The Sedona Ride

Destination: Bell Rock, Llama Trail, Chicken Point, Chapel Hill

Riders: 2

Total Distance: 13 Miles

Well the day started off with big plans to ride some good trails in Sedona. We were to meet Dan and some others, but they bailed last minute so it just ended up being us. We set out a little late in the morning and caught some slow traffic over Mingus Mountain which is always a plus.....not. We hit the trail section across from

. This is one of the first trailheads as you enter Sedona from I-17.   We pay the fee of $5, take a quick look at the map and get on with our ride, We hit the trail about 11:30 am and our tires start kickin' up that famous red rock dust. Looks good, but doesn't taste good, trust me.

The trail gently winds through the brush and cypress, nothing to get excited about. Then we hit a dry creek bed that offers some technical maneuvering. Aaahhhh, there we go, that's what we're talking about.

We wound around Bell Rock and somehow we teleported to the other side very quickly via the "VORTEX".   It was crazy, before we could figure out what happened, we were on a trail that prohibited bikes, with a lofty $300 fine that is strictly enforced with a "zero tolerance rule." We only know this because we ran across some hikers, with both tires..... they told us bikes were not allowed back in that area. We were suprised at first, we had not seen any markers or posted signs saying such "mean spirited" things. They were nice about it though, only because of the terrain was not bike friendly. Well, to the untrained eye, they did not realize Brooke and I were part of an elite trail stomping crew that decimates boulders and rocks and such.......uh hum! So we departed the hikers and ran across another hiker, with only one tire this time. He stated the same thing, how funny! We ask him which way is the fastest to getting off the so called "anti-bike trail?" "50/50", he says.

 Ok then, we keep heading in the same direction and we came to some techy sections, not to be phased by the rocks, roots and water bars, Brooke and I cleaned the trail pretty well, in fact the anti-bike trail had more fun technical sections to it than the rest of the trails we rode. Up next was the split, Llama Trail, nothing too exciting here, just single track with some curves and some washes thrown in to mix it up. There was one rocky descent into a wash that was sketchy in places but fun.  We came across a split in the trail, that took us up to Chicken Point.  The trail led us into the rock formations and up to the lookout where my picture was taken. Also up top was the famous Pink Jeep Tour Group giving their guided tour to the evil bipeds  aka: the lazy mans way to get there.  We make our way back down the the split, hit trail HT197, which turned us onto a short section of Chapel Hill, then turned into the latter half of Bell Rock Trail which took us back to the car.  It was a good first ride in Sedona.
Next time we will go with people that have done other trails in the area and offer more of what we're looking for out of a trail system, other than the path "well travelled."