Tortolita Gnar

 Scott and I had to delay our AZTR Ride Director retreat a few weeks this year due to scheduling. Late November rolled around and it was time. He and Lindsay were camped out near the Tortolita Mtns. so it made sense to do a ride there. I also knew how rugged those trails were and reminded Scott to take it easy on me with the singlespeed. We came to the conclusion that the hike-a-bike would be intense enough that it didn't really matter what bike you were on, you were gonna walk.

They were camped out next to the Tortolita Preserve, a place I've never ridden. It's essentially one big loop, but we could use it to begin and end out ride linking it to the hard stuff.

Doesn't look like much on the map.

Scott mentioned how he helped layout and build this trail and while building it most of the folks involved didn't think it would amount to much due to the sandy desert. Well, time and riders have packed it in and it rides great. For a semi-level trail, it flows quite well. If you've ridden the trails at Brown's Ranch in N. Scottsdale, it's kinda like that. Don't expect chunk, drops or sustained downhills, but it is a fast, flowy XC type of loop. It was a nice way to get the ride going and would be an equally nice way to end the ride today knowing how much chunk was instore for us ahead.

We saw these up ahead on a dirt road, had to investigate. Nothing more than cell towers, but cool looking.

Sign: 'Bikes not recommended beyond this point'. Us: 'Perfect'.

Assume the position!!

We knew there would be a good amount of this, worth it? Time will tell. Photo by Scott.

The definition of full body workout. Photo by Scott.

Lindsay pushing along a short mellow section.

Carrying was a good option. Photo by Scott.

There were some rideable bits!! We began dubbing this trail, the 20' trail. The challenge: Could we actually ride more than 20' in one go. Sometimes.

The 20' sections were staggered throughout the hike-a-bike, enough to make the trail...fun?? Yeah. Nearing the top here. Photo by Lindsay.

Believe it or not, all the super gnarly hike-a-bike was on Upper Javelina trail and it was only 0.9 miles long. As long as you've got the right mindset, it isn't too bad and gets you to the goods. As they say, if you're not hike-a-biking, you're just riding your bike and the views probably suck.

Time to ride!!

Scott finding a nice rollable feature.

Lindsay coming down the fun part of Upper Javelina trail.

Dare I say, singlespeed friendly for the remainder of the ride?? Yessss!! Photo by Lindsay.

Just enough chunk to keep you focused and the stoke meter pegged. Photo by Scott.

There were a few tricky moves along the way, and the SSP handled each without issue. Photo by Scott.

Scott threads the needle.

New neighborhood going in at the bottom of the trail.

That was such a fun downhill. The enduro style hike-a-bike was totally worth the squeeze. We all agreed, we'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Back on the Preserve loop to finish things up.

Lindsay coming in hot!!

Yeah!! It was that kind of ride. Fun right to the finish.

Honeycomb in a Saguaro??

Lots of bee activity near the camp location. Never seen something like this before. Neat.

Not a bad view of Mt. Lemmon from camp either.

If you're looking for something different, with a solid challenge to the get to the payoff portion of the ride, check this one out. It's not for everyone, but we sure enjoyed it.

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