Riding around Sedona

Second day at Sedona. I don't know exactly what to ride, so I decide to do a combination of different trails around the city, in order to try a bit of everything. I left the car at the Bridge where the Wilson Trail starts. Good climb on the Jim Thompson trail. Then it connects to Jordan Trail and Thunder Mtn trail, which are both a lot more fun than Jim Thompson. Nice loop around (clockwise) around Chimney rock, the downhill from the pass is pretty intense. Back to Thunder Mtn Trailhead. Ride south on the asphalt, cross the highway, and finally found the hidden trailhead near the recycle on Shelby Drive, where the Bandit trail starts. Then I tried to do the Airport Loop Trail counter clock wise, but had to give up after a mile, bored of pushing the bike. I did a part of it clock wise and met hiker who told me I missed the most exposed part.

From the parking lot on the Airport Road, I connected with the Brewer Trail which is another nice technical fast downhill. A few km on the asphalt to get to the Muckaby trail. That one made my day, it's an amazing single track, that goes up and down along the ridge of the cliff above Oak Creek. Although I was a bit disappointed to find out that no bridges would let me get back on the other side of the river. Huckaby is a out-and-back trail, but it's fun in both directions. Back to the village and up the 89A to the car. That was a great circuit by I would recommend leaving the car at Cibola Trailhead, Jim Thompson was not that fun, and the ride up the 89A at the end of the day pretty boring.

48km, about 3.5 hours on the bike.

Sedona: First ride of the season

I am on my way to Orange County, where I'm going to spend a month, working in a boring cube. I just drove 45 hours and I am all excited by the warm temperature. I've decided to stop in Sedona for a day or two to enjoy the great single tracks that I discovered here last year.

First ride of the season: I leave the car at the Back O'Beyond, trailhead, ride the short climb to Templeton trail, enjoy the awesome view on Cathedral Rock and head east along Templeton Trail. Go under the highway, then connect to the Llama trail, via a nice section on the Little Bell trail. Llama trail then connects to Little Horse, easy climb to another awesome view at Chicken Point, followed by an amazing fast downhill along the Broken Arrow Trail. To go back to the car, just follow Morgan Road and find the Mystic Trail to avoid riding on the highway.

Around 20km, maybe an hour and a half. It's a good warm up, and it gives a good overview of Sedona's riding.