Rides in Phoenix, AZ?



Renae

New Member
Aug 8, 2003
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I'm looking for a place to ride in Phoenix, AZ. I am just beginning, and am primarily riding in North Phoenix, but am looking for a place that I can ride for distance/time that is bike friendly (by myself).
I am riding a MTB (on the road, no trails)...but looking/saving for a road bike.
Thanks!
 
Originally posted by Renae
I'm looking for a place to ride in Phoenix, AZ. I am just beginning, and am primarily riding in North Phoenix, but am looking for a place that I can ride for distance/time that is bike friendly (by myself).
I am riding a MTB (on the road, no trails)...but looking/saving for a road bike.
Thanks!

Great riding over in Fountain Hills in the state park. Simply take Shea all the way out then go left on Palisades, take another left at the bottom of the hill, I forget the name of the road. That will take you out to the park. Call Bicycle Ranch in Scottsdale for ride info, ask for Glenn (owner) or Doug. Good guys. I lived out that way for a couple of years, but transfered back to the midwest. have fun.
 
Originally posted by Renae
I'm looking for a place to ride in Phoenix, AZ. I am just beginning, and am primarily riding in North Phoenix, but am looking for a place that I can ride for distance/time that is bike friendly (by myself).
I am riding a MTB (on the road, no trails)...but looking/saving for a road bike.
Thanks!

Depending on where in the North Phoenix area you live here are a few more options. Cave Creek Road once you get pass Union Hills. The Bicycle Ranch every Saturday morning has a ride out to Carefree via Scottsdale Road (still great any time) that starts on Frank Lloyd Wright aka Bell Road. I haven't checked out this last one - but past Sun City on Bell Road there is supposed to be a nice 20 mile stretch with hardly any traffic. My normal one is up 19th ave to Happy Valley road - hang a right and it will drop you back on 7th street (unfortunatly they are doing some road construction and it is only a two lane road for the most part) Let me know if you find some others as I am always looking for another area. Thanks
 
On Bell Rd. beyond Sun City Grand is the Sun Valley Parkway. Four lane highway, wide bike lanes and virtually no traffic. It's on the west side of the White Tank Mountains. You can ride from Surprise to Rte 10 in Buckeye - about 35 miles one way and never see a vehicle. Only in AZ would would they build a 4 laner from nowhere to nowhere! Mostly flat but a few nice climbs for an old guy like me. Take the 101 west to Bell or Grand (turn left on Bell) and go just beyond the end of civilization and you'll probabluy see my car and other cyclists parked on the right. Enjoy the beautiful desert now before they develop it. Of course, bring your hydration!
 
I picked up a bike map of different routes in the Valley. Trails and bike lanes.
You can check it out on-line at: http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/maps.cms
Just click on: MAG Regional Bikeways Map 1999 (back) and
MAG Regional Bikeways Map 1999 (front). They are the last couple lines at the bottom of the page.
I will have to check out the Sun City one soon. I have been riding on the Indian Bend Wash Multi-Use Path lately. Nice for a leisurely ride.
 
I need to get off this thread. It is getting cold and dark here in the midwest and I can only take so much.
 
The cold and darkness are only getting started in the midwest!!!
When I went back home this summer (Minnesota) I only had a chance to go for one quick ride. I went 11 miles round trip, but only came across 4 cars and a tractor and crossed the state line into Iowa! How can you beat that! I would take the midwest over AZ any day. Yes, you have the winter when you can't ride, but out here, riding in the summer is not too enjoyable...especially for someone who is not a morning person so morning rides are out for me. I would love to just go on a blacktop country road where there is little traffic and if you do pass a car it is someone you most likely know!
 
Originally posted by Renae
The cold and darkness are only getting started in the midwest!!!
When I went back home this summer (Minnesota) I only had a chance to go for one quick ride. I went 11 miles round trip, but only came across 4 cars and a tractor and crossed the state line into Iowa! How can you beat that! I would take the midwest over AZ any day. Yes, you have the winter when you can't ride, but out here, riding in the summer is not too enjoyable...especially for someone who is not a morning person so morning rides are out for me. I would love to just go on a blacktop country road where there is little traffic and if you do pass a car it is someone you most likely know!

