point...

We saddled up at the Courthouse Vista Parking Lot and cranked north to Little Horse Trail. Riding up Little Horse Trail to Checken Point isn’t as much fun as going the other way, but sometimes you have to pay to play!

Handy Hogs Trail map we got at the Bike and Bean...

Once at Chicken Point we started north on Broken Arrow Trail just for a bit until we hit the hard left we needed to get onto the start of Hog Heaven Trail.

We have slick rocks at home, but no slickrock!

Hog Heaven was a ton of fun and was filled with lots of exposure which seems to a trait of most of the newly developed unofficial trails here in Sedona.

Riding on a ledge...

I managed to launch myself off the bike to the right into space. Luckily a tree caught me and I didn’t tumble down a cliff to my death!

A-Man takes in the views at a rest stop...

The benefit of riding on the edge of a rock face high above the ground is that there are spectacular views whenever you have time to look around!

A-Man coming into a hard right drop on Hog Heaven Trail...

Hog Heaven fed us onto Hog Wash Trail which took us toward Broken Arrow Trail.

A-Man enjoying the hog wild experience...

The ride ended with Mystic Trail south to the Bell Rock Pathway and Little Horse to Llama Trails to the truck.

Some handy trees to catch a falling mountain biker...

There are more Hogs Trails we didn’t get to on this ride: Hogtail, Pig Tail and Hogalicious. So many trails so little time!

A-Man climbs up Hog Heaven Trail...

Secret Trails – Sedona, AZ…

Getting down to business!

A-Man and I had unfinished business with the Teacup Trail. Having recovered from his Red Rock Body Slam the previous day we went back to Coffee Pot Rock and pushed our exploration of Tea Cup Trail further than ever before!

Staying on the high ground...

Teacup Trail was even more fun now that we knew its twists and turns.

A-Man carves up the switchbacks...

At the end of Teacup Trail we rolled north up to the seven sacred pools and Soldier’s Pass.

Why I don't let A-Man navigate...

Uncharacteristically we didn’t get lost.

I love slickrock!

The trails were all top notch Sedona singletrack. Lots of flow with and ear to ear grins.

A-Man dips his wheels in a sacred pool...

The sacred pools had some water from the snow earlier in the week.

Cranking left...

Eventually we reached the end of the bike legal section of the Soldier’s Pass Trail.

A-Man rolls into the shade...

Being good MTBers we didn’t ride any further.

Thumbs up for Sedona...

Rolling back southwards we were aiming for the giant sink hole.

A-Man on the edge...

The sink hole was pretty hard to miss. You definitely don’t want to ride over the edge here.

A-Man rolls some chunk...

From the sink hole we headed east on Jordan Trail.

I've got a secret...

We turned south onto one of the secret trail network. We’d tell you which one and how to find it, but we’d have to kill you…=-)

A-Man on fire...

To be honest we don’t know which trail we were on. We just followed the blue markers and had an awesome time.

Heading for home...

Our mystery trail dumped us off on Highway 89A and we took the paved trail back to the truck at Coffee Pot Rock. Another great ride in Sedona. You gotta love it!

Follow the A-Man...

Highline Trail Time Trial – Sedona, AZ…

Dave, owner of the Sedona Fat Tire Bike Shop, tweaking his Ibis Mojo HD...

Dave invited us to a weekly ride starting at the Bike and Bean Bike Shop every Friday. I knew it was going to be a hard ride and on my 2009 Sedona trip I went on 2 shop rides that kicked my ass both times. So I was a bit reluctant to accept the invitation, but I figured they’d show us some cool trails we might not otherwise see.

A-Man decided to test how tough he was on our morning ride to Coffee Pot Rock by going over the bars and body slamming some slickrock before making love to a small tree! Needless to say he made the smart move and stayed in the hotel where there was painkillers, beer, ice and TV…=-)

My view from the back of the pack...

I was able to maintain contact with the main group for the first part of the ride and started to get a bit cocky thinking it wasn’t going to be as bad as I had anticipated. However, when they turned up Highline Trail I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t have the fitness and tech skills to rocket down the narrow ribbon of trail on the side of a cliff.

The group waiting for me on Highline Trail...

