Two Wheeling

So what would a trip to Sedona be without a trip on the Mountain Bikes?

We took off this morning for what we thought would be a nice easy ride through the red rocks. The trail maps that they give you are just an approximation. It looks something like the map if you turn it around and tilt your head one way and close one eye.

The trails were quite nice. It took us around the base of these huge rock formations that all have a name. This one on the right, below, was called the Castle Rock.

We completed the first loop and we thought that maybe we should continue because that one wasn't so bad. Hey, look at this on the map! This next loop doesn't seem like it is that bad or too long! We set off what turned out to be a steady one mile climb that took us about 900 feet up. Once we arrived at the top we continued down the other side looking for this next trail that would form the loop. Pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal, pedal...you starting to get the idea? There, lets try that trail. Under the highway and pedal up hill some. Under the highway again and pedal up hill some more. At this point we were both quite tired and very hungry. Between breaths I managed to snap this picture of Reta that pretty much summed up how we both felt about this time in our ride.

We finally made it back to the top of the one mile hill and all the Gods were helping us as we descended the 900 feet down to the parking lot. It totaled close to 9 miles that we rode and ascending a total of 1400 feet in all. It was quite a workout and the only thing we wanted to do at this point was to get back to Road Hazard and fire up the grill.
Oh yes, remember that we are riding around these huge RED rocks? The bikes kick up some dirt while you're riding.

This isn't a tan line but it shows how much red dirt my legs had attracted.

Wednesday we are on the road again and are headed for Phoenix, Arizona.