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The goal of this year’s AZSF is to allow more people to ride in more locations. We have more riding options this year than in any year before. This is not to spread out the groups but rather to give people more options. Another reason why we organize this unique gathering is for the post-ride gatherings, we all want to chat and what better place to do that than after a great ride. All too often we do not have the chance to meet people on the trail or at the local race. This is your chance to ride and then relax around a campfire, bar, cookout, keg, outside of Bike n bean or other post-ride gathering location mentioned below. We encourage you to come join us this year.

Here is the current ride schedule:

March 10-14, 2010

Tucson-Thursday

Phoenix-Friday

Sedona-Saturday

Prescott and Black Canyon Trail-Sunday

Ride Leader List:

Helimech (Mike)

Liteandfast (Dave Woodhams)

Azepicriderandrunner (Chad)

BigWorm (Vern )

Chalkpaw (Tomas)

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Wednesday March 10 Pre-Fling Rides and Parties

This year, we are starting the Arizona Spring Fling off with the biggest Pre-Fling party ever. We have all levels of riding in 4 different cities, almost all require some light, so make sure to bring charged up lights and/or extra batteries. The sun tends to set at 7:00pm in March.

Pre-Fling on Wednesday in Prescott

Ride Leader:

Ride difficulty: B
Meeting place/time: see below
Details: 0900

Directions:We’ll meet at the old-railroad grade on the left side of Iron Springs road. This is before the OHV area, so if you reach that you’ve gone too far. The railroad grade is about a mile up Iron Springs Road past the Granite Basin turnoff, and directly opposite of that is trail 332 (Circule Trail). The general ride plan will not change drastically, as we’ll probably ride up to trail37 for the descent on 40 into Granite Basin, but this makes for a better meeting-spot with easier bail-options.

I’d make this a B ride, one serious climb in the beginning, good descent to start it off after the climb, then gradual descending, followed by gradual climbing, with a shorter steeper climb at the end. It’s ~20 miles or so with options to extend and shorten.

Pre-Fling C Ride Level at Papago Park

Ride Leader: Kaboose

Ride difficulty: C Ride

Meeting place/time/details: 5:00pm FIP No lights required, yeah! Meet in the parking lot west of the zoo entrance and ride around the golf course, buttes, hole in the rock and go south beyond the jumps. 14ish miles of riding. Post-ride gathering will be organized and discussed after the ride.

Pre-Fling on Wed at Hawes

Ride Leaders: liteandfast

When: Wednesday, March 10th, 5:00 PM
Meet: Walgreens, 3624 N Power, Mesa, AZ 85215 (meet in the back of building-west side.  Please bring lights and cameras, we will catch the sunset.
Ride: This is a “B” ride where we will be riding the standard Hawes loop with sunset views at the top of mine.
Post Ride: We have the options

Wednesday Hairball Margarita Night Ride (WHBMNR)

When: Wednesday, March 10th, 6:30 PM    Helimech can help out Epicrider Dale on this ride if need be?
Meet: Aunt Chilada’s, 7330 North Dreamy Draw Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85020
Meet in the south parking lot.
Directions: http://www.auntchiladas.com/location/
Ride: This is an technical “A” ride where we will be dropping down the Hailball DH, one of the most technical trails in the Phoenix Mountain Preserves and we will be doing it at night! We will start and end the ride at Aunt Chilada’s. The route will be about 6-miles long and will take about 2 hours to complete the loop. The ride includes 1/4 mile 300′ hike-a-bike climb to get to the top of Haiball. At which point we will strap on the armor. Then the next mile we drop 600′ over some really great super chunkness and then short HAB then the final drop down the Super Chutes to end the ride.
Bike: 6″ All moutain bike that can climb a little works best. Also bring Armor!
Post Ride: We will party in the patio at Aunt Chilada’s with Margaritas and food. Aunt Chilada’s is bike friendly and we can park our bikes in the patio if yo udo not have secure way to hide or lock you bike in you car

Wednesday T-100 B/C Level Night Ride

Ride Leaders: Randy Harris

When: Wednesday, March 10th, 6:30 PM
Meet: Aunt Chilada’s, 7330 North Dreamy Draw Drive, Phoenix, Arizona 85020
Meet in the south parking lot.

