2002 Mountain Bike Festivals
The 7th Annual Benefit Tour of the White Mountains was early this year - September 21. Like last year, the start and finish was at Thunder Horse Ranch. Events this year included:
66 Mile Trail Race Tough - experienced riders only (6.5 to 8.5 hours)
52 Mile Trail Challenge - strong - experienced riders only (4.5 to 6.5 hours)
41 Mile Trail Tour- Good for experienced riders (3 to 4.5 hours)
35 Mile Forest Service Road - Suitable for most fit folks (3+ hours)
10 Mile Forest Service Road Breeze Ride
I really wish NRMC would let me know when the race is. After all the years I volunteered, you would think I'd have an inside track to info. Not so. I hope the early date didn't take you by surprise! (it did me)
Jeez. The closer you get to 50 the less the hammer heads keep you in the loop. Just kidding! Enjoy!
2001 Mountain Bike Festivals
The Third Annual Valle Redondo Fat Tire Fiesta includes Group rides (separate beg., int., adv. rides), hill climb race, Huffy toss contest, dinner, drinking, probably a little rain. August, 24th to the 26th
The 6th Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held this year on October 6th and 7th. Like last year, the start and finish was at Thunder Horse Ranch.
2000 Mountain Bike Touring
The 5th Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held October 7, 2000. This year the tour started at Thunderhorse Ranch, about 7 miles from Lakeside on Porter Mountain Road. There was accommodations, food, showers, and other amenities!
The Singletrack Challenge was still be 50 miles, but it was slightly harder with the climb up the back side of Blue Ridge Trail from Thunderhorse Ranch. From there, the course follows last year's track, including parts of Springs Trail, Country Club Trail, Country Club/Los Burros Connector Trail, and Los Burros Trail. .
For more information, contact:
Navapache Regional Medical Center Foundation
Tour of the White Mountains
2200 Show Low Lake Road
Show Low, AZ 85901
1999 Mountain Bike Touring
The 4th Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held on Saturday, October 2, 1999. Turnout was lower than in past years, probably because of all of the summer rain. However, the trails were in good shape and the weather was perfect.
Scheduled Events included:
As usual, proceeds benefited the Navapache Regional Medical Center in Show Low, AZ. This time it's the newborn babies.
The 25 and 50 Mile Mountain Bike Tours were on the same routes as the 1996 through 1999 tours.
The 46 Mile Single-Track Challenge continues to be just that, a challenge! It follows the same trails as the 1999 course. As usual, this is an awesome course. The aide stations are quite frequent, and since this isn't a "race" (sure) a leisurely stop at an aide station for a drink and a bite to eat makes the journey seem that much more enjoyable. If you want to turn it up a notch, 3.5 hours is the time to beat.
1998 Mountain Bike Touring
The 3rd Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held on Saturday, October 3, 1997. Scheduled Events included:
As usual, proceeds benefited the Navapache Regional Medical Center in Show Low, AZ.
The 25 and 50 Mile Mountain Bike Tours were on the same routes as the 1996 and 1997 tours.
The 46 Mile Single-Track Challenge was just that - a challenge! It follows the same trails as the 1997 course, only some of the legs are on different parts of the trails, effectively extending the round-trip by 11 miles! This course passes through some of the best single-track trails anywhere. If you really like single-track, don't mind climbing hills, can stand a few rocky spots, have a tough butt, and want to see some of the best forest in the Southwest, be there next year!
1997 Mountain Bike Touring
The Second Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held on Saturday, October 4, 1997. Scheduled Events included:
All proceeds benefited the Chemotherapy Unit at Navapache Regional Medical Center. Walkathon proceeds will benefit White Mountain Safe House.
The 50 and 25 Mile tours will follow the same course as last year. The 35 Mile single-track option is a new addition covering parts of Blue Ridge Trail, Springs Trail, Country Club Trail, and Los Burros Trail.
Course Description 25 and 50-mi. events:
(right from the flyer):
"Exit Blue Ridge H.S. parking lot right onto Hwy 260 .8 mi.
to Porter Mountain Road to Vernon. Ride through Vernon south on
Old Vernon - McNary Road (Forest Road 224) south, picking up
25-mile riders at Vernon Elem. School. Continue right on FR 3,
left onto FR 267, right onto FR 283, right onto FR 185, left onto
FR 182, right onto FR 187, through the subdivisions back to the
high school."
Course Description 35-mi. single-track
challenge: (right from one of the organizers):
"Um, I don't know. Um. It will go down, um, you know, Blue
Ridge to Springs, then over to, um, what's it called? Oh yeah,
Country Club. From there it will go over to Los Burros, loop back
on the high side of Country Club, back on the road. I think. Oh
yeah. That's it."
Course Description 35-mi. single-track
challenge: (right from the flyer):
Exit Blue Ridge H.S. left onto Hwy 260, and immediately left
through Moon Ridge and Pine Ridge subdivisions. Enter FR 187 to
Blue Ridge Trailhead. Ride lower half of Blue Ridge Trail to
connector trail and top of Springs Trail. Take Country Club
connector (cross FR 182) to lower Country Club Trail to connector
(cross FR 224) to Low Burros Trail. Follow Los Burros
counter-clockwise back to connector to upper Country Club
counterclockwise. The detour from CC back to connector to Springs
Trail is well-marked. Ride upper Springs Trail back to Blue Ridge
Trail back to FR 187, through subdivisions to 260 and into Blue
Ridge H.S. parking lot, track and finish line!"
