Phoenix Rides

** These are group rides! No permits, no insurance, you are riding at your own risk! If you crash, no one is picking up your medical bills!

** Front and rear lights REQUIRED for any night time ride in Arizona!  IT IS THE LAW !!!

** READ THE “EDUCATION” TAB (under the “UC Stuff” tab) BEFORE YOU DO THESE RIDES !!!!

 

TUESDAY RIDES:

UNDERGROUND CRIT (AKA UC) – Uh.. if you haven’t figured out where and when this ride is from this website, you are officially “that guy”.

GAINEY RANCH RIDE (Scottsdale, AZ) – Meets on Doubletree Road at the Gainey Club which is just a couple side streets East of Scottsdale Road on Doubletree road (74th way to be exact). TUESDAY and THURSDAY ride. This ride leaves very early, usually about 5:30 a.m. in the summers and about 6-6:30 in the winters. Tuesday’s group goes into Paradise Valley and Arcadia area and loops around Camelback Mountain. Thursday’s ride heads East up Linda Vista road (uphill all the way for the first half of the ride. Downhill on the way back). Tuesday is FLAT AND FAST. Thursday is UPHILL and FAST. Both rides about 75-90 minutes. If you are out of shape or a non racer, it will be hard to hang on! Contact the Gainey Ranch Club for start times or ask a cyclist. (dmbclubs.com)

SWISS AMERICAN RIDE (Glendale, AZ) – Meets at the shop at 7 p.m. on Tuesday nights and the ride does loops until about 8 a.m. in the Bell Air Estates neighborhood across the street from the shop.  Check their website or the shop for details. (swissamericanbikes.com)

 

WEDNESDAY RIDES:

FLAT TIRE MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDES (Cave Creek, AZ) – “Flat Tire Bike Shop” in Cave Creek does a Wednesday night mountain bike ride and a Sunday morning mountain bike ride. Lights required for the night ride!!  Call the shop for details. Sometimes the Wednesday night ride will have over 30 mountain bike riders on it.

AIRPARK BIKES ride (Scottsdale, AZ) – Ride leaves WEDNESDAY nights at 7 p.m. from their shop.  Two, 9 mile loops that head North into the DC Ranch area and back down to the shop.  LIGHTS A MUST!  Contact the shop for details.  Usually about 10-20 riders.

 

THURSDAY RIDES:

Anthem /Stenholm ride (Anthem, AZ) – Ride leaves Diamond Canyon Elementary School at 7 p.m. every THURSDAY NIGHT year round. Usually 10-30 people. Ride does 4, five mile loops with a regroup at the school after each loop. First 3 miles of each lap is neutral with the last mile of each lap turning into a hammer fest. B and C riders show up all the time since it re groups. Good exercise, good fun.  ** Please be aware that in the winter, sometimes the ride does not go.  Email undergroundcrit@yahoo.com to see the status of the ride before you go out there!  *** PLEASE NOTE AS OF FEBRUARY 2013, THIS RIDE HAS DIED.  IF IT STARTS GOING AGAIN WE WILL POST IT HERE!

TRIBE Ride (Central Phoenix) – Ride leaves Tribe Multisport Bike shop every THURSDAY night at 7:10 p.m. They do two, 21 mile loop laps. 1 group that turns into an A and B group. Some riders do a 3rd loop. Map on their website (tribemultisport.com) and LIGHTS REQUIRED.

GAINEY RANCH RIDE (Scottsdale, AZ) - See info under their Tuesday ride for details on their Thursday ride.

 

SATURDAY RIDES:

BOS (Bicycles of Scottsdale) – Scottsdale, AZ area.  SATURDAY RIDE that goes year round, leaves from Scottsdale Road and Shea (SW corner).  Neutral for the first 5 miles and then it turns into a HAMMER FEST.  Usually 30-100 riders depending on the time of year.  This is about a 50 mile ride – heads up to the turn off for Bartlett Lake (North Phoenix), regroups up there, and then heads back (some CAT 1 riders drop into the lake – but probably not a good idea unless you are a CAT 1 and super strong)

West Valley Ride (westvalleycycle.net) – Goodyear AZ area.  SATURDAY RIDE that goes year round.  A,B, and C group.  2 hour ride with 1 major regroup in the first hour and 1 major regroup in the second hour.  A group is a hammer fest.  Usually 50-100 riders depending on the time of year.  You could do just the first hour and head back to the start if you are not in shape.  If you do both hours, about a 50 mile ride.

