nathan
November 26th 03, 04:36 AM
Scot Cooper and his girlfriend Desiree invited us to stay with them in
Sedona last weekend and sample the Muni rides there. Scot had tried it
out last year and recommended it highly.
We drove in from Phoenix arriving after dark Thursday and so couldn't
see the area around Sedona. In the morning, it was clear and sunny and
what a sight! Red towers and beautiful cliffs and spires all around
town! We linked up 3 trails Friday which took about 4 hours. Megumi and
Desiree hiked along enjoying the scenery and shooting some photos. The
riding was very enjoyable, with technical sections, but nothing super
extreme. Some steep climbing but not too long or tiring. The temp was
perfect, warm and nice. The resort we stayed in had a great bar with
pool tables and Beau was legal until 10pm, so we played for 3 hours!
Saturday we did a slightly shorter ride, the Broken Arrow trail out to
Chicken Point. There's a 4WD jeep trail right nearby and quite a bit of
riding on slick-rock so it reminded me of the SlickRock Trail in Moab
last March. It was windy and cooler, but clear and nice. We saw only one
MTB rider the whole day plus several hikers. In the late afternoon, we
drove over to a nearby town where Megumi was the featured storyteller at
the local "Tellabration", an annual world-wide StoryTelling Festival. In
the evening, Beau demanded a chance to get even with us in pool and
promptly won 3 games.
Sunday we did another 3 1/2 hour ride that was just fantastic. Varied
terrain, technical sections, gorgeous scenery in all directions plus
nice weather. But the highlight was visiting one of Sedona's famous
Vortexes. These are areas of great metaphysical power supposedly. I've
only been to the one, but it sure looked magical when we saw it...across
the river, looking from pure shade into gleaming orange sun light,
seeing hundreds of small rock towers (one to five feet tall), carefully
constructed beside a beautiful river. It was too much for me: I just had
to go over but there was no crossing. We found one spot where you had to
wade only a few steps, but the water was two feet deep, fast and cold.
The tree branches we grabbed for handholds were encased in ice. But it
was worth it and we spent some time adding on to the towers and building
some new ones as well as just feeling the peaceful power of the place.
Funny exchange: Scot sees a dry well-dressed couple wandering around:
"How did you get here?" Woman: "From the carpark, just over there".
Obviously you didn't have to do 3 miles of Muni and cross an icy river
to get there.
After the ride, we met up with my cousin Becca, now a doctor in Zuni,
New Mexico. We went up to the Sedona Chapel and found a secluded spot
for a picnic lunch that was just great. The chapel is up on a hill,
overlooking the valley, with great looking red cliffs all around.
Definitely check it out if you're there. After lunch, we headed down to
the Bike and Bean store nearby, chatted with some riders, then packed
our bags, blasted 90 minutes to Phoenix and flew home.
We were thinking it might be fun to have a Muni Weekend in Sedona, but
I'm not really sure. It would be difficult to pull off without a local
doing some of the organizing. Cheap places to stay don't seem to abound,
and while gorgeous and fun, the trails are probably not as technical and
maybe not as plentiful as around Moab. Still, if you're ever going
anywhere near Sedona (and not in summer), I would recommend several days
there riding - you won't regret it.
Has anyone else ridden around Sedona?
'Here are some photos'
(http://community.webshots.com/album/101771836Jawyiy)
---Nathan
--
nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker
------------------------------------------------------------------------
nathan's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/251
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/29070
Sedona last weekend and sample the Muni rides there. Scot had tried it
out last year and recommended it highly.
We drove in from Phoenix arriving after dark Thursday and so couldn't
see the area around Sedona. In the morning, it was clear and sunny and
what a sight! Red towers and beautiful cliffs and spires all around
town! We linked up 3 trails Friday which took about 4 hours. Megumi and
Desiree hiked along enjoying the scenery and shooting some photos. The
riding was very enjoyable, with technical sections, but nothing super
extreme. Some steep climbing but not too long or tiring. The temp was
perfect, warm and nice. The resort we stayed in had a great bar with
pool tables and Beau was legal until 10pm, so we played for 3 hours!
Saturday we did a slightly shorter ride, the Broken Arrow trail out to
Chicken Point. There's a 4WD jeep trail right nearby and quite a bit of
riding on slick-rock so it reminded me of the SlickRock Trail in Moab
last March. It was windy and cooler, but clear and nice. We saw only one
MTB rider the whole day plus several hikers. In the late afternoon, we
drove over to a nearby town where Megumi was the featured storyteller at
the local "Tellabration", an annual world-wide StoryTelling Festival. In
the evening, Beau demanded a chance to get even with us in pool and
promptly won 3 games.
Sunday we did another 3 1/2 hour ride that was just fantastic. Varied
terrain, technical sections, gorgeous scenery in all directions plus
nice weather. But the highlight was visiting one of Sedona's famous
Vortexes. These are areas of great metaphysical power supposedly. I've
only been to the one, but it sure looked magical when we saw it...across
the river, looking from pure shade into gleaming orange sun light,
seeing hundreds of small rock towers (one to five feet tall), carefully
constructed beside a beautiful river. It was too much for me: I just had
to go over but there was no crossing. We found one spot where you had to
wade only a few steps, but the water was two feet deep, fast and cold.
The tree branches we grabbed for handholds were encased in ice. But it
was worth it and we spent some time adding on to the towers and building
some new ones as well as just feeling the peaceful power of the place.
Funny exchange: Scot sees a dry well-dressed couple wandering around:
"How did you get here?" Woman: "From the carpark, just over there".
Obviously you didn't have to do 3 miles of Muni and cross an icy river
to get there.
After the ride, we met up with my cousin Becca, now a doctor in Zuni,
New Mexico. We went up to the Sedona Chapel and found a secluded spot
for a picnic lunch that was just great. The chapel is up on a hill,
overlooking the valley, with great looking red cliffs all around.
Definitely check it out if you're there. After lunch, we headed down to
the Bike and Bean store nearby, chatted with some riders, then packed
our bags, blasted 90 minutes to Phoenix and flew home.
We were thinking it might be fun to have a Muni Weekend in Sedona, but
I'm not really sure. It would be difficult to pull off without a local
doing some of the organizing. Cheap places to stay don't seem to abound,
and while gorgeous and fun, the trails are probably not as technical and
maybe not as plentiful as around Moab. Still, if you're ever going
anywhere near Sedona (and not in summer), I would recommend several days
there riding - you won't regret it.
Has anyone else ridden around Sedona?
'Here are some photos'
(http://community.webshots.com/album/101771836Jawyiy)
---Nathan
--
nathan - BIG rides: Muni & Coker
------------------------------------------------------------------------
nathan's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/251
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/29070