We ended up completing a loop on Highline similar to what A-Man and I rode earlier in the week. Except this time we did it in 2hrs rather than 4.5hrs!  The group waited for me at the infrequent stops along the trail, but I had to ride at the edge of my puke zone the whole time to catch up.

I didn’t really even notice the scenery on this ride as I was focused so heavily on what was coming up and trying to get over all the tech as quickly as possible. Sections of the trail we stopped to play on for 20mins last time out were obliterated in a few seconds on this ride. It was an impressive pace [for me], but I don’t think I’d want to ride like that more than occasionally.

Anyone see that Canadian fall off a cliff?

On the plus side I did get to ride a couple new sections of Templeton Trail and some unnamed connector trails. My Santa Cruz Nomad was working perfectly for this high speed riding over all the rocks and drops. I was even climbing pretty good until I was dead tired at the end.

Lending out my Santa Cruz Nomad to a rider who had one on order...

I shared my Nomad stoke with one of the guys on the ride who had a Nomad on order and wanted to check out how it rode. Of course he came back all smiles – don’t let the photograph fool you…..I had just told him I wanted my bike back…=-)

The only proof I was actually on the ride...

Sadly my beloved 15yr old Dirt Rag jersey got snagged on a tree and got ripped. I’m going to have to see if Scott “The Gravel Pimp” Felter can help me cut the torn sleeve off and mod the damaged jersey to show off my muscular arms…hahahaha!

Dave on the move...

Dave is a fast strong rider who crushes all techy gnar in his path…so when he hung back with me at the end of the ride to ensure I didn’t get lost or just keel over and die that was a very considerate move. It was a bit pathetic to watch him barely pedalling ahead of me as I was driving my pedals as hard as I could and he still pulled away!

The post ride beer and pizza tasted sooooooooo good!

The ride ended on a high note for me for 4 reasons:

1. the last part of the ride blasted downhill on the curvy Slim Shady Trail singletrack.
2. the ride was over!
3. there was pizza.
4. there was beer!

Jimmy, on right, put on the ride and supplied the post ride refreshments - thanks!

Thanks to the Bike and Bean Bike Shop for organizing the ride and providing such tasty post-ride refreshments. Nothing makes you forget the pain of a hard ride like a cold beer and warm slice of pizza.

Teacup Trail – Sedona, AZ…

Feeling excited for some coffee at Coffee Pot Rock...

I wanted to check out my suspension and bike fit adjustments on a faster trail than our slow march around the uber techy Airport Loop Trail. So we headed to the Coffee Pot Rock area of West Sedona and rumbled down Teacup Trail.

Several fun loops in this area...

There are a few trails in this area that offer a lot of options and loop possibilities.

Follow the cairns to stay on track...

Teacup Trail was the fast flowy Sedona trail we know and love – with just enough rocky technical challenge to make it interesting without getting silly.

Where to now?

I was pretty happy with the suspension setup that Dave from the Fat Tire Bike Shop dialed in for me. My bike carved nicely around the tight twisty corners like it was glued to the ground. I rotated my bars forward to get my weight slightly more over the front wheel so I had a more aggressive climbing position. In the long run I’ll get a 10mm longer stem and rotate the bars back towards me a bit. I’ll probably also move the saddle 10mm forward to see how I like that.

The fine art of bike fit! – fun, fun, fun…=-)

A-Man rolls back towards the trailhead...

Heading back to the parking lot we unintentionally explored a whole network of smaller trails that are in this area, but aren’t marked on any map we have. When navigating in Sedona just look up to orientate yourself using the local landmarks and retrace your tire tracks back to the last time you were sure you were on the right trail.

Wait for me!

Airport Loop Trail – Sedona, AZ…

Riding in dangerous territory...

I had a lot of work that needed my attention in the AM on Thursday so we got a late start on the trail and decided to ride the Airport Loop Trail because it was near our hotel and had spectacular views.

A quick derailleur tune...

The start of this ride is a popular viewpoint and a fair number of hikers complete the circuit around Airport Mesa. My derailleur needed some love right at the start, but happily I was travelling with a professional bike mechanic so Aaron tweaked it for me.

Don't fall to the left!

Airport Loop Trail is definitely the most technically demanding trail we have ridden so far. Not only is it narrow and rough, but there is a serious drop off if you screw up. We ended up walking quite a few sections and I had one nearly deadly bail where I thought I was going for a long fall! The exposure on Highline Trail is tame by comparison.

