McBrown's Birthday Bash x2

 Birthday No. 55 arrived on Monday, the final day of four solid days of riding. My goal: A double birthday mileage ride at Brown's Ranch & McDowell Mtn. Park. 110 fast miles. The catch? Brown's Ranch opens their gates about 30 minutes prior to sunrise and closes at sunset. That meant I had about 13 hours to meet my goal. I did this a couple years ago and literally finished on the minute of sunset. I now had a few more miles to ride, pacing was key. Limit the stops and keep moving. As a side goal, if I could knock out the 110, I'd top 200 for the long weekend. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I arrived to a short line of cars already waiting for the automatic gate to open at the Alma School trailhead. This was a good place to stage from as it's more centrally located in Brown's Ranch. I had a cooler with drinks and lunch waiting for my mid-day return.

I did something a little different this time around for the challenge. I actually mapped out a route. Last time I just winged it. I'd start similarly to last time by doing a full outer perimeter loop, but about 2/3 the way through the Brown's Ranch portion, I'd drop down into McDowell Mountain Park and do a perimeter lap there too. My calculations had me finishing that big perimeter loop back to my car around mile 65. Only 45 to ride after lunch, I was curious to see what time I'd get back to the car.

It was an overcast, breezy morning and it didn't look like the sun was going to pop out any time soon. Fantastic as that also meant cooler temps. It was hovering near 60º when I started a bit before 6am.

Go time!!

The Palo Verde trees were in full bloom, yellow everywhere.

I also vowed to limit my photos, unless I saw something cool. I had an opportunity early on Stagecoach trail when a deer was standing on the trail looking at me as I approached. As soon as I slowed down to grab a photo, he took off. Bummer, it would've been a cool shot. The first 20+ miles kinda flew by, then I rounded a corner on 136th St. Express and ran into this fella:

Gila Monster!!

My absolute favorite desert critter. It had been a couple of years since I last saw one and was feeling a bit of FOMO this year as so many friends had been seeing them. Of course I stopped and snapped a bunch of pics, this guy was tracking my every move, but not really budging off the trail. He wasn't too happy as he was hissing at me although I wasn't really that close to him. I wanted to get a cool shot with his mouth open and I finally snagged one.

Back off!!

He finally waddled his way off the trail making refuge under a Buckhorn Cholla.

The Gila sighting gave me an adrenaline rush and I kept a solid pace going all the way through the Gooseneck trail and into McDowell Mtn. Park.

It's a long gradual descent to Escondido trail. That's a fun one with a few climbs as you zigzag across a small series of hills. My original route had me staying on Escondido until the end, but the more I thought about it, I wanted to ride down the Shallmo Wash trail. So, I called an audible and rode up Cinch to Pemberton, took a snack break and chugged a ton of chilled water at the trailhead. I went down Shallmo Wash trail, which I was glad I added, and noted the extra mileage was around five.

Up until this point, I was a bit over 5 hours in and holding a 10.5mph average, well above my needed sub-9mph. I was already about 6 miles ahead of pace with the long gradual climb out of the park up next. Hmmm, could I snag a few extra miles today for 115?? Dunno, but if time allowed, I'd go for it.

I made my way through the competitive trails combining the Sport, Tech and Long loop into a fun link. Then it was back to Pemberton to begin the six mile climb out of the park.

Short stop at the Coachwhip junction.

A 5' Bull snake crossing the trail. Cool!!

I made good time reaching the top, back on Gooseneck to connect back over to Brown's Ranch.

Another Bull snake, this one about 6' long.

It was a little bit after 1pm when I rolled back into the Alma School trailhead at mile 70. I was just over 7 hours in and a tad  under a 10mph average. I was feeling good about finishing on time. Legs were feeling great and mentally I wasn't really thinking about the finish or how many miles still remained. That's key when doing long rides, don't torture yourself!!

The lunch break was about 15 minutes, drinks topped off, I was ready to go once again. The next few miles were a little slow as I wanted to ride the twisty fun trails that route through all the boulders. It's a nice mix of terrain and neat topography to gawk at.

Another snake sighting!! This time a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, who couldn't have been more uninterested in my passing. Didn't move, no rattle, nada. Just chillin' in the cool overcast temps.