I am outside Chicago, not quite as far north as MN. Also, need to go a distance to hit those country roads. I know what you mean about the heat out there, but 365 days of great weather is the other trade off.
 
Originally posted by larry barr
I am outside Chicago, not quite as far north as MN. Also, need to go a distance to hit those country roads. I know what you mean about the heat out there, but 365 days of great weather is the other trade off.

129 days of 100 degree weather or above including today - feels like a blast furnance sometimes (dry heat or not). Trust me its not fun - of course biking in 45 degrees or less is not something you would want to do either. Ahhh life.

I guess we could move to Hawaii but that's a little to expensive. Sounds like we need to find a company with an office up north where we can work from May through September or October up there than work in the Phoenix office the rest of the time.;) ;)
 
Originally posted by SLS
129 days of 100 degree weather or above including today - feels like a blast furnance sometimes (dry heat or not). Trust me its not fun - of course biking in 45 degrees or less is not something you would want to do either. Ahhh life.

I guess we could move to Hawaii but that's a little to expensive. Sounds like we need to find a company with an office up north where we can work from May through September or October up there than work in the Phoenix office the rest of the time.;) ;)

I'm ready to go, but my wife is not budging. Wait a second, now there is a thought.
 
Originally posted by larry barr
I'm ready to go, but my wife is not budging. Wait a second, now there is a thought.

im from MI i love it here in AZ, if you cant take the
heat go further N in AZ where there is snow. this state has so many options, i also love to ride 100 degree plus days,
the body gets acclaimed, and its not like it dont cool off
@ night unlike the midwest. i was a fat cow living out there
if it wasnt raining, it was snowing, totaly SUCKS! maybe you
should move out there its getting crowded here.

AND OH YEA, NO MORE MOWING LAWN 3xS A WEEK!!!
AND NO SNOW TO SHOVEL! NO PLAYING RUSSIAN RULETT
DRIVING ON ICE SLICK RDS I COULD GO ON....and all them
cloudy days will set you in a ****y mood.
 
Originally posted by zaskar
im from MI i love it here in AZ, if you cant take the
heat go further N in AZ where there is snow. this state has so many options, i also love to ride 100 degree plus days,
the body gets acclaimed, and its not like it dont cool off
@ night unlike the midwest. i was a fat cow living out there
if it wasnt raining, it was snowing, totaly SUCKS! maybe you
should move out there its getting crowded here.

AND OH YEA, NO MORE MOWING LAWN 3xS A WEEK!!!
AND NO SNOW TO SHOVEL! NO PLAYING RUSSIAN RULETT
DRIVING ON ICE SLICK RDS I COULD GO ON....and all them
cloudy days will set you in a ****y mood.

Brother, you nailed it on the head. Although I have to say, when I lived there I had the best looking lawn I have ever had.
 
Originally posted by larry barr
Brother, you nailed it on the head. Although I have to say, when I lived there I had the best looking lawn I have ever had.

yea a green lawns not worth it though huh:D
you deserve to be here in paridise.
 
You can always ride the Scottsdale greenbelt (Hayden and Shea to Hayden and the 101). It is pretty bike friendly, although there can be alot of people on the path. But the nice thing is that you don't have to contend with cars and traffic.

There are plenty of roads with bike lanes in Phoenix and lots of groups that take advantage of them.

Check out:
http://www.sportsfun.com/gaba/
 
Originally posted by zaskar
im from MI i love it here in AZ, if you cant take the
heat go further N in AZ where there is snow. this state has so many options, i also love to ride 100 degree plus days,
the body gets acclaimed, and its not like it dont cool off
@ night unlike the midwest. i was a fat cow living out there
if it wasnt raining, it was snowing, totaly SUCKS! maybe you
should move out there its getting crowded here.

AND OH YEA, NO MORE MOWING LAWN 3xS A WEEK!!!
AND NO SNOW TO SHOVEL! NO PLAYING RUSSIAN RULETT
DRIVING ON ICE SLICK RDS I COULD GO ON....and all them
cloudy days will set you in a ****y mood.