You may want to review the trail descriptions to get a feel for the challenge this will indeed present!
1996 Mountain Bike Touring
The First Annual Tour of the White Mountains was held on Saturday, September 21, 1996. Events included:
Proceeds benefited Obstetric equipment at
Navapache Regional Medical Center.
Kids events benefited Pediatric medical equipment.
The 50 Mile event started and ended at Blue Ridge High School in Lakeside. The 25 Mile event began at the Vernon Elementary School after the 50-Milers pass and followed the remainder of the same course.
Course Description (right from the flyer):
"Exit Blue Ridge Elementary School parking lot right onto
Hwy 260 .8 mi. to Porter Mountain Road to Vernon. Through Vernon
on Old Vernon - McNary Road (Forest Road 224) south. Right on FR
3, left onto FR 267, right onto FR 283, right onto FR 185, left
onto FR 182, right onto FR 187 to Pino Ridge and back to Blue
Ridge High School. All events will begin and end at Blue Ridge
Schools except the 25 Mile Tour which will begin at Vernon
Elementary School.
The course will be swept at 5 p.m.; all riders still on the
course will be picked up."
Over 100 riders came from as far away as San Diego, Albuquerque, and Mexico.
The 2000 MBAA/NORBA Arizona State Championship Point Series again will not see any cross-country races in the White Mountains. In fact, no Downhill/Dual Slalom events are currently scheduled. Bummer. I'm getting too old for that stuff anyway.
The 1999 MBAA/NORBA Arizona State Championship Point Series decided to NOT have any downhill or slalom venues, so coupled with the not-so-great enthusiasm of the White Mountain Apache tribe, there were NO Norba-sanctioned cross-counter races scheduled at Sunrise or any other place in the White Mountains for 1999. Perhaps the trails are too tough for the weenie Valley racers!
However, there were three downhill and dual slalom races held at the park. The first MBAA/NORBA Downhill Dual Slalom Series race was held July 31 and August 1. The second was held August 21 and 22. The third (yes - that's THREE in one season!) is happening September 25 and 26.
An editorial note on the 1999 Cactus Cup. The race was but a shadow of its former self. Exhibitors were way down, attendance seemed but a fraction of years past, and the race format was, well, amateurish. The new sponsors, Gravity Brothers, tried their best to live up to the Specialized legacy, but they fell short. Maybe next year?
On June 12-14, the 1998 MBAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING SERIES Finals was held at Sunrise Ski Resort. This was a NORBA-sanctioned event.
The 1998 Cactus Cup has changed venues. They have moved to McDowell Mountain Park. This is a far better course than the 1996/1997 old one was.
AMBA
The Subaru 1997 Arizona Mountain Bike Series was picked up by the AMBA. This year it included the White Mountains. The "Kick Ass At Los Burros" (Race #5) was held July 20 on the Los Burros trail. This is a great 14-mile loop with killer single track. The down side to this trail (from a racer's point of view) is that passing opportunities were limited (read "lots of single-track").
The other down side was the race format: mass-LeMans style two-lap free-for-all. Novice, Sport, Expert, and Pro all went together and banged it out head-to-head for two full laps. There was a lot of lapping of slower riders and the extensive length of single track kept the faster riders bottled up. Bummer. Contact Soulstice Racing Company, P.O. Box 22249, Flagstaff, AZ 86002 for more information.
MBAA (NORBA)
The Mountain Bike Association of Arizona (MBAA) State Championship Point Series Race included Sunrise Park Resort for the MBAA 1997 State Championship Series Finals June 13-14-15, 1997. The races included downhill, trials, and dual slalom events, and the cross-country continues to be a climbers event! The weather was great (cool, but sunny) and the course was in very good condition.
1996 Mountain Bike Races
MBAA held their canceled race #7 (to have been held in Payson) at Sunrise Park Resort September 7th and 8th, 1996. The organizers had cross-country and dual slalom events only. They weren't interested in the downhill. If they are going to have a race at a ski resort and not have a downhill, WHAT'S THE POINT?
I didn't get a chance to attend, but I've heard a lot of feedback on the race. Most of the beginners whined about how difficult it was (1 lap, 6 miles!!). Altitude had a lot to do with it.
This race was a NORBA event sponsored by The MBAA. Check out their Info Line at(602) 946-4308.
The Show Low leg of the 1996 Arizona Points Series was canceled. However, 11 locals turned out for an "impromptu" race of their own! In this spirit, there was a short-lived, non-sanctioned race series that sometimes held local road or mountain bike challenges. Check locally for information on any current non-sanctioned (but very fun) races.
I took 9th in the 35-44 class. Not too bad for my first race in a year-and-a-half! OK. It was the novice group. I'm not quite ready for prime time! However, my time was over 6 minutes ahead of the next person in my class. I was 38 overall (out of 356), so I don't feel too bad.
Chris, my 16-year-old son, took 3rd in his class! He also did quite well in the downhill (9th) and dual slalom (2nd round). These were his first races ever!
However, I still have bragging rights. I beat his cross-country time by 2 minutes!
Here is a mini photo album of the event.
Back to Mountain Biking in Arizona's White Mountains Home Page
9/18/02