FASTER Ride (North Scottsdale) – Ride leaves FASTER at various times throughout the year on SATURDAY mornings year round.  A, B, C group.  Call their shop or check their Facebook page for updates on the ride.  The A group does the Tour of Scottsdale route backwards (about a 50 mile A ride and a very fast A ride).  ride-faster.com

BIKE RANCH Ride (North Scottsdale) –  Ride leaves Bike Ranch bike shop at various times throughout the year on SATURDAY mornings year round.  A, B, C group.  Call their shop or check their Facebook page for updates on the ride.  All 3 groups head North towards Cave Creek AZ and then turn around and come back.  A group (hammer fest) goes to the turn off at Bartlett lake.

BICYCLE VIBE Ride (North Phoenix) – No drop ride for all skill levels every SUNDAY from the shop.  SATURDAY RIDE and WEDNESDAY MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE as well.  Check their Website or Facebook page for details. (bicyclevibe.com)

EXHALE BIKES Ride (North Phoenix)- BULLSHIFTERS SATURDAY RIDE – starts from Exhale Bikes.  Ride start times are approximately 1/2 hour after sunrise. This allows most people to ride to the start location without the need for lights.  The “CaniBulls” are a race pace group that average over 22 mph. The “CapaBulls” are a more moderately paced group that average 20 mph on flat terrain. The CapaBulls regroup at prearranged points on every ride.  Averages about a 50 mile ride, that goes all over the valley.  (exhalebikes.net or bullshifters.org for details)

 

SUNDAY RIDES:

ATM (around the mountain) – Very South end of Phoenix (goes around the entire South Mountain – 50 miles). SUNDAY RIDE that starts at the corner of Rural Rd. and Warner Road – Exit 1-10 and head East on Warner Rd to find it. Rural Rd is a stop light(5th)). Goes by Firebird raceway (West side of Firebird), out to Riggs road (few miles South of Firebird), and then the riders drop the hammer on Riggs heading West.  Riggs is dead flat and fast – speeds can reach 28 – 35 mph!  There is no B group or C group. You better be in shape if you are going to do this ride as you could get dropped very early into the hammer fest! Riders regroup at the Circle K at Dobbins and Central (and if you got dropped early, riders probably won’t be there when you get there).  After that some go home and some climb South Mountain to suffer some more.   You can call Landis cyclery for details (this is not a Landis ride but they usually know what time it starts-rural and warner location)

GRANADA PARK Ride (Central Phoenix) – A,B, and C ride that happens on SUNDAYS.  Good size group that stops for breakfast.  This ride has been going on for years.  Usually over 50 people show up.  Times change depending on the month of the year.  Check azbikeclub.com under “ABC Chapters” for details.  LOTS OF OTHER CHAPTERS MEET AT OTHER LOCATIONS  - scan the different chapters for where they leave.  Granada Park has the largest group.

BICYCLE VIBE Ride (North Phoenix) – No drop ride for all skill levels every SUNDAY from the shop. SATURDAY RIDE and WEDNESDAY MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE as well. Check their Website or Facebook page for details. (bicyclevibe.com)

BEAN RIDE (North Phoenix) – Casual pace ride for all skill levels.  Meets every Sunday at various times depending on the time of year in front of the Coffee Bean at Cave Creek and the 101 freeway (SE corner-Costco parking lot).  Usually about 10-20 people with different routes every week.  Great ride to just spin the legs out and socialize.  Usually about a 30-60 mile ride depending on what the riders decide.  PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN FRONT OF THE COFFEE BEAN!  Owner  (Jay) is a very cool guy – welcomes us to come into the shop for coffee after and will give cyclists 10% off !! – just would like the parking spaces available for others while we ride.  AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER = 6:45 A.M.  OCTOBER = 7:30 A.M. NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER = 7:45 A.M. – riders decide time changes at the ride for the following week.  Usually never later than 7:45 in the winters, never earlier than 6:15 a.m. in the summers.

HOLIDAY RIDES:

TURKEYDAYRIDE.COM = 250 people on Thanksgiving!  Starts from Camelback and Central (NE corner) every year.  HUGE RIDE! Make sure to pick up rocks at the base of South Mountain and throw them in your jersey!  Read the history of the ride on the website!

AREAS TO TRAIN AT:

SOUTH MOUNTAIN (South Phoenix – Dobbins/Central Streets is where you start) – This is a mountain in Phoenix that is paved to the top. There is usually no traffic on the road either.  If you want a great climb, grab your lungs and see how fast you can get up it.  By the way, the record is around 18 minutes.  I can’t even drive my truck up it that fast.  It will take the average cyclist who races about 23-30 minutes to get up.  If you are a casual cyclist, more like 30-50 minutes.  If you can’t get up to the top in less than an hour, take up bowling.

