pt. I
WEST SEDONA TOUR
May 20, 2019: WEST SEDONA TOUR (attempt #1) | Sedona, AZ • 🚲
Sedona, Arizona is about 4300ft above sea level, nestled in a valley with vibrant sandstone cliffs all around. There tons of hiking and biking trails near town. When I think of the south, especially the desert, I picture it being hot and dry all the time...but today it was a pretty chilly with thunderstorms galore. I guess May can be unpredictable anywhere in the world.
Looking at the radar, figured we’d better get out as early as possible to try and beat the weather.. made it about 4 miles in and it started down pouring. Luckily, found a corner of shelter near a restroom during the aggressive storm.. It wreaked but at least we found a bit of relief! After 30 min of rain to hail back to rain, we tucked in and rode the rest of the way back to the van.. drenched and freezing but at least got to see a portion of the WS Tour!
pt. II
DEAD HORSE RANCH STATE PARK
May 20, 2019: DEAD HORSE RANCH STATE PARK | Sedona, AZ • 🚲
Got changed to some dry and warm clothes and headed back into town.. I was hangry so we decided to grab breakfast at a strange little place that turned out to be damn good.
While eating my new favorite meal, green chili relleno, and drinking 4 or 5 cups of coffee we remembered the folks at Over the Edge Sports (Sedona) mentioned Dead Horse Ranch State Park - it wasn’t too far and hopefully a little less busy. So off we went! Ended up doing a quick 10 mile loop and stayed dry but all around rain storms were brewing.
pt. III
TEACUP TRAIL
May 20, 2019: Teacup Trail | Sedona, AZ • 🚲
Later that evening the rain had cleared so we went on a nice little hike above Sedona to cap off the day.
pt. IV
JUST KEEP SWIMMING | Sedona, AZ
May 20, 2019: Sedona, AZ • 🐠
Had very few opportunities to hop in the water - happened to find a pool nearby and was able to get some laps in. I don’t think I was ever fully dry.
In and out of weather, we made our own little Sedona Tour which was great! I had hiked some of the classic Sedona routes with my cousin Chris and friend Emily in the past, but hadn’t had the chance to MTB or see it all.. and still hadn’t! Sedona is massive and trail systems are extensive.
Only thing that would have been better was to somehow meet up with my childhood friends Emily and Nick that recently moved to Phoenix or my cousin Chris that had been living in Phoenix / Scottsdale area for the last 10+ years.. I was able to see them prior and hopefully again soon - I was slowly realizing AZ was added to my list of places to look for jobs and decided I was definitely coming back!
DAY 14 RECAP: climb: 1200 + 378 + 0 = 1578 ft • distance: 14.4 + 3.4 + 1.5 = 19.3 mi