AZ Gravel Rides

14/08/2024

Here's the gpx for the Fire in the Sky Ride. It's a 120 mile double loop covering the eastern end of the Mogollon Rim country connecting Heber, Taylor and Showlow. It can be ridden in a single day or as a two bikepacking route. There are numerous places to camp along the way or you could get a hotel room in the Snowflake-Taylor area or Showlow. There is also a bike shop in Showlow, Cycle Mania. Stop by, the owners Mike and Carol are awesome.

GPX is at https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/ under Eastern Arizona.

The name Fire in the Sky comes from a 1993 American movie based on Travis Walton's book The Walton Experience, which describes an extraterrestrial abduction. The Travis Walton UFO incident was an alleged alien abduction of American forestry worker Travis Walton by a UFO on November 5, 1975, while he was working with five others in the Apache–Sitgreaves National Forest. Walton went missing for five days and six hours. After a massive manhunt was initiated Walton reappeared by the side of a road near Heber, Arizona. The Walton case received mainstream publicity and remains one of the best-known alien abduction stories, while scientific skeptics consider it a hoax. Initially police suspected foul play after it was reported that Travis had had a verbal altercation with another crew member that morning. The crew volunteered to take a lie detector test. Four men passed the test and one test was inconclusive. Police also interviewed a couple camping near Black Canyon Lake and they reported seeing the same bright light in the sky that the crew members saw. The abduction site is between miles 102 and 103. If you are riding the route clockwise you most likely will pass through this area just at dusk. You can't miss the site, it's in a large circular clearing (posted a photo of Minnie and our grandson standing on the exact gps coordinates)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The alien in the last photo is not real, it is a replica.

Support our sponsors: McDowell Mountain Cycles and Redshift Sports. They make these ride possible.

11/08/2024

Finally found a way to get from Forest Lakes to Show Low avoiding the notorious Rim Road (aka FS 300). 93% UNPAVED!

Here's a link to a video I shot riding the section between Show Low and Heber.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/uRY1DCPufSJ1qeMR/

08/08/2024

Dodging monsoon storms again this morning on the Heber South Loop but we were able to get the full ride in. Roads are in excellent condition, smooth and no dust! Thinking of adding the Black Canyon road to next year's Ride Across Arizona 2025 to include a re-supply opportunity in Heber. Super fast and no washboard!!!

Ride the Arizona Divide / Ride Across Arizona / Riding AZ E-Gravel

https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/

07/08/2024

Looking for a fall adventure? Look no further than the Arizona Divide Off-Road Trail. Ride all or part of it, it's amazing.

The Arizona Divide is the point where water will either run north or northwest into the Colorado River watershed or south or southwest into the Gila River watershed. So water on one side might flow into the Little Colorado River and be sent plunging over Grand Falls or crashing through the rapids near the Grand Canyon. Water on the other side of the divide might flow over the red rocks of Oak Creek Canyon or wind its way through the Salt River reservoir lakes before joining up with the Gila River.

The Arizona Divide Off-Road Trail (developed by AZ Gravel Rides) follows a 270 mile route that extends between Parks and Alpine Arizona. The course itself is 75% dirt and gravel roads and was designed for bicycles but is open to all vehicles except for a short section near Flag and Forest Lakes that can easily be bypassed using paved roads. In fact, excluding those two sections, the entire course can be driven with a high clearance two wheels drive!

The numerous waterways from both sides of the Arizona Divide eventually wind up in the same place, the Colorado River, but the amazing routes the water has created to get there are extraordinary!

More info and the gpx can be found at:

https://azgravelrides.com/arizona-divide-offroad-trail/

01/08/2024

The Old Munds Highway Loop, nice 40 mile loop through the pines just south of Flag. Nice day trip from Phoenix or Prescott. Avoids driving into Flag, park at Fort Tuthill Bike Park.

Mile 1 through 20 are also part of the Ride Across Arizona route. I literally smoked this section at this year's RAAZ!

GPX at:
https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/

Route sponsors: Redshift Sports and McDowell Mountain Cycles

Reminder to use the code AZGRAVEL for 20% off any of the Redshift Sports products.