A-Man climbing like an angry squirrel...

We rode around the mesa clockwise and I would probably recommend that direction for the best flow – although it will be hard either way.

The straight and narrow...

The second half of the trail was slightly downhill which meant that if I was able to pick a decent line and finesse the bike I could ride most of it. I definitely smiled more as I got closer to the end of the trail.

Top down view...

To be honest I wouldn’t suggest you take your mountain bike on this ride. I think it makes a better hike than a ride. You’ll get the same killer views and you won’t complete the trail much slower on foot!

Black tie riding...

Even though it wasn’t my favourite trail in Sedona so far it’s hard to complain too much about being out in the sunshine riding your mountain bike in such pretty country.

The eye of the cactus!

We are not big into video, but here is a little A-Man action sequence.

Highline Trail – Sedona, AZ…

Jumping for joy...

The locals here in Sedona all seem to be talking about Highline Trail so we figured it was time to check it out ourselves.

A-Man getting a leg up...

We started out with a couple espressos at the Bike and Bean bike/coffee shop.

Trying to stay lost...

Climbing aboard our fine mountain bikes we rolled up Slim Shady Trail.

Staying grounded...

We took a couple exploratory missions down side trails, but eventually we found the start of Highline Trail.

There was some hike a bike...

We had to climb & push our bikes up some steep slopes at first.

A-Man rumbles down the trail...

The quality of the trail was high and justified all the buzz we had heard.

Up, up and away...

Highline features a lot of narrow exposed trail.

Desert flora...

It’s hard enough and exposed enough I wouldn’t recommend it for riders with an over active sense of self-preservation.

Getting high...

For the most part Highline was solidly intermediate in difficulty without getting too gnarly.

A-Man channels the Thunder Chicken...

The most dangerous parts of the ride were the amazingly beautiful views that were seriously distracting.

Consulting the map...

Although we got confused a few times we managed not to get lost.

Prepared for take off...

The ride just went on and on until our faces hurt from all the smiling.

A-Man rolling down some tasty slickrock...

Eventually we dropped down towards Baldwin Trail, but the fun wasn’t over.

Living on the edge...

Due to the rain/snow earlier this week the trail was uber tacky making us feel like heros.

Good to the last drop...

Once we got onto Baldwin Trail we let our guard down a bit as we assumed  it would be an easy cruise back to the start.

About to carve some bermy singletrack...

The ride back started off easy and curvy, but then the rocky tech came back.

A-Man went ahead to scout out the route...

Aaron volunteered to go ahead and conduct some ninja styles recon.

Waiting patiently...

I eventually got bored and found A-Man doing some horizontal scouting.

Switchback...

Our easy pedal home got rough and then turned vertical for a good long way towards the start of Templeton Trail.

A-Man, Deb and Brenda our helpful guides...

We had passed two nice ladies on Highline and Baldwin Trails then ran into them again at the start of Templeton Trail. They suggest we try Easy Breezy headed south rather that Templeton and offered to guide us. How could we refuse? It was really fun to ride in a small posse for a change. We cruised down the very enjoyable Easy Breezy Trail then took Slim Shady back to the truck.

A-Man giving 'er...

All in all Highline Trail was a great day in the saddle. It lived up to our considerable expectations. We’ll definitely be back and would highly recommend it to any intermediate mountain bikers without a fear of heights!

Here are a couple videos of Highline Trail from Mountain Bike USA to give you a sense of the action.

Sedona Fat Tire Bike Shop Redux…

Sedona's Fat Tire Bike Shop...

It’s been 3yrs [yikes!] since my last visit to Sedona’s best bike shop – The Fat Tire. Not much has changed. Dave is still building up some of the finest mountain bikes and tuning them to perfection. I urge you not to allow him to suggest a test ride of his personal Ibis Mojo HD unless you are prepared to be both super happy [at the amazing ride] and super sad [at how lousy your MTB rides in comparison]. If there is one thing I would share that I have learned from Dave – it’s that a $5K+ uber mountain bike is useless without having the suspension tuned by a master mechanic.

Dave and Aaron talk shop...