I was now back on the fast stuff covering ground.

This double Crested Saguaro on Desperado trail is a great photo op.

I'd be passing by it again shortly as I did an 8 mile loop. I rode up Coyote Canyon a second time and was coming back down Desperado to link to the east side of Renegade trail when another critter made an appearance:

No, that's not a stray rock...

Desert Tortoise!! My second one this year!! I've only seen a handful of them over the years.

A virtual tunnel of blooming Palo Verde trees.

I was using my new Coros Dura GPS unit for this ride ($250 brand new from REI, BTW) and was really interested to see how it would perform. Specifically, how would I be able to navigate with all the criss-crossing I was doing. Well, the Duro passed with flying colors. Literally. My route on the GPS would display in dark blue. There would be white directional arrows on the immediate track, indicating when I needed to turn. If I approached an intersection, a 4-way for example, that was all dark blue, I knew later on I'd be riding the blue sections that didn't have directional arrows on it. It was very easy to stay on route. Anything I already rode would display as a pink line. Any trail that wasn't part of my route would be a light, skinny, dashed brown line.

This late in the ride, I had forgotten exactly how I routed myself. I did notice when riding up the Divide trail the the technical Diablo trail was in blue, but no arrows indicating to turn on it. I was now at mile 90. Still feeling strong, but wondered why I waited so long in the route to do that trail. And, when exactly would I be riding it.

Well, after another loop or two I was making my way back over to Diablo. I turned onto the trail at mile 104!! Ha! I told myself I'd just do all the easy options to get through quickly, so of course I screwed up on one of the early options a rode a black loop I had no intention of riding. I really needed to get through this trail quick. My overall mph average had now dipped and kept toggling between 8.9 & 9.0mph. Sunset was approaching and I was almost at 110.

I wasn't so sure I could 'legally' reach the 115 with the extra miles from earlier in the day. I stopped to verify the final stretch of route. Nope, not doing that. I had some of the older trails that included a series of punchy climbs. I ticked over the 110 mark, reached a junction that would take me directly back to the trailhead and off I went.

Putting the wraps on it, 112 miles for the day and 15 minutes before sunset.

The sun never did peek out once all day, but I thought I may get a show at the end.

Sure enough, while packing up at the trailhead a beautiful sunset appeared. What a day!!

Strava link. Gotta be the easiest 7300' of climbing I've ever done. Hardly noticed it.

This one is for my wife, she just shakes her head at me when I show her this, but it's true:

Hilarious!!

I'll probably start mixing it up on my birthday, not sure how many double mileage rides I have left!! This was a fun one though and really glad I pulled it off without issue. I also reached my stretch weekend goal of 200 miles, notching 204 with 17,700' of gain. Overall, I felt really good the entire time, perhaps I'm finally rounding into decent fitness after a struggle most of 2025. Hoping to keep things going in 2026.

Brown's Ranch: Birthday Bash

 I completed my 52nd lap around the Sun this year and to celebrate I took the day off work to go for a ride. A lot of my friends like to do birthday mileage rides, but I was feeling like I wanted more. How about a double?? 104 miles, eh? I'm not one to simply hop on the canals to bang out some miles, I like them to be trails or at least more remote dirt roads. Brown's Ranch offers more than 100 miles of singletrack that is fairly tame by local standards. Almost every ride there, no matter the distance, averages about 50' of gain per mile. I'd go for my goal there, with the catch being it's only open a little before sunrise to sunset. Shouldn't be an issue, but I needed to be there when the gate opened.

I was the second car in the lot around 5:45a, sunrise was still a few minutes away. The forecast was also in my favor this year as it was only going to be in the upper 70's to low 80's, nice and cool in the early morning. What was my plan for the day? I didn't really have one, no mapped route, just ride. The only thing I knew I was going to do was a big perimeter loop, going clockwise, from the main trailhead off Alma School Rd. That way my car was centrally located as I had a cooler with ice/drinks and some salty snacks in stand-by mode. After that loop, I'd mostly just focus on riding trails I like to ride and let the miles stack up. I'd try to ride trails farther away from my car first and as the day wore on, do the final miles near the trailhead if I was cutting it close on daylight.