Ditto, I'm also from Michigan, Mt. Clemens area and I go to college at U of Arizona. Quite frankly, I love Tucson, AZ in comparsion to the Detroit area. The Detroit area is pitiful and terrible and the drivers don't even give you 3-5 feet of space and I honestly want to shoot a few of them idiots.

Thomas Davis
 
Originally posted by tomdavis80
Ditto, I'm also from Michigan, Mt. Clemens area and I go to college at U of Arizona. Quite frankly, I love Tucson, AZ in comparsion to the Detroit area. The Detroit area is pitiful and terrible and the drivers don't even give you 3-5 feet of space and I honestly want to shoot a few of them idiots.

Thomas Davis


hey tom, i lived about 40 miles from mt clemens, i never rode
there but i can imagine how there would be no respect for
cyclist. here in tucson i have ran into a few idiots, one guy
at a red light in left turn lane got ****** because i got in front of him. he got real close to me and cussed me for so called cutting
him off, so i kicked a dent in his truck!
 
Originally posted by zaskar
hey tom, i lived about 40 miles from mt clemens, i never rode
there but i can imagine how there would be no respect for
cyclist. here in tucson i have ran into a few idiots, one guy
at a red light in left turn lane got ****** because i got in front of him. he got real close to me and cussed me for so called cutting
him off, so i kicked a dent in his truck!

lmao! I used to want to kill the *********** out of dem stupid motorists but usually, I just give them a half incredulous look that says, "IDIOT!" and a half ******-off look that says "Get outta my way!" Also, I'm curious, are there any laws or regulations concerning throwing foreign objects at cyclists? I have had a soda can thrown at me twice but they hit my backpack and not me. I never say anything usually unless it's at a stop light and a driver's being stupid. Usually, the motorists are pretty generous to cyclists and as long as I respect the rules of the road as they apply to cyclists, they don't bother me. Usually, the things I tend to worry most about is when I'm on the left side of the street on my mountain bike in my daily commute to U of A for about a block and I hit a light and I gotta be careful about cars turning right there cause they usually don't see me.

It also helps that I'm deaf because cars passing me don't distract me or pull me off course because I'm completely focused on keeping where I'm going rather than worrying about whether a car will pass too close to me. It helps to develop this fearlessness by riding down 1st Ave, trust me, it's a bit nutty but it works.

Thomas Davis
 
>>I used to want to kill the *********** out of dem stupid motorists but usually, I just give them a half incredulous look that says, "IDIOT!" and a half ******-off look that says "Get outta my way!" Also, I'm curious, are there any laws or regulations concerning throwing foreign objects at cyclists?


there should be some kinda of a law about throwing @ cyclist
or anyone else! if that can got caught in the spokes you would
see a bad day. i find myself becoming more and more ******
at motorist i find myself flipping them off as they go by me
passing so close the wind from there car gives me a push!
i get this a lot on oracle, the bike lane is there but they ride
line or cross it! since that idiot @ the light i now carry pepper
spray.

back to the el tour, it realy bums me out how i flatted out
i trained hard for that race. the gaba rides i was doing on
the weekends realy helped alot, the group i would finish
with was fast, our last ride we did 89 miles in 4 hours,
and i do by my self 66 miles in 3hours 15min so dammit
i should have won that race! it was my fault on the flats!


do you plan on riding EL TOUR Phoenix, OR THE TOUR of
Tucson Mountains? them 2 races are my next goals
looking at the times of Tour of Tucson mountains race
i dont have a chance for 1st or top 5 maybe top 10
i see that Rob Alverez has been dominating that race
i guess he has a coach and is amature pro.
since the EL TOUR i have changed my diet i bought a
book on endurance nutrition and it has helped alot!
not making me faster but 3 hour rides are more of a
breeze and recovery is a snap, i never thought eating
the right stuff would make such a differance.
 