The Fat Tire is an interesting bike shop. Walk inside and you won’t see row after row of low and mid-range bikes with a few premium bikes placed strategically around the shop. You won’t see rack after rack of widgets and accessories that you may or may not need. Nope. Walk into the Fat Tire Bike Shop in Sedona and you’ll only see a few top shelf mountain bikes that have been custom built with love to meet the specific needs of each customer and a handful of accessories optimized for local riding.

Dave holds court...

It’s sort of like a Ferrari dealership. There are no bargins to be had and if you don’t want the best product for any given mission you are in the wrong place. On the other hand if you appreciate talking to someone who loves lives to ride a mountain bike, someone who has forgotten more about bikes than you know and someone who won’t let a bike leave his shop if it’s not perfect – then Dave’s your man.

Let’s be honest – saving a few bucks and not getting what you really need isn’t a bargain anyways.

A-Man testing out Dave's personal Ibis...

The Fat Tire is the only LBS I know of that is reverse marketing – trying to get the phone to ring less. Dave wants to spend his limited time helping out folks that appreciate a top notch mountain bike experience. He’s happy to rent you a premium Ibis Mojo HD mountain bike in Sedona to maximize the your holiday experience. He’ll tune or repair your existing bike or he’ll be happy to build you up a new mountain bike with a custom build specification.

Dave showing us how it's done...

If you are in Sedona I highly recommend you stop by and talk to Dave. He’ll give you a ton of useful information about local riding. Even if you don’t live in Sedona the Fat Tire Bike Shop can help get you on the right bike.

A-Man takes aim at a sweet Ibis...

A dream of mine would be to have Dave build me up a custom Ibis Mojo HD…one of the few bikes that gives the Santa Cruz Nomad a run for its money. Not only would I get Dave to customize the build to my needs I would drive down to Sedona for a bike fit & suspension setup. Since I was in town I might as well stay for a few days and get Dave to show me around his favourite trails. Call it the Deluxe Lazy Rando Package.

Hahahaha…I may not have the budget for this at the moment, but a guy can dream! It would be money well spent…=-)

FWIW – Dave’s help setting up the suspension on my Santa Cruz Nomad in 2009 was a revolutionary experience. Not only did he get my bike running so well it blew my mind, but he took the time to explain things to me so I could keep adjusting my suspension after I left Sedona.

Submarine Rock Loop – Sedona, AZ…

Can you dig it?

Monday was our first full day in town so we wanted to get in a longer ride. The Submarine Rock Loop is a classic Sedona ride that was just enough gnar with a lot of fun curves to carve plus some slickrock to play on.

Taking the high road...

It was a cool and windy day.  So windy my bike fell over twice!

A-Man sampling some slickrock...

Starting out on Broken Arrow Trail we enjoyed some amazing singletrack that led to a small area of slickrock.

Testing out my brakes...

I felt a lot stronger than Sunday and didn’t have to gasp for air quite as pathetically.

Deep in the trees...

The quality of the trail started high and just kept getting better.

A-Man dropping off the Submarine...

Hard to believe, but we didn’t see any other mountain bikers until the we ran across a solo Ibis pilot at the end of the ride.

There were some pedestrians to contend with though...

The slickrock parts of the trail were popular with the Pink Jeep and 4×4 crowd.

Pink Jeep...

The Pink Jeep tourists seemed amazed anyone could ride a bike off road for more than a mile or two.

Icy cold beer hits the spot in the middle of a long desert ride...

Some friendly 4×4 guys gave us a couple icy cold beers – which were most appreciated.

Rolling down some chunk....

We spent a lot of time exploring all the side trails and variations we could find.

Are we lost?

We even managed to get a tiny bit lost on a closed trail until we realized the level of difficulty seemed over the top for a popular Sedona Trail. At least we got a taste of the riding back at home for a few minutes.

Wheel's eye view...

With a map and a look around at the many striking landmarks it’s pretty hard to stay lost biking around Sedona.

I don't need no stinking rear suspension...

A-Man showed off his skills muscling his Kona hardtail over all manner big chunky rocks.

Okay I don't fly like a butterfly...

My hand is still sore from the bikepacking crash 2 weeks ago so I kept my ego in check and rode conservatively.

Rock and roll....

No point taking any chances.

I could do this all day...

I figure a few days of easy riding and I should be able to rip it up at the end of the trip.