Directions: http://www.auntchiladas.com/location/

Ride: This is a technical B/C+ ride depending on the route we take, it will be based on T100. Depending on those interested in this ‘non-Hairball ride’, and the quality of your night lights, we have options. We can either ride in Dreamy Draw hitting some nice technical single-track on trails like 1A, Irregular Link, VOAZ Loop, Cheese Grater as well as Zipper, 8, and T100; or we can head west on T100 which isn’t as technical but has good ascents such as Birthday Hill, Disneyland, Mine Drop Loop and then the climbs going back east on T100. We will be meeting up with the Hairball ride at Aunt Chilada’s to drink beer, eat some tacos, and socialize.

Bike: If you have lights, no doubt any bike you want to bring will be fine for this ride.

Post Ride: We will party in the patio at Aunt Chilada’s with Margaritas and food. The purpose is to burn a few calories before binging on tacos and beer and listening to the stories of the Hairball group.

Pre-Fling on Wed: Tucson Starr Pass “B” Night Ride

Ride Leaders: BigWorm aka Vern
Ride difficulty: “B” ride
Meeting place/time: Bring your lights. Meet at Starr Pass parking lot at 6:00 PM. Plan to ride about 2 hours.
Post-ride Beer: Ride/drive down to 4th Avenue for some beer and food at Bison Witches.
Ride Description: Starr Pass is more hilly than most of Tucson Mountain Park and provides greater ride variation for a given trail. This area is heavily covered in cacti. Flat-proofed (slimed) tires and pliers to remove cacti from your bike or yourself are recommended. Lights required also.

Pre-Fling on Wed: Tucson Starr Pass “A” Night Ride

Ride Leaders: Chad
Ride difficulty: “A” ride
Meeting place/time: Bring your lights. Meet at Starr Pass parking lot at 5:45 PM. Plan to ride about 2.5-3 hours.
Post-ride Beer: Ride/drive down to 4th Avenue for some beer and food at Bison Witches.
Ride Description: Starr Pass is more hilly than most of Tucson Mountain Park and provides greater ride variation for a given trail. This area is heavily covered in cacti. Flat-proofed (slimed) tires and pliers to remove cacti from your bike or yourself are recommended. .

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Thursday, March 11: Tucson

Tucson A: -Bug Springs-Prison Camp-La Milagrosa
Ride Leader: Helimech, Mike K.
Ride difficulty: “A” ride****Note**** This ride is very, very advanced, possibly the most advanced ride for all of AZSF. Riders should be able to descend obstacles with ease. Full suspension (although not mandatory is highly recommended). If you have armor, bring it.
Meeting place/time: Meet at LeBuzz coffee shop (9095 E. Tanque Verde Road, Tucson, AZ 85749) at 9AM. Both groups meet at the same time and will leave shuttle up at different times, A going first.

Tucson A: 50 Year Tech Ride

Ride Leader: Chad
Ride difficulty: A- Ride
Meeting place/time: 3:30 at Rubio’s on Oracle/1st

Tucson C: Sweetwater Afternoon Ride

Ride Leader: Veelz (scott)
Ride difficulty: C Ride
Meeting place/time: Sweetwater at 4:45pm
Directions: This is an awesome place for night riding. Take Ruthrauff Rd. west of I-10 where it then turns to El Camino del Cerro. Approx 1 mile west of I-10 you will cross Silverbell Rd. Keep going west about another 1.8 miles until you come to Tortalita Rd. turn left (south). Go about 1 mile until the road dead ends. Trailhead is here. After the ride, we will be heading to Bars on Bikes that starts at Rincon Market (see Tucson Pary Info below for more about the Bars on Bikes).

Route Description: We will be doing a small loop, around 5-7 miles, 1-2 hours. Here is a map of Sweetwater: http://www.tucsonmtb.com/clipart/sweetwater_map.jpg

Tucson Party Info

Wednesday Night Ride

Starr Pass/Tucson Mountain Park Big Parking Lot
at 6:00pm
Post-race Beer and Food at Bison Witches on 4th Avenue (

Bring your I Bike Tucson or AZSF T-Shirt to this event!