Moon setting to the west as I head out before sunrise.

Crested Saguaro #1. I'd make it a point to hit the natural highlights of the area today.

I had 3 miles done by the time the sun's rays made it to the trail. I kept a steady, solid pace going all the way around the perimeter loop reaching the Alma School trailhead almost exactly 3 hours after starting, 31 miles in the books.

It was still cool enough that I wasn't ready to shed my long sleeve wool base layer, which surprised me a bit. I took a short break, downed some calories and decided to head north to the Stagecoach trail, this would complete the full trail and also lead me to Hawknest. I could then take that all the way back to the Pima/Dynamite trailhead and complete that trail entirely. Seemed like a fun, mid ride goal of sorts.

Passed through the Amphitheatre Spur off Cholla Mtn.

I love riding trail among the boulders.

A very red Firecracker bush.

Cathedral Rock photo op.

I made quick work down to the trailhead, now 45 miles into the day. It was around 10:30a and I was feeling good. I started to wonder if I could tack on a few extra miles at the end, maybe shoot for 110, because, why not?

Next up was to route my way through the zigzagging trails in this part of the preserve. They're not the fastest trails, but they are some of the more fun ones as there are some rock options to play on.

Lupines off the Rawhide Wash trail.

Note: Rawhide Wash trail is signed, warning mountain bikers of the sand in Rawhide Wash. While this is true, you don't have to use Rawhide Wash at all. I noticed there wasn't much tire traffic on this trail and it's actually a really nice trail to ride. When you reach Rawhide Wash, you're also at a horse stepover gate along Pima Rd. Go over that and make a right, north, along Pima Rd. You'll find a singletrack trail in the dirt shoulder, follow it for less than 1000'. Look for another horse stepover gate and re-enter the trail system here. Follow the dirt road for another 1000' where you can join Axle Grease trail. It gives you another nice looping option close to the Pima/Dynamite trailhead.

This area is littered with boulders.

I finished one lap through the area and was taking a trailside snack break when a couple of guys came riding up. It's Mike!! He was out giving a guided tour to an east coast rider. He occasionally gives mtb tours through Wild Bunch Desert Guides. He knew I was up to something and asked what I was doing. I told him of my plan and that I was currently at mile 52. The look on the fella's face he was guiding was priceless!! Mike was wrapping up the tour and we agreed to meet up for a few miles in about 30 minutes.

We knocked out our miles then threw back a cold one, seltzer water, at the trailhead. Thanks dude!!

I was now approaching 60 miles and I could tell my legs were getting a little sluggish. The slight grades were now more of a chore and I could see my average speed dipping lower. It was now finally starting to feel warm, so I needed to head back to my car to ditch the base layer. I decided to hit a couple more fun trails in the area as I made my way around Cone Mtn.

Easter weekend was upon us, so I had to stop at Bunny Rock.

Back at the car, now at mile 68 and 2:15p, I topped off my bottles & water, had some snacks, ditched the base layer in favor of sun sleeves and headed back out for the final 35+. The heavy legs continued for the better part of the next 20 miles and thoughts of doing more than 104 miles quickly vanished.

The wildflowers were still putting on a great show in certain areas. Granite Mtn. often has thick flowers.

South side of Granite Mtn.

Same.

...and some more.

It's a beautiful area and a fun trail no matter which direction you ride it.

Owl Clover.

Hedgehog cactus getting in the action.

Crested Saguaro #2!!

Looks like another arm fell off the Michelin Man. I'm glad I saw this one in it's heyday.

McDowell Mtns. in the distance.

It was somewhere around here, mile 88 or so, that I began to get a second wind. Legs had finally come around, but it was now 5p. I had a little under two hours to get 'er done. Gotta keep moving.

Balanced Rock.

I stopped after Balanced Rock to see where I was at, mile 96 and it was almost 6p. 8 to go, what route should I ride? Another rider had stopped and we noted how nice the day was. I think he asked where I started from and his jaw dropped when I told him I had been at it since 6a!! His Dad rolled up, had to be in his mid-80's and still enjoying the ride!! The guy had to yell at his dad a couple of times for him to hear: 'He's at mile 96!!' I told him I was nearing the end and had to keep moving to finish before sunset.