26/07/2024

Fun summer getaway ride just out of Ash Fork. Park at Welch Road. Ride abandoned sections of Route 66 and visit a railroad tunnel before stopping off at Williams to restock. Then it's some awesome gravel roads before jumping on I-40 to bomb the downhill with the big trucks before arriving back at Welch.

https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/
Northern Arizona Routes
Johnson Railroad Tunnel (42 miles, 71% unpaved)

25/07/2024

A few weeks back someone contacted me for a recommendation for a bike. I asked him what type of riding he would be doing and he was interested in getting out on the dirt and gravel backroads of Arizona. I told him that the best bang for the buck is to get the lightest hardtail mountain bike he could afford. He was really disappointed but I stand by that. Can't speak for anywhere else but I do know Arizona backroads and they are harsh. Riding a pure gravel bike severely limits the number of areas you can ride comfortably in AZ. Ideally I think a bike worthy of the Tour Divide makes for the best option for AZ backcountry riding. Check out this video* on what folks ran this year at this year's Tour Divide, especially if you're taking on the upcoming Ride the Arizona Divide or the Ride Across Arizona 2025.

* Should be noted that Lachlan Morton, although he had an impressive run, did not set the FKT for the Tour Divide. He had a media vehicle following him on his ride. That record belongs to this years TD winner Justinas Leveika who crushed the previous FKT by 20 hours.

Here are the fastest current Tour Divide setups, as well as some key areas where riders could make some big improvements in the future! 📘 The Bikepacking Bi...

22/07/2024

Updated GPX is available for the Ride the Arizona Divide

https://www.facebook.com/events/675455698057987

The updated GPX for the Ride the Arizona Divide 2024 event is posted at https://azgravelrides.com/ride-the-arizona-divide/

For those interested a group of individuals will be riding the 426 mile Ride the Arizona Divide route starting September 23rd. Why 9/23? It’s simply the best time of the year to ride the White Mountains and Northeast Arizona! The are no entry fees or registration. The route uses public roads, anyone can join in. This is not an organized or sanctioned event in any way. Each rider is responsible for their navigation and well being. We will be following the current route posted on this page. For those that want to start at the same time meet at Tall Timbers Park in the community of Heber AZ at 6:00AM on September 23rd. Do not leave your vehicle at the park.

18/07/2024

It's been a few years but we decided to take a run up to Horsethief. Shocked to find the entire road completely covered in packed down gravel. Used to be a rutted rock strewn dirt piece of crap. We rode it all the way to the wilderness boundary. Only saw one motorized vehicle. Had the entire lake and campground to ourselves. Even stopped by the cabin that Minnie spent her childhood summers at. Awesome day!

16/07/2024

Looking for some forest service road riding away from all the crowds? Check out Quemado Lake in Catron County, New Mexico. As stated in a previous post Catron is the largest county in New Mexico and the third least populated. Quemado Lake resides in the Gila National Forest approximately 20 miles south of the Town of Quemado on US Route 60. It's a five hour drive from Phoenix or Tucson. There are three lightly used campgrounds; El Caso, Juniper and Pinon. We stayed at Pinon and there was only one other camper using the site. The gpx listed on AZ Gravel Rides (Quemado Lake - Pie Town) is a 94 mile out and back all offroad ride to Pie Town. During the ride you'll pass over the Continental Divide (and the official CDT Trail) before hooking up with the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (mile 16.5) where you'll follow the route into Pie Town where you can enjoy a piece of pie and a cup of coffee before heading back to the lake.

All three campground have toilets and drinking water. There is a campground host at Juniper. The route to the lake is paved for easy RV access. Great fishing at the lake also. It's been stocked with the Tiger Muskies, catch one over 41 inches you can keep it!

The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association and travels 3000 miles from Jasper, AB to Antelope Wells, NM. The 2700 mile section from Banff AB to Antelope Wells is raced each June as the Tour Divide, considered by many the toughest race in the world.

https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/gila/recarea/?recid=79490

Please consider supporting our sponsors McDowell Mountain Cycles and Redshift Sports who help make adventures like these possible!

11/07/2024

Photos from our recent trip exploring the backroads of Catron County in New Mexico, located just east of Apache and Greenlee counties of AZ. Catron County is New Mexico's largest county by area and it's third least populous. That translates to a lot of gravel roads with no people. We rode a couple hundred miles and rarely saw any motorized vehicles. Since there's so little off-road traffic there is little washboard too.

We stayed at a campground right next to a lake and there was only one other camper. Definitely headed back there again this summer!

07/07/2024

Daily training ride: Fun little stretch of singletrack before I jump on the Iron King for that final push home.

Super stoked to be heading over to New Mexico for a few days this week to ride in Catron County.

28/06/2024

Video from the first 100 miles of Ride Across Arizona 2024.

27/06/2024

Final GPS is available for the September 23rd Ride the Arizona Divide!

26/06/2024

Back to PV and training for the challenge later this fall. So lucky to have places in PV, Heber and Mesa where I can string great training routes together with very limited contact with motorized vehicles. "Groad" riding at it's best! First time I remember seeing that term used was by Burke Swindlehurst describing his training routes in Utah.