This year, Bars on Bikes is on 3/6 (the week before AZSF)

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Friday, March 12: Phoenix, South Mountain/T100 rides

SoMo A:

Ride Leader: Chad
Ride difficulty: A

Meeting place/time: at 9:00am. Please bring water. It would be nice to chat for a few minutes with all the other group leaders, so make sure to be a little early if you want to meet some people.  Bring lots of water and snacks, we can drop stuff off at BV (water and snacks) if we have to.
Directions to Pima Canyon at South Mountain: Located at 9904 S. 48th Street and Guadalupe Road. Map of South Mtn

SoMo B+++

Ride Leader: ChongoMan (Bob) –National, Holbert, Up Ranger, National, Road to BV , Corona Loma, DC back to Pima
Ride difficulty: B+++
Meeting place/time: FIP at 9:00am, North Ramada, Pima Canyon (Same as above)
Directions to South Mountain: see above

SoMo B+

Ride Leader: DurtGurl (Kathleen)

Meeting place/time: FIP at 9:00am, North Ramada, Pima Canyon (Same as above).
ROUTE: Up Mormon to National to Telegraph.  Road back to Buena Vista.  Down National.  Distance will be about 15 miles (not exactly sure) and time maybe 5 hours. Call this ride an “A-” for technical and a “B—” for pace.  Pace will allow for frequent photo, snacking, and bullshit stops. Be sure to start with a full 100oz bladder and snacks.

SoMo B-

Ride Leader:

Meeting place/time: at 9:00am, North Ramada, Pima Canyon (Same as above). Leave after meeting everyone from other groups.
ROUTE: Up the fire road to javelina, down javeline to east/west loop, then over to DC, with a few options to drop off if it gets long. Otherwise, this is a fun ride, plenty of time to take pictures, enjoy each other’s company, etc.

T100 C from Aunt Chilada’s

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Saturday, March 13 – Sedona

All Sedona rides should aim to be back at Bike n Bean between 2-3. There will be plenty of pizza and beer, but this will guarantee that we all are there for socializing. If you arrive early, the beer will be ready to pour!

All Sedona Rides (unless noted below) will be parking in the Bell Rock Parking Lot (see directions below) and will be congregating at Bike n Bean. Please make sure you read the directions. There will be maps available on MTBR in a few weeks. After parking your car and gearing up, venture to the Bike n Bean to buy some coffee and other goods that you may need, sit back and wait for everyone to show up. If you want to rent a bike in Sedona, Bike n Bean is offering 10% off any rental! Check out their rentals by clicking their link.

Sedona A

This Sedona advanced ride will be referred to as the Triple-H ride. The Triple H names come from the three main trails that make this ride extra special. Those three trails are Hangover, Hog Heaven and High Line. In order to complete this ride we will be connecting multiple trails that will make this ride difficult to follow unless you are very familiar with the Sedona trail system. Be advised that there will be many short sections of this ride that an advanced rider will not be skilled enough to ride the first time through, so be prepared to use good judgment where appropriate. If you suffer from a fear of heights this ride will make you nervous in several sections.

Unlike some of the other AZSF Sedona rides this ride will start at the intersection of Hwy. 179 and Schnebly Hill Rd. There is plenty of parking within ½ block of the starting point, but the final ending point of the ride will be at Bike & Bean which is approximately ten miles south on Hwy. 179.

Since this ride will be pushing 18 to 20 miles over five to six hours in total, not everyone who starts the ride will want to do the whole ride. There will be numerous bailout points and if you can’t make the 9:00 AM meet time and 9:30 AM start time there will be several other meeting points along the route where people can hook-up with the group.

I will bring a cell phone for linking up at other meeting spots along the way. The second meeting spot will be back at Hwy. 179 and Schnebly Hill Rd. The third will be the Broken Arrow Parking lot. The forth will be the Little Horse parking lot. And the fifth will be the parking lot at the base of Bell Rock.

Due to the length of the ride I am recommending bringing lots of food and at least 100 ounces of liquid. I will have a car parked at the three quarter point that will have bulk apple berry flavored Cytomax for energizing and tap water available to top off hydration packs.

If people have questions about the ride, please feel free to ask those questions on the MTBR thread: http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=592325 and I will try and answer those questions to the best of my ability.

Ride Leader:
Meet at 9:00am at Bike n Bean, get some coffee, socialize and then we ride. (I liked that part)
The ride departs at 9:30am

Details: from Bike n Bean head south on 179 to Bell rock Blvd.go west to Verde Valley School Rd. go west again and pick up Baldwin / Buddha Beach / Templeton / HT / Little Horse / Chicken Point and evaluate plan /Broken Arrow / Morgan Rd. / Mystic / Chapel / Little Horse / Llama / Bell Rock Pathway / Bike n Bean / Beer….you know the same old boring stuff.
there are some spots to do a bale-out if needed.
I will be riding a SS and I’m slow so I may be leading from the back at times all in all this should be a great ride bring your camera and lots of water and snacks…in case we get lost, just kidding.
see you all at the “Bean”

Sedona B-

Ride Leader:
Details: Meet time will be 10 am with a 10:20ish departure.