A-Man is enjoying his first full day of Sedona riding...

After Broken Arrow Trail [including a few detours] we hit Little Horse Trail and then rode Llama Trail again for good measure.

A-Man feeling all panoramic...

By the time we were on Llama Trail we were pretty tired, but when the singletrack unfolds in such a fun way around every curve there is no way to stop pedalling.

Where is Lazy?

After Llama we spun north on the Bell Rock Pathway to Mystic Trail.

Where did we park the truck?

By the 4hr mark we were hungry, tired and ready to see the truck…sadly there were a few more miles left.

Keeping my spirits high...

All good things must end and so did our ride. After Mystic Trail we still had another mile or two of pavement, but that was fast and painless. We were definitely happy to load up our bikes and head into town in search of food.

Done like dinner...

This trail loop is just amazing. So many miles of consistently awesome singletrack with stunning scenery in every direction and virtually zero mountain bike traffic to share the trails with. It really doesn’t get much better than this…or does it?….=-)~

My Nomad waiting to be blown over by the wind...

Llama Trail – Sedona, AZ…

It's good to be back!

After a long, long, long drive we rolled into Sedona Sunday morning in time to have a delicious espresso at the Bike and Bean.  Not only do they have great coffee they are also the local Santa Cruz dealer. So I was able to get the spare derailleur hanger for my Nomad that was proving so elusive to source in Victoria.

Just follow this wiggly line...

We had a few hours to kill before we could checked in to our hotel. A fun shakedown ride was in order.

A-Man ready to ride....

We cranked across the highway to the Bell Rock Path and rolled north to Little Horse Trail. This isn’t hard riding, but Aaron and I are both fighting off colds not to mention our pitiful sea level lung capacities so there was some huffing and puffing.

Aaron staying legal...

It was a warm and sunny day with glorious singletrack spiced up just enough with rocky technical sections. It only takes 5 minutes of riding to remind you why the crazy long road trip was more than worth it.

Blue sky mine...

Little Horse Trail took us to a super fun ride down Llama Trail back towards the Bike and Bean. Fast curvy singletrack with bermed corners and traction galore. Pretty much the exact opposite of riding around Victoria!

Dusty...

I’m happy to report that all my technical suffering at the Hartland MTB Park has paid off with some displays of skill on the grippy rock steps and drops Sedona threw at us.

Sedona 2012…

Red Rocks - Rock!

I was totally bummed when I couldn’t go down to Moab last fall and mountain bike. I have a special relationship with the desert that puts a huge smile on my face every time I roll my tires across its dry rocky trails. However, life does place obstacles in our path that can’t be denied sometimes. That said I am nothing if not persistent! So I’ll be down in Sedona from about 26 Feb through 6 March. If any blog readers are in the area and want to hook up for a ride and some beers just drop me a line. Aaron “A-Man” Mankowske will be accompanying me to get his fine Kona Explosif all dusty…=-)

Sorry for the lack of advanced notice, but I didn’t want to be talking about the trip until it was pretty solid. I don’t want to be that Blogger that’s all keyboard and no riding….;-)

Hopefully I can make it down to Moab this fall since Burning Man is a bust for us. I want to ride the Whole Enchilada real bad!

BTW – if anyone knows of cheap accommodation in Sedona that’s got solid WiFi let me know.

S&M Trail

Kurt & Jen enjoying a beautiful desert sunset

Kurt and I hooked up with Dave [owner of The Fat Tire bike shop] and his posse of locals for a group ride Tuesday afternoon.  I should have known we were going to be in trouble when everyone was telling us how much fun we were going to have on the ride!  The trail involved climbing up to a ridge and then riding a winding exposed [ie. death on the right] technical trail down.  Since we left a bit late we then descended some nice singletrack in the dark to top things off.

To make matters worse my bike felt totally setup wrong and I couldn’t clean a technical section to save my life.  It was just one of those days.  Luckily Kurt was having an off day as well so at least I didn’t have to suffer on my own.  Oh well these days have to happen.  I just wish they could happen we I’m riding alone – not on a group ride full of kick ass mountain bikers.

The trail itself was quite impressively diabolical – equal parts fun, pain and humiliation so I’m going to call it the S&M Trail.

The best part of the ride was the post-S&M beer session at the Fat Tire.  It was fun to chat with everyone.