BARTLETT LAKE (North Scottsdale – Carefree Arizona area) – Take Pima road North for about 20 miles until you come to the Bartlett lake turnoff.  When you make the right turn, there is a ranger station on the left with a drinking fountain but after that there is NO FOOD OR WATER TO THE LAKE AND BACK SO COME PREPARED!  14 miles to the lake.  14 miles back.  Very large rollers – some very steep at the lake area.  Be aware, most casual cyclists do not do this ride.  Most racers do.  If you bonk out there, you are in trouble so bring food / gels just in case.  3 bottles a must in the summer.  Not much traffic but please be careful of the morons towing their boats down to the lake doing 50 mph when they should be doing 30 mph.

9 MILE HILL (North Scottsdale) – Take the 101 freeway to Pima road.  Head North on Pima road for a bit until you come to the stop light Dynamite.  Right on Dynamite (heading East).  When you get to the top of Dynamite, you will know it as you will descend 9 miles into the town of Rio Verde (speeds could reach 40 mph so be careful!).  At the bottom, turn around and climb the 9 miles to the top!  There is a nice bike lane that goes 6 miles up (but fair warning, it ends and then you are without a bike lane for the remaining 3 mile ascent SO BE CAREFUL!).  Start at the stop sign at the bottom – finish at the top where the divided sign is.  I know a cat 1 and a cat 2 that did it in 28 minutes and 26 minutes.  I know a cat 3 guy that I think holds the record at 25 minutes!  Good luck beating that! (good idea to hit the gas station at Alma School and Dynamite for water / snacks / bathroom before you descend and turn around!)

7 SPRINGS / HUMBOLDT (VERY North Scottsdale) – Head north on Pima road for a very long time!  Follow the signs to  Bartlett lake.  When you get to the turn for Bartlett, don’t turn, go straight (heading North).  That is the 7 springs area.  Lots of curves and hills (careful on the turns!)   After about 4 or 5 miles, the road turns to dirt.  Now lets see what kind of cyclist you really are!  Ride the dirt (on your road bike) for about 6 miles!  You see that radio tower in white on top of that mountain?  That is Humboldt.  After about 6 miles on the dirt, look for the small paved road on the right side of the dirt road – a bit hard to find.  Once on it, climb that tiny road to the top.  It’s about 3 miles up and about 27% grade in some parts!  This climb is nuts – they should give you a T shirt or something for completing it! (Fair warning – THERE IS NOTHING OUT THERE!  FOOD, GELS, WATER, CELL PHONE, BOX OF DONUTS A MUST!  Try not to do this ride alone!  Bring a camera to prove to your buddies you did it.)

CAVE CREEK ARIZONA (Cave Creek, AZ)  Lots of great neighborhoods to ride around in.  Lots of cyclists on Saturdays ride up towards Cave Creek.  Cute little town too.  If you take Cave Creek road to get there, be careful.  Yes there is a bike lane but the speed limit for cars on Cave Creek road is 50 mph so use caution!  As of September 2012, the city of Cave Creek Arizona is spending about 8 million dollars to put bike lanes in for us to ride on as we go through the town!  Stay tuned!

CANAL PATH - Hate traffic?  There is a bike path that runs along the canal in central Phoenix that has tunnels that go under major intersections so you never have to be in traffic!  It starts around 24th street and Lincoln (1/4 mile South of the Charles Schwab building down by National Bank of Arizona on 24th street) and goes West FOREVER!  When you are about a mile from the i-17 freeway area (which you go under), there is a path that goes North for a few miles but it eventually dead ends – I suggest just keep heading West on the path.  There are even bathrooms along the route.  The path is narrow so if you need to spin the legs out or just want a moderate pace ride with very little pedestrians, this is a great route.  I would not park in the Charles Schwab parking lot as they work on the weekends – maybe National Bank parking lot.  You can also pick it up around 16th street and Glendale – heck you can pick it up just about anywhere depending on where you want to start.  Just look for the water (do a google map and you can see the canal running through the city – google map the 51 freeway and Glendale Road area)!  Oh yea, and stay on the south side of the path – sometimes the North side of the path dead ends.  Ah heck just explore – you’ll figure it out!

PIMA ROAD / DYNAMITE ROAD - Some great mountain bike trails off of Dynamite – just a bit East of Pima road.  If you see cars parked on the side of the road (North side of Dynamite) – that is pretty much where people start.

TRAIL 100  - Awesome trails for hiking or mountain biking that start around the 51 freeway and Squaw Peak Mountain and run all the way West to about 7th street and Thunderbird.

51 FREEWAY PATH - coming soon! (starts at Union Hills Rd and the 51 freeway)

DIARY QUEEN – What?  It’s a great training location.