A
Adam Payne
Guest
Hi all,
I've been lurking since shortly before buying my first non-department store bikes for myself and my
wife just before our wedding this August. Thanks to everyone for the enormous quantity and excellent
quality of information you provide.
After our trip to visit some family in the Phoenix, Arizona area over Thanksgiving, I was moved to
return the favor in some limited fashion by sharing my overwhelmingly positive experience with a
rental from an LBS. We rented 3 bikes (I've ridden in New England since August, my wife rode once
just before bad NE weather hit, and my sister-in-lawn never rode) at a reasonable price to ride the
Desert Classic trail in South Mountain Park.
The shop (which we just found via Google search) was Cactus Bike
http://www.cactusbike.com/store/control/main, and I could not have been more pleased with the
service we had. . The bikes were clean and in good condition (we chose hardtails with Bomber
forks--so now I can say I've at least had an all-too-brief taste of the Bomberhood <G>), and the
staff was extremely friendly--one even hopped on a singlespeed to guide us to the Desert Classic
trailhead a few blocks from the shop.
As to the ride itself, thanks again to the group -- we found out about it via a Deja search of old
postings, and it more than lived up to expectations. It was at the perfect level to challenge and
excite the novices, and still enjoyable for a beginner/intermediate like me. The scenery was a
remarkably beautiful desertscape, including hillsides covered with desert quail poking among the
brush. It was mostly gentle grades, punctuated with the ocassional dip (a dry wash, I guess?) that
would drop us below grade for a moment.
My sis-in-law drew first (and only) blood, falling less that 30 seconds after our helpful guide
(Micheal) dropped us off at the trailhead, though, admittedly, the rocky downhill at the start of
the trail was probably the most challenging terrain we saw (other than some of the steeper washes).
Being a novice, she was unused to the feel of braking on loose rock, and chose to leap from her bike
to the safety (?) of the rocky trail edge. Other than some minor cuts to the palms (wear your gloves
kiddies!) and the fact that her backside ended up on a very small cactus (oops), she was not
injured, and stuck out the rest of our 7 mile round trip like a trooper. The trail is around 10
miles long, and it's an out-and-back, so we saw only about a third of it, but our fitness levels
were not up to the task (more advanced riders blew past us several times during the trip).
All in all, a must-see trail if you're in the area, and a great LBS from which to rent a temporary
steed, if you're only visiting.
Adam
I've been lurking since shortly before buying my first non-department store bikes for myself and my
wife just before our wedding this August. Thanks to everyone for the enormous quantity and excellent
quality of information you provide.
After our trip to visit some family in the Phoenix, Arizona area over Thanksgiving, I was moved to
return the favor in some limited fashion by sharing my overwhelmingly positive experience with a
rental from an LBS. We rented 3 bikes (I've ridden in New England since August, my wife rode once
just before bad NE weather hit, and my sister-in-lawn never rode) at a reasonable price to ride the
Desert Classic trail in South Mountain Park.
The shop (which we just found via Google search) was Cactus Bike
http://www.cactusbike.com/store/control/main, and I could not have been more pleased with the
service we had. . The bikes were clean and in good condition (we chose hardtails with Bomber
forks--so now I can say I've at least had an all-too-brief taste of the Bomberhood <G>), and the
staff was extremely friendly--one even hopped on a singlespeed to guide us to the Desert Classic
trailhead a few blocks from the shop.
As to the ride itself, thanks again to the group -- we found out about it via a Deja search of old
postings, and it more than lived up to expectations. It was at the perfect level to challenge and
excite the novices, and still enjoyable for a beginner/intermediate like me. The scenery was a
remarkably beautiful desertscape, including hillsides covered with desert quail poking among the
brush. It was mostly gentle grades, punctuated with the ocassional dip (a dry wash, I guess?) that
would drop us below grade for a moment.
My sis-in-law drew first (and only) blood, falling less that 30 seconds after our helpful guide
(Micheal) dropped us off at the trailhead, though, admittedly, the rocky downhill at the start of
the trail was probably the most challenging terrain we saw (other than some of the steeper washes).
Being a novice, she was unused to the feel of braking on loose rock, and chose to leap from her bike
to the safety (?) of the rocky trail edge. Other than some minor cuts to the palms (wear your gloves
kiddies!) and the fact that her backside ended up on a very small cactus (oops), she was not
injured, and stuck out the rest of our 7 mile round trip like a trooper. The trail is around 10
miles long, and it's an out-and-back, so we saw only about a third of it, but our fitness levels
were not up to the task (more advanced riders blew past us several times during the trip).
All in all, a must-see trail if you're in the area, and a great LBS from which to rent a temporary
steed, if you're only visiting.
Adam