BTW – turns out my Nomad was setup wrong and I was fighting the bike the whole ride.  I’ll post about that separately.

The Fat Tire Bike Shop – Sedona

The Fat Tire Bike Shop - Sedona AZ

The Fat Tire bike shop is a small one man operation in Sedona Arizona.  The owner, Dave Cichan, is a super friendly guy who is extremely passionate about bikes.  That in itself is not remarkable in the bike industry, but he backs up his passion with a deep knowledge of how modern bike designs work.

To give you an example I was having issues with my front tire washing out in turns – which was frustrating and scary.  I mentioned it to him after the Tuesday night ride expecting a quick suggestion on how to resolve the problem.  Instead we spent well over an hour as he showed me CAD renderings of bike suspension designs, leverage and sag curves – all  the while applying this theoretical knowledge to adjust the suspension on my Nomad.  After we adjusted everything I rode the bike and it was a completely different experience.  I could turn hard on the gravel parking lot and instead of washing out, the tire dug in and the bike carved.  Dave jumped on it and decided we were most of the way there, but needed to tweak the suspension a bit more – so he took even more time to make changes.  Keep in mind this whole time the rest of the ride group is chatting, drinking beer and generally carrying on – while Dave worked on my bike.

After a delicious dinner at the local pick – The Hideaway Restaurant – we went back to Dave’s shop to grab our bikes.  It was late and we were all beat from the hard ride, but Dave eagerly jumped on Kurt’s Nomad and gave him the same treatment.  Totally adjusting the suspension setup on his bike as well.  Finally for good measure he made a couple more changes to my bike that came to mind over diner and working on Kurt’s rig.  By the time he was done it was 11pm.

Dave truing up a wheel.

Both of us were stunned at how well our bikes performed afterward.  We are both smart people with engineering backgrounds, but bike suspension is not our forte.  I now know how little I actually know and appreciate Dave’s expertise a whole bunch.  When someone understands both the theoretical and practical sides of a subject they become extremely competent – that’s Dave.

It should be clear that the service at the Fat Tire bike shop is exceptional.  It will certainly be my first stop on any trip to Sedona.  In fact if I got a new full suspension bike or had issues with my Nomad in the future Dave would be my go to guy.  Even if it had to be over the phone or on-line.

If you need trail advice, repairs, parts or just want to get a feel for town before you start riding head over to the Fat Tire bike shop and chat with Dave.

Dave helping a customer setup his bike.

The Fat Tire Bike Shop

325 Jordan Rd., Sedona, AZ 86336

928.852.0014 [tel] – 928.852.0044 [fax]

dave@thefattire.com – www.thefattire.com

Update: I got to go back to the Fat Tire Bike Shop in 2012 and had another great experience.

Mountain Bike Heaven Sunday Group Ride

Taking a break in the shade.

We dropped by the Mountain Bike Heaven bike shop in Sedona for their Sunday group ride.  Our posse was 21 riders strong which was an interesting change from all the riding Kurt & were doing alone on this trip.   Everyone was super nice and didn’t complain too much when the Canadians got flats – of course everyone else was running slime!  The ride itself was quite long between Sedona and the nearby town of Cottonwood with lots of nice singletrack and a route that Kurt & I would have never found on our own.  After fixing two flats and drinking all our water we were pretty happy to see the shuttle vehicles and sip some cold beer.

We made a few friends on the ride who we will hopefully ride with during the rest of our stay in town.

Since we had to keep up with the group we didn’t take many photos.  You can see the ones we did take on Flickr here.

Thanks to the folks at Mountain Bike Heaven for organizing the ride!…=-)

Kurt making sure his bike is well secured in the shuttle truck.

Hello Sedona!

Riding Sedona

Our first day in Sedona delivered the yummy tight singletrack goodness that we were looking for…=-)  No major climbs – just rolling desert singletrack smack in the middle of town – awesome!

Rather than try and follow a specific trail we just grabbed a laminated map [as well as a couple double espressos...=-)] at the Bike & Bean then rode like mad without a care in the world until we were so beat we could hardly turn the pedals!

You can see our Sedona photos on Flickr here.

Kurt getting his Techno on...

2 more sleeps…

then red rocks here I come!

Memories of Sedona