24/06/2024

Found this 12 mile stretch of two track this morning that eliminated a good chunk of the dreaded Rim Road. Now we only need to ride 20 miles of the Rim Road to get from Heber to Show Low for the Ride the Arizona Divide loop this fall.

Those cute puffy clouds turned into a nasty monsoon storm on the way back. We tore up the course coming back trying to beat the rain. What a blast!

https://azgravelrides.com/ride-the-arizona-divide/

21/06/2024

This is Chevelon Butte, part of the Ride the Arizona Divide route. There is another huge installation just across the border in New Mexico. Two years ago there wasn't a single wind turbine here, now there are hundreds. Each one can power 940 homes for a year. This site covers thousands of acres. Nearby Coronado Generating Station can power 800,000 homes per year and sits on 100 acres. What uninformed group of people thought this blight on the landscape was better for the environment? Obviously someone who spends zero time exploring the outdoors. Install them in the places that consume the most electricity, like Phoenix and Tucson. Maybe that would serve as a constant reminder for those folks to cut back on energy usage.

20/06/2024

Running out of territory in AZ so riding further and further east into New Mexico. Didn't see a single vehicle today except for a Texas Tech truck and a Forest Service crew. The wind was off the charts! So was the scenery!

16/06/2024

USE THE CODE AZGRAVEL FOR 20% OFF ANY REDSHIFT PRODUCT!

Redshift Sports has come out with a new suspension seatpost, the Shockstop Pro Endurance Seatpost. We've used Redshift suspension seatposts for the last four years on the 620 mile Ride Across Arizona. Over 80% of the course is unpaved, everything from crossing the Mojave and Saguaro deserts to the high mountain passes - from the Cali border to New Mexico. The course is brutal making for an excellent test for any offroad product. Redshift products rock, no manitenace and never an issue. Add a suspension stem and any bike becomes full suspension.

Go further! Ride faster! Watch the video as I overtake a five engine train along Transcon and then later in the trip blast up Green's Peak (elevation 9600 feet) in the White Mountains.

For more info on Ride Across Arizona visit:
Ride Across Arizona 2025

12/06/2024

With monsoon season quickly approaching in the high country and temperatures staying above 110 in the deserts the ITT window is quickly closing for anyone attempting to best Dana Ernst's FKT record for the Ride Across Arizona. They'll need to wait until an even shorter window (basically the month of October) in the fall before the snow arrives. Not that it's very likely anyone in the state could beat Dana's time of riding 616 miles across AZ, border to border, in under 68 hours!

His record setting ride has generated a lot of interest. Check out some of the of the stories that detail his effort.

https://binarybicycles.com/pushed-to-the-brink-dana-ernsts-extraordinary-suffer-fest-ride-across-arizona/

https://bikesordeath.com/ep-181-daniel-connell-aka-dirtydan/

Dana Ernst: Math Professor, Race Across Arizona FKT Holder, Bikepacking Race Director: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J96zjo0h5yU&list=PLuLvZ58xuMySj2ykHqTUScxFzYz4UcLvD&index=1

06/06/2024

Out and back to Sycamore Point this morning
averaging 12.5 mph on 98% gravel roads including the brutal washboard along Garland Prairie Road. It was hot as hell, showed 109.7 on the Garmin.

This is a great e-bike route. The Ramblas has superior long range over the Tero so I drafted off the Ramblas (less than a wheel length) and managed to do the out part to Sycamore (24 miles) with only 19% battery usage. Ran the Tero at 30% assist for the first 18 miles back and then pumped it up to 50% along FS 140 and never dropped under 17 mph.

Both of us are getting really good at conserving battery usage on these bikes. We can get 150 miles on the Ramblas and 100 on the Tero.

 

05/06/2024

What northern AZ road is this. Part of a century gravel loop that can be done as a one day extreme route or an overnight bikepacking route. Numerous places to refuel and camp. Recharge station for ebikes too. Great beginner route. GPX coming soon.

https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/

https://azgravelrides.com/adventure-motorcycle-routes/

04/06/2024

The new West Williams Gravel Loop utilizes some lightly used forest roads that have some rough rocky sections but the reward is some primo sections with no motorized vehicle traffic. Link in bio.

azgravelrides.com

04/06/2024

Killer campsite with a million dollar view. Headed out tomorrow for the Bill Williams Loop. Super fast gravel roads. Stoked!!!

https://azgravelrides.com/arizonas-best-gravel-road-routes/

28/05/2024

Back to Prescott Valley for another summer. Finding some new stuff to ride. This marks the 16th year of my retirement plus when I first really got into gravel road riding. So many of the old roads are gone (paved over of housing developments) but I'm still finding new ones to ride. When the new state park opens in Chino it'll extend the Peavine to Paulden. From there it will be easy to get to Ash Fork and Williams all off-road.

