Tips for Mountain Biking in Sedona, Arizona

Berry Stevens (bt3mtbiker(at)earthlink.net) offers the following advice about mountain biking in the Sedona, Arizona area.

In case you’re thinking about riding in Sedona in the near future, here’s a few tips to make you better prepared & able to have a most excellent time.

Slime tubes. An absolute must. Cactus is EVERYWHERE. Off trail, near trail, overhanging trail. Those spines will ventilate your tubes & you will flat, repeatedly on every ride. If you do any of the bike shop rides, they will drop you if you flat & have not Slimed your tubes. If you’ve Slimed & flat, then they’ll wait & help fix it. Who wants to spend your vacation fixing flats? Of the 4 guys in my group, the ones w/o Slime have flatted more than once a ride. ’Nuf said.
Fat tires. You&Rsquo;re going to want to run very fat tires here, At LEAST 2.35 front & rear, if not larger. The locals run 2.5 fr & 2.35 rear, minimum, some larger, always @ low psi, 30 or less. Most are Maxxis treads, with a few Nokian or Kenda. I’ve been running 2.4 Mutano Raptors fr & rear @ 30-32 psi and have been very happy, no pinch flats (I weigh ~160 lbs) and great traction. Narrow, high pressure (40 psi or more) tires will punish you & not deliver very good traction. You&Rsquo;ll bounce & skip all over.
Soft soled mtb shoes. Those hard plastic, lugged soled shoes that work so great on the soft soils in the Bay Area will get you hurt on the slick rock & hard surfaces here. You&Rsquo;ll skate on the slick rock & end up on your tush, or worse. Those soft, rubber soled mtb shoes you’ve always thought were for newbies & wusses work great out here. You will do a fair amount of hike a bike here & shoes you can walk in, that will grip on hard surfaces, are vital to both your enjoyment and your safety.
Body armor. Even if you’re a very conservative rider who always stays within your ability and NEVER falls, you STILL should wear knee/shin armor here. Most of the locals do. Brushing of trails doesn’t happen here; it almost seems they like to leave cactus & other dry, sharp vegetation over hanging the trail if for no other reason than to keep you on it. Knee & shin armor will keep your otherwise exposed flesh from being shredded by passing succulents & dried branches. I got Fox’s el-cheapo ($12.00) knee/shin armor that attaches w/ velcro straps & have been very happy w/ them.
Maps & trail guides. Cosmic Ray’s latest edition, "Fat Tire Tales & Trails" (New Mighty Moto {Locals Only} Edition) is the most useful guide you can buy. He’s updated the maps & descriptions & added the newer trails. There is no one good map, but there are a couple that are helpful. The "Tan" map, "Sedona by Trail" is helpful, tho not updated. The Chamber of Commerce has a map by J&H pub, which is a street guide w/ trailheads marked, and it is useful, too. The US Dept of Agric, Coconino Natil Forest, Red Rock Country map has value as well. The best way to get to know the area is to do any of the bike shop rides; especially the Mt Bike Heaven rides on Wednesday & Sunday @9AM. You&Rsquo;ll get a great intro to the trails & see some truly great riders in action. Bike & Bean and Absolute Bikes, both in Village of Oak Creek, just South of Sedona, lead shop rides, check w/ them for days & times.
Trails. The trail network you access from the end of Shelby, across from the Recycle Center, are a great introduction, provide multiple loops & access to/from Red Rock State Park & Red Rock Crossing. Carroll Canyon, Old Post, Herkenham and Ridge are worth riding & using to complete larger loops. Cathedral Rock is a must in either direction. Broken Arrow/Chicken Point/ Little Horse is THE classic Sedona ride; be sure to do the side trip to Submarine Rock & then do Llama Trail @ the end. The other classic is Huckaby/Jim Thompson/Jordan/Secret Trails/ 7 Sacred Pools/ Tea Pot/Thunder Mt, in either direction, an all day fun fest. My other new favorite is to do the Munds Wagon Trail, up Schnebly Hill Rd. Best as a Downhill, so consider arranging a shuttle up to the Vista Point by Carousel Rock & dropping from there. The hardy riders can grunt up from the bottom @ Huckaby Trailhead, or you can get dropped off on top of the mesa & do the uppermost portion too, which is somewhat more hairball than the portion below Carousel Rock. More variety, challenging, but not hairball; about ten miles of very fun DH singletrack with about 1200’ of elev loss.
Seasons. You can bike here year ’round if you’re tough or hardy, but it’s cold & will rain or snow Dec thru Feb. June thru early Sept is brutally hot & either very early or very late in the day rides are the only way. Spring or Fall are best with April & October being prime. A few other tips/suggestions. Bring a hydration pack that can carry at least 100 oz or more & have at least two cages on the bike. This is desert, after all, so it’s not only dry, but with more temperature change during the day or altitude, so you’ll not only want to carry more fluids, but clothing you’ve shed during the ride. Blowfish & HAWGs are the ticket here. In short, with a few changes in gear you can easily ride one of teh most beautiful places on Earth & have more fun than you can imagine. Come on down & try it out!

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