February 2, 2024

Kingman: White Cliffs

 There has been a bunch of recent posts / videos about the new trail system in Kingman: White Cliffs. I know a couple of the guys involved with the trail construction so I knew they would be incredible trails. We were heading that way for a weekend bikepack, but I made sure to schedule enough time for a short spin through the trails.

First things first: Burritos. We needed to stock up of food and grab some lunch. Freys Mexican had been recommended and it was super easy access. It didn't disappoint. Perfect. All fueled up, we made our way over to the trailhead.

We could tell right away, things were being built to a high standard here.

Trailforks app is key here as well.

Old ruts on the Wagon Wheel trail.

We wound our way up to the Skyline Loop for starters.

Grippy rock for the power moves. Photo by Robert.

Taking in the view at the top. Photo by Robert.

The well placed white dots were welcomed.

This place has a Moab kinda feel to it, just a bit more rugged.

There is some real dirt tucked in there too.

Power up!! Photo by Mike W.

Somewhere on the north side of the system we found flow.

It's hard to believe these trails are tucked in the middle of town.

Mike W. prepares for the drop...

Smooth sailing!!

We caught it on hero rock/dirt day, even found some flowing water, which I'm sure is rare here.

Lots of moss too.

Such cool geology.

We were simply making loop upon loops, that's how the trails are setup.

One of the newer trails, has a healthy step-up jump.

I briefly thought about it. Photo by Mike W.

Making our way back to the trailhead. Photo by Mike S.

Mike S. carving a switchback.

Mike S. scopes out Ghost Pepper, a double black move.

Robert rolls along the Upper Loop.

Wagon Wheel history.



Strava link.

We didn't quite ride everything there, but definitely got a good taste of what the White Cliffs have to offer. If you like slower, rock crawling, type of riding with some optional lines, you'll love this place. We all had a blast. It's easy to mix up the routing to make different routes and you're never far from town or your car. If you want more mileage, the more famous Monolith Gardens trails are nearby. If you're passing through the area, save an hour or two and check this place out.

For more stoke on the area, check out this thread for pics/vids: MTBR isn't dead yet.

January 20, 2024

Tour de Peoria

 My buddy, Dennis, had recently posted about a few new trails over in the northwest part of the Valley. I don't get over there too often, last ride there was my Northwest Valley Mega Loop. So, when he posted up a group ride on the ASS, that's Arizona Singlespeed, group page, I was in. It's about an hour drive from my place, but hard to pass up a tour from the locals.

Even though this was an ASS ride, I think there were only a couple riders on singlespeeds. Darryl was one of them because he's stubborn like that...and a strong rider. We got rolling from Dennis's place and hopped on the paved New River Trail up to Happy Valley Rd. From there we'd enter Sunrise Mtn. Preserve from the south. First up was the climb up Mine Shaft Pass. It's a great climb, good grade and cool routing all the way to the final 20' which punch you in the face.

The final 20'. Of course it doesn't look like much.

At the top we went left, which was new-to-me, it was a fun bit with some exposure. We made our way across the Ridgeline trail and again went left, now all new stuff for my tires. I had heard this was better riding than the route I chose last year.

A bit of hike-a-bike before the fun downhill begins.

Dennis leading us up a short rise.


The cloud cover made for an excellent day.


Long swooping downhill along the Miner's Draw trail.

Find the train of riders.

Russ, our other singlespeeder, mashing away.

The climbing was quite nice on Saguaro Family Loop.
We exited Sunrise Mtn. Preserve on the north side along Westwing Pkwy. there's a trailhead area with restrooms and water if anyone needed to top off. We made our way around Westwing Mtn. on the west side linking into the Crankset trail. From there we'd do an out-n-back climb on the new Ridgeline trail. Again, well graded and routed.

These tight switchbacks marked the end of the out-n-back...for now. We took a break at the bottom before resuming the action.

It was a fun challenge riding up the tight corners.




The payoff for the climb up.

Someone spotted this crested Saguaro which had been hidden from the locals. Ha!!

Russ making his departure home.

Back in the Paloma Preserve.

More beautifully contoured trail.

From a distance, I thought there was a dirt road carved up the hill, nope, it's singletrack.

I spy a long downhill approaching...

Looking north towards Pyramid Peak.


Welcome to the Berm Farm.

We took some alternate route back to Dennis's place which was cool.

Strava link.

This was exactly the tour I was looking for, thanks Dennis!! A fun ride with stellar climbing to make the hour drive worth it. I'll definitely be riding this route again. Maybe add in Pyramid Peak for more miles. Hopefully soon, the Ridgeline deadend will be completed. It appears other trails are in the works too.