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I needed a mini epic so I headed to South Mountain. It was cool and breezy but still short sleeve and shorts weather for me, I wanted to climb.

I started at the 46th street lot and warmed up on Javelina. I love that trail. Then up Mormon to National to the Buena Vista lookout. From there it was down, down, down… Geronimo. I was having so much fun I didn’t even see the junction to the east leg of Geronimo. I just kept rolling down the roller coaster on Scout Camp to the bottom.

Still feeling some legs in me I road to the Mormon TH on 24th Street and headed up, up, up. I’ve been down Mormon before but never up. There were more rideable lines than I thought and I was able to stay on the bike for more than half the climb. The other half I was spinning out, clipping out and falling over. Eventually submissing to hike-a-bike to ascend what I couldn’t ride.

I met a few downhillers from Flagstaff down to escape the snow. They were headed for Geronimo. From the Mormon junction it was sweet sailing back down to the 46th Street lot via Javelina again.

From Geronimo

I finally got out to San Tan Mountain Regional Park last week. I’ve read plenty about the Santan’s in the past that kept me from exploring the area. Horse tales and sand traps are enough to keep any mountain biker away, not to mention all the doubletrack and jeep roads. I live so close to the Skyline trailhead that I still had to see for myself.

So glad I checked the park out. The heavy rains from the past weeks plus some serious riding by someone out there has packed the trails quite a bit. The gem trail of the San Tan Park is the wide Hawes-like singletrack on San Tan trail that loops to the south and rounds a big mountain. I could tell horses had been there but the MTB presence was cutting right through the hooves and forming a sweet trail. Nothing technical at all but plenty fun and fast. I love the adventure of a new trail.

I rode the San Tan trail counterclockwise from the Skyline TH. Just making it up and over Goldfield Mountain is an epic couple of miles. Once I was on the main loops even the doubletrack was a hoot. You can ride fast and keep a good pace. Going down Moonlight trail from the west side of San Tan is a blast. There are a couple of swoops that can give big air. Goldmine trail is nothing but a wide jeep road, but it completes the loop so ya gotta ride it.

The sandy spots on San Tan trail are on the east side, right out from the staging area up to a fork to the singletrack. I wouldn’t recommend doing the loop clockwise. Unless you like to climb in sand. But you can sure fly down it if you keep your speed up.

The San Tan trail from the Skyline TH is pretty much a “rite of passage” into the park. I don’t think many riders enter from here. There are four stages to the 1.1 mile climb. Stage one, the “warm up” from the gate that doesn’t even come close to getting you warm enough for stage two, the first big up. It’s rocky, technical, and pretty steep, but plenty of cleanable lines.

Then there’s the period of rest, about 100 yards of down before a little more of that cleanable technical uphill. The trail levels off again. Now it gets fun. The third leg of the climb starts off with a warning sign. I’ve only made it about 75 feet before losing it. But that was 50 feet further that the first time I attempted this leg. Most riders will begin the quarter mile hike-a-bike here. For the last 200 feet, the climb steepens enough to give it its own stage. It’s a monumental hike-a-bike, steep, loose, and rocky.

The drop down into the park is steep too, loose in spots but rideable and very fun. If you haven’t been to San Tan park I recommend the rite of passage. The epic climb plus the singletrack to the south make riding the oversized jeep road worth it.

Living is Arizona this time of year is as good as it gets for mountain bikers. While the mountain bikers in the arctic regions up north are stowing their bikes for a long winter’s nap, Phoenicians wake each morning to warm sunny skies and a tough decision to make…which trail should I ride today?

Since the end of October I’ve logged nearly 80 miles in pristine riding conditions on some of the best singletrack in the state. When I needed a short riding fix in the middle of the day I headed to Pass Mountain. I rode the cutoff trail from the Usery Pass Road up to the saddle then back down in about an hour.

I finally scouted out and rode the south east leg of Casa Grande Mountain. That section of trail reminded me of Bootleg Canyon, not quite as technical but plenty fast and exposed.

I spent a Saturday morning at the packed Trek Demo Days at South Mountain. An hour and a half clipped into the Fuel EX 9.5 cruising Desert Classic was enough to make me sing sweet praises to Trek engineers.

Sunrise in the afternoon is beautiful; I climbed with the sun on my back then descended the back side in the cool shade of the mountain.

For Thanksgiving I hit the Highline, Military Sinkhole, Drew 291 and Willow Springs Lake trails up on the Mogollon Rim. Even at 7700 feet the weather was perfect for Turkey Day riding. The very next weekend the first snows covered the rim. Glad I got a good 30 miles in before saying goodbye to the high country for a few months.

The occasional winter rains leave the trails in perfect sticky condition for making fast turns and cleaning technical climbs. Such was the day I rode Wild Horse and Big Rock trails near the Hawes Loops. Wild Horse is casual sticky sweet singletrack at me feet.

As I stroll through, hammer up or hoot-n-holler down the plethora of trails this desert valley sets before me, I have to ask myself one question: Do I feel lucky? Man do I feel lucky.

The best part about this time of year is I still have the rest of December, all of January, February, March, April, and even May to ride these conditions. When it’s finally summer time again, I’ll still have my favorite trails in the wee hours of the morning, and there is always the Rim, Sedona and Flagstaff if I want to sleep in. Arizona is a year round mountain biker’s paradise. Come visit this winter, the trails are waiting…