Meeting place is the IGA parking lot: Take I-17 to SR-179 to the Village of Oak Creek. Soon after you enter the town, you will turn left at one of the round-abouts onto Verde Valley Rd and IGA will be on your right.

Route: Verde Valley road to Buddha Beach to Templeton to Mystic to Broken Arrow to Sub Rx to Chix Pt to Llama to Bell Rock to pizza at B&B… the yellow route on Dale’s map.

Ride will be ~21 miles but will be at a relaxed pace. I’d rate it “B-”.

Sedona B

Ride Leader:
Start location: Bike n’ Bean (see directions below). FIP @ 0935.
Details: Route TBD.

Sedona A/B

Ride Leader: Local Sedona will be leading this ride

Start location: Bike n’ Bean (see directions below). FIP @ 0940.
Details: Route TBD.

Sedona B-C

Ride Leaders:

Start Location: We will be meeting in the IGA parking lot. There is plenty of parking here and it suits are ride better to start from the IGA. Directions available here.

Details: Paul’s ride will be a B to C ride. Meet at 9:3oam.

Sedona C

Bell Rock Parking Lot Directions: Take the Highway 179 exit that leads to Sedona. Seven miles in you will encounter not Sedona proper but The Village of Oak Creek (VOC).
Travel through the round abouts until you get near the last light, a street called Bell Rock Blvd. Just before the light, on the right side of the road you will see Absolute Bikes and an Ace Hardware Store. BUT, instead of turning right into that little parking lot, directly across on the left side of the road is a big parking lot, which y’all should use. There is a two story strip mall building there. The one business I really like there is a Thai restaurant. Park the car. From there, once all geared up, carefully cross the road to the Circle K. From there ride up to Bike n Bean. Its a few hundred yards from the Circle K. No need to purchase a silly red rock pass. Save your $5 for pizza and beer.

Post Ride Party at Bike n Bean in Sedona. Free Beer and $10 pizza.

We will be meeting at Bike n Bean again this year for the after party. Bike n Bean is once again buying our beer! The only thing is that we have to buy the pizza, so bring some cash! Bike n Bean has been sponsoring the AZSF for years, please do your part by supporting them with merchandise, coffee, and passing the good word along to everyone.

If you need a place for lodging in Sedona, check the FAQs link above or check out this link.

Free Camping will be available at Beaver Flats south of town both nights (Friday and Saturday night). We will be driving up from Phoenix after the party, setting up camp, and doing the Sedona rides the next day. Since BCT is close to Sedona, we will be finishing off the Oak Creek keg that Bike n Bean has given us (remember to support our sponsors), then going back to camp to continue the social/happy hour. All parties are welcome; there is plenty of space. After turning on Bear Flats, make your first left. A map will be posted and I will have copies for those interested in camping.

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Sunday, March 14: Black Canyon

This is going to be one of the biggest rides of the entire week. If you want to go with certain people during the ride, make sure to try to arrive early. We will start grouping the riders a little after 9am. There is plenty of place to park, so you do not need to worry about parking. There is a post-ride gathering at Rock Springs about 200 yards from the trailhead. They are famous for two things: their amazing pies and very slow wait times, but the beer is cheap! Eat a little bit before the ride if you plan on waiting, or just come join us for beer. Bring some cash to make it easier to separate the checks if you plan on eating.

Black Canyon Trail: B and C rides
Ride Leader: Chad/Walt / Tiffany(early group leader)
Start Location: BCT trail head at 9am Walt’s faster group, Chad’s B– picture taking group will be leaving at 9:30, taking pictures, looking at artifacts, etc. Other rides will start as people arrive. I will be coordinating rides to leave every 10-15 minutes.

Plan is to hook up during the ride with some of the groups, snacks at one of the river crossings. Depending on water level, you may have to get your feet wet. Plan accordingly.

Directions to BCT trail head…Directions: From Interstate 17, either direction; take exit 242 (Black Canyon City and Rock Springs), turn west, proceed to stop sign, turn north (right) on the frontage road, drive about 300 ft to the first road on the left, Warner Rd, and turn left. Drive about 1300 ft to the first cross road, turn right and proceed to the parking area on the right near the end of the road, about 400 ft.

Post-ride Food and Beer at Rock Springs.