25/05/2024

Ride Across Arizona on E-Bikes
Day 7 (Mile 532 to the Finish)

Minnie woke up with either a cold or the lingering effects of the smoke may have caused a sinus infection. Turned out to be the smoke inhalation. I took the first pull doing everything humanly possible to extract the most out of the battery. By now I was getting the hang of this hyper-mileing. Every downhill I switched the motor off and never went above Eco mode even on the steepest climbs. Luckily so much of the section is downhill and that I was able to make it all the way to mile 598 before reaching the limits of the battery. Minnie took over at this point and almost immediately it started to rain. With the risk of hypothermia setting in she stopped to put her rain gear on as she descended into the Blue Valley. When she made the turn off the Red Hill Road onto the Blue River Road she was greeted by sunshine and temps in the high 70's. Perfect way to end this arduous journey. We learned a lot about ourselves along the way with one of the most important things we discovered was that my bike needs a bigger battery. Also wanted to mention that Minnie was so thorough on planning for this trip that the only thing we spent money on was fuel, ice and that camper cabin in Seligman!

In conclusion: Hopefully our pioneering of long distance off-road travel by e-bike will create opportunities for more people to take on outdoor adventures like the Ride Across Arizona or the Ride the Arizona Divide. It doesn't need to be a torturous experience that only the fittest riders can survive. With proper planning and a minimal investment it's a great way for seniors and families to get out and enjoy the outdoors. It will also help to bolster the economies of the many small communities that the route passes through. Who knows maybe the powers that be (Visit Arizona) will see the benefit ebikes provide and promote the installing of charging stations at the various towns along these routes like you see on the bike routes throughout Europe. If you have any questions about bike, vehicle or camping setup please feel free to forward them on to [email protected]

https://azgravelrides.com/

25/05/2024

Ride Across Arizona
Day 6 (Mile 431 to 532) Forest Lakes to Greens Peak

This was a massive day and the ebikes performed beyond expectations. Minnie took the first pull along the dreaded Rim Road. This is the roughest stretch of the entire route. It is truly hell on earth, miles and miles of baby head rocks along with ruts so deep they'll bottom out most 4 wheel drive trucks along with hill after hill after hill. Although with very little traffic, including campers, it is a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of the various wildlife including turkeys, wild horses, deer and elk. It only took her four hours to get through the 50 miles to Show Low.

I took over on the pavement knowing that getting to our goal of Highway 260 would be nearly impossible on a single charge. This section includes the highest point on the course at nearly 9600 feet. I tried to ride as much as I could in Eco mode. The Specialized Tero comes with programmable settings and I configured each as follows; Eco 20% assist, Trail 30% assist and Turbo 50% assist. At even the slightest downhill I switched the motor off and pedaled with no assistance and I didn't use the trail mode until the massive climb up Greens Peak. At the end of the video you can see that even in Eco mode the power that these bikes put out. Even the best climbers in the world would be hard-pressed to respond to an attack like that on their acoustic bikes. Just as I reached the peak the bike started reducing power as it is programmed to do when the battery gets too low. We decided to call it a day four miles short of our goal, the 260. We had expected that this would be the coldest part of the course so we had made the decision to drive back to the comforts of the cabin at Heber to rest up for our final day!

Yep, another Patrick sighting! He went on to camp near Winn Campground.

https://azgravelrides.com/ride-across-arizona/

23/05/2024

Ride Across Arizona Day 5 (Mile 376 to 431)

Minnie had developed saddle sores so we decided she should take the day off and we would ride to Forest Lakes and pack up the bikes and head over to our daughters cabin in Heber. I quickly made short work of the 55 miles up and over the Mogollon Rim and it was on to the cabin. Bathroom, shower and a fireplace made for a relaxing evening. I forgot to mention before the trip Minnie had downloaded movies that we could spend the evening watching. At the cabin we didn't have to squint to watch a small screen but were able to watch a movie called Rendition on a big screen. Made us realize how much we took for granted the simple conveniences of everyday life. Of course we had our daily meetup with Patrick White who by now had become our close friend.

https://azgravelrides.com/ride-across-arizona/

23/05/2024

Dana Ernst becomes the first Arizonan to hold the FKT record for the Ride Across Arizona course.