Shortly after leaving those two I looked down an noticed my Garmin had powered off!! WTH?!? Dang it, I need those miles to track!! I didn't think it had been off too long. Afterwards, I think it missed less than a half mile, but still. 

I did a quick loop around Cholla Mtn. and was a bit disappointed it was only 3 miles. I thought it would be closer to 5. I zigzagged my way back towards the trailhead knowing I'd be really close when I arrived.

Rode the short out-n-back to the sign, added another half mile!!

There goes the Sun...

I rolled into the trailhead as the sun was setting, but I was not quite to 104, rather 103. There were still quite a few cars in the lot and I knew the automatic gates are triggered to get out. I rode north on the wide dirt path from the trailhead for a half mile as others sped to end their rides. I hit 104 as I returned to the lot. Perfect. Done. Not a minute to spare!!

Nice way to end it from the trailhead.

I'm really glad I pulled this one off in spite of the sluggish feeling through a good chunk of it. I'll probably just stick to a 53 miler next year!!

Strava link.

Route:

Plan B > Plan A

I've had this really dumb notion of a ride on my mind ever since I pulled off a dirty century on the Black Canyon Trail, BCT, back in April '14. It's been simmering on the back burner ever since. Thing is, the timing has to be absolutely perfect. Weather temp is a huge factor, forecast on Sat? 71º. Check. Could I pull off a big dumb ride physically? I thought so. Check. Bike working?? Check. River levels low enough? Check. Was my head mentally in 'the game'? Check? Yeah, check. It was GO time.

The plan, you ask? Stage from Rock Springs, ride the BCT south to the Carefree Hwy, turn around, ride the opposite sides of both the Boy Scout & Little Pan Loops, toss in the Tech Loop returning to Rock Springs. Refuel & top off water. Then head north on the dirt roads all the way to the northern terminus at Orme Rd. jump on the BCT and take it all the way back to Rock Springs...oh, and slap on a full Copper Mtn. Loop because it's there. And try and complete this nonsense in under 24 hours. It's something like 165 miles and 15000' of gain. I did say this was a really dumb ride, right?

I set my alarm for 1:00a, left home around 1:45a and pulled into Rock Springs a little before 3a. I geared up and rolled out a few minutes after 3a. I was quite proud of myself actually.

aka: Rock Springs TH.

I quickly descended to the first water crossing of the ride and didn't bother to take off my shoes. I figured my feet would dry out quick enough during the day and I've never had an issue with wet feet in the desert. One thing puzzled me though, where is the trail on the opposite bank? I couldn't make it out with my light. I knew where I should cross, but I wasn't seeing an opening. Only after crossing the Agua Fria I realized why. There was so much storm debris washed along the banks, the trail didn't exist!! I had to scramble over a series of down trees, bushes, etc. Then all the river rock. Bumbling, stumbling...

Finally, up on smooth-ish trail, I could resume riding. The Skyline climb went by smoothly and my feet were already feeling partially dry.

Top of Skyline. It absolutely dumbfounds me why some asshat destroyed the rock art bicycle that had been here for years. I believe it's been resurrected since this ride, but really??

Next up was the Cheap Shot segment, another favorite of mine that I hadn't ridden since that 2014 ride. Shameful, I know. I was making okay time, a little off the pace I had hoped, but not by much as I reached the top of the Little Pan Loop still under the cover of darkness.

The next river crossing was approaching some four miles away and this time I would prefer to keep my shoes dry. I was a bit caught off guard by how rubbly this section of trail had become, the pace wasn't picking up as I had hoped. Somewhere in here my shifting had become a bit wonky, it worked, but no matter what I did with the barrel adjuster, it was a bit of a chore to shift gears. More annoying than anything, but not something I was looking forward to futzing with for 24 hours. Not five minutes later as I neared the final few turns before the Agua Fria crossing, I felt my front tire getting soft. Ugh.

Sure enough, a slow leak in the front tire. Dammit.

