Mountain Biking in Flagstaff

Antoinette, Jeff, Steele, Tom, and Will

Five Lowell Riders, ten wheels, and spectacular 80 degree March weather in Sedona! After a beastly cold and wet winter in Flag (much as the moisture is needed), cabin fever is the order of the day, and this ride was a welcome change of pace. This was a photo-op smorgasbord, and in the interest of download time, I've included only some of the shots I got on this beautiful ride from Bell Rock Pathway to the Llama Loops, Templeton Trail, Cathedral Rock, and Buddha Beach.

We rode up Bell Rock Pathway from the Circle K and headed onto the Llama loops, where there is lots of curvy, fairly straightforward singletrack. Will, Tom, Steele, and Antoinette posed for a group shot at our first food break, with one of the massifs of the Mogollon Rim looming behind us.

Antoinette's nephew Will caught some air off this drop. I took the picture just a split second too late, so instead of catching him airborne, I got him making a nice solid landing with his Turner 5-spot.

Just after the first break was a loose ascent. There was a rocky lip at the top that dabbed Steele and me, and then I stopped to get some triumphant pictures of everyone else clearing it...or not. How does the saying go: "Like aunt, like nephew"?

From Llama loops we cut back to the tunnel under Highway 179 and picked up the Templeton Trail. Here's the group (Steele, Tom, Will, and Antoinette from nearest to most distant) cruising along through slickrock heaven.

A classic mountain biking shot: small riders in a huge land.

Here's part of Cathedral Rock from Templeton Trail. The rest of the group was getting pretty well ahead of me, but the view here was just too beautiful not to record for posterity. Though the trails were completely dry, there was still water seeping down the rock faces from the recent wet winter.

Descending the switchbacks on Templeton from the base of Cathedral Rock to Oak Creek was a little too hair-raising to worry about taking pictures, but once we got to the bottom we took a break near Buddha Beach. It was about 80, and a number of other bikers and swimmers were around. Here's Steele taking in the view. Oak Creek is still running briskly, and much of the trail here was totally unrideable, with freshly washed-out rocks and trees strewn across it.

And finally, the Absurd Moment of the Day: after contemplating the view for a few minutes, Steele decided on a quick head dunk in Oak Creek while Will took a snack break. Tom's shadow in the picture makes Steele look as if he's floating, though at the time it looked more like the aftermath of quite the endo.

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