Originally posted by zaskar
>>I used to want to kill the *********** out of dem stupid motorists but usually, I just give them a half incredulous look that says, "IDIOT!" and a half ******-off look that says "Get outta my way!" Also, I'm curious, are there any laws or regulations concerning throwing foreign objects at cyclists?


there should be some kinda of a law about throwing @ cyclist
or anyone else! if that can got caught in the spokes you would
see a bad day. i find myself becoming more and more ******
at motorist i find myself flipping them off as they go by me
passing so close the wind from there car gives me a push!
i get this a lot on oracle, the bike lane is there but they ride
line or cross it! since that idiot @ the light i now carry pepper
spray.

back to the el tour, it realy bums me out how i flatted out
i trained hard for that race. the gaba rides i was doing on
the weekends realy helped alot, the group i would finish
with was fast, our last ride we did 89 miles in 4 hours,
and i do by my self 66 miles in 3hours 15min so dammit
i should have won that race! it was my fault on the flats!


do you plan on riding EL TOUR Phoenix, OR THE TOUR of
Tucson Mountains? them 2 races are my next goals
looking at the times of Tour of Tucson mountains race
i dont have a chance for 1st or top 5 maybe top 10
i see that Rob Alverez has been dominating that race
i guess he has a coach and is amature pro.
since the EL TOUR i have changed my diet i bought a
book on endurance nutrition and it has helped alot!
not making me faster but 3 hour rides are more of a
breeze and recovery is a snap, i never thought eating
the right stuff would make such a differance.

The flats you had probably cost you at least 10 minutes and I think you probably would have gotten in the top 5 at the lowest with a perfect day.

Don't succumb to the road rage issue and besides you're on a bike, the other guy's on a car, what's gonna happen to you? Your bike's dead and you're in the hospital, just keep your cool and keep on riding, if you get close calls, don't get ******, instead just thank your lucky stars that you're still alive through all these close calls. Less stress that way I think.

I'm going to focus mostly on the Category races and I don't know how old you are but you could race in Cat. 5 and judging from your performance in the El Tour, you should be able to win or place in several events especially the time trials. Of course, that's not to say that you'd have to contend with me, hehe, but it depends on your age, you may want to race in the Masters 35+ if you're old enough and I think the competition would certainly be to your liking since many of them are veterans of cycling.

I plan on entering the Tucson Bicycle Classic Cat. 5 race in March. Let me know if you wanna ride with me on some days when I come back from vacation which will be around Jan. 10th or so and I'll be there to tear some road.

I don't know if my nutrition is poor, it consists of very carbohydrate heavy diet with plenty of spaghetti and the occasional pizza and usually oatmeal and such for breakfast. I feel that I need to eat more veggies and fruits than I do now though.

Thomas Davis
 
Originally posted by tomdavis80
The flats you had probably cost you at least 10 minutes and I think you probably would have gotten in the top 5 at the lowest with a perfect day.

Don't succumb to the road rage issue and besides you're on a bike, the other guy's on a car, what's gonna happen to you? Your bike's dead and you're in the hospital, just keep your cool and keep on riding, if you get close calls, don't get ******, instead just thank your lucky stars that you're still alive through all these close calls. Less stress that way I think.

I'm going to focus mostly on the Category races and I don't know how old you are but you could race in Cat. 5 and judging from your performance in the El Tour, you should be able to win or place in several events especially the time trials. Of course, that's not to say that you'd have to contend with me, hehe, but it depends on your age, you may want to race in the Masters 35+ if you're old enough and I think the competition would certainly be to your liking since many of them are veterans of cycling.

I plan on entering the Tucson Bicycle Classic Cat. 5 race in March. Let me know if you wanna ride with me on some days when I come back from vacation which will be around Jan. 10th or so and I'll be there to tear some road.

I don't know if my nutrition is poor, it consists of very carbohydrate heavy diet with plenty of spaghetti and the occasional pizza and usually oatmeal and such for breakfast. I feel that I need to eat more veggies and fruits than I do now though.

Thomas Davis



your right i do need to keep my kool, maybe putting the bike
down for a few days may help. where are you getting the inside
info on the races? i would be more then interested, i hear a about
cat races but thats all i dont see them advertised.

when you get back e mail me [email protected]
we can ride together, i would love to find a partner who
wants to ride a century as fast as we can take turns pulling,
hell maybe we can team up for next years EL TOUR.
sounds like your on the right track with your diet, just as
long as your carbs are complex and stay away from empty
calori foods, are you back in mich now for vacation?
it's been in the 50's here i hate to ride in the cold, yea 50s
is cold to me, i love to ride on them hot over 100 days lol.