I decided I'd mess with it after I crossed the river since this was a short hop over the water, but a longer walk across the wide river bottom. On the other side I threw in some sealant and got it ready to roll. The sky was now beginning to show hints of daylight. I was hoping for a quick change in scenery and mood. I started the climb out of the river valley and felt my tire going soft again. Okay, it's going to be one of THOSE rides. Meh.

Bottom of the Little Pan Loop. Decision time.

Daybreak at the bottom of the Little Pan Loop. I pumped up the tire once again and weighed my options. I was now quite a bit off the pace I was hoping for, couldn't fully trust the tire and that shifting...screw it. I called it off. Decided it was not going to happen on this day and I'd just make a traditional Little Pan Loop ride out of the day. It's a good ride all by itself and one I hadn't done in well over 7 years. Happy with my decision and quite frankly a bit relieved, I guess I wasn't fully on board mentally. That'll get you every time on a stupid huge ride. Anyway, I vowed to enjoy the rest of the ride back to Rock Springs.

Looking down on the Agua Fria and the upcoming third water crossing.

I think I'm going to get my feet wet. I had dry shoes & socks in the car.

Back at the top of the Little Pan Loop and onto the Cheap Shot segment once more.

Such a beautiful, calm morning.

The Owl Clover were out in force!!

I think I startled two mountain bikers who were riding towards me, I'm sure they assumed they were first out on the trail this morning!!

High above Black Canyon City.

Layers upon layers of hills, canyons and yes, rivers!!

The debris field I had to pick through in the dark.

I met another mountain biker here as he was putting his shoes on after the water crossing. He informed me that the trailhead was closed. Huh? He said a county park ranger was taping off the trailhead per a Governor's mandate related to COVID-19. I assumed I'd be able to get out of the lot without too much fuss and thanked him for the heads up.

Sure enough the taped off trailhead when I arrived.

As I put my riding gear away the park ranger came up to me and said he just got word that the closure was a mistake and the trailhead would remain open. He seemed a bit miffed about having to take down all the police tape he just put up!

I found it interesting that I was already done with a Little Pan Loop ride and it was only 9a. My front tire ended up holding air just fine the final 12 miles or so of the loop. 

Route:

I still wanted to ride. Maybe something closer to town with an easier bailout if my bike had other thoughts. I shot the Red Rock Chica, RRC, a text to see if she was around. Our schedules rarely line up, but she said she could ride around 11a for a couple of hours if that worked. That would give me plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and mess with my shifting.

We planned to meet at Fraesfield trailhead at Brown's Ranch, but we'd ride across the road for a bit of McDowell Regional Park. Calories down, shifting working much better and air still in my front tire, we were off for a spin.

We had barely crossed over Rio Verde Dr. when we ran into a couple of familiar faces: Walt & Deanna!!

Heading south towards Rock Knob, Tom's Thumb visible up on the ridge.

Lots of cool boulders to ride around in these parts.

The desert floor was a carpet of yellow.

Hangin' Loose in Owl Clover.

There she goes, the ol' endurance legs kicking in. 

As always, the two hours cruising around the trails with the RRC went zooming by. I wasn't completely exhausted yet and she gave me a good idea to ride around Granite Mtn., plenty of wildflowers clinging to a waning spring. It was a good opportunity to scope out the area and return the following day with the Mrs. for a leisurely hike.

Lots of boulders on Bootlegger trail.

Beginning a CCW loop around Granite Mtn.

Poppy patches a plenty.

It was amusing to me how well my bike was riding compared to the morning's effort on the BCT.

Well, hello there. Another rider had stopped to warn me of this guy's presence.

The south side of Granite Mtn. was splashed with color. Poppies, Lupines, Owl's Clover, Firecracker Penstemon and Brittlebush.

This is one of my favorite areas of Brown's Ranch.

This is a really fun section of trail and mostly downhill back to the car!!

I tacked on a small side loop to give me over 55 miles on the day between the two rides.

While I enjoyed most of the Little Pan Loop on the BCT, the afternoon ride with RRC at the McDowell's & Brown's Ranch was much more enjoyable. Sometimes Plan B is better than Plan A, especially when Plan B wasn't in the plans at all!! Thanks for coming out, RRC, maybe we can ride some high country in CO this summer!!

Route: