Chicago Al 

This is not really a C&V question but I trust your advice.

I'm in Phoenix working this week and will be staying over the weekend with only a bit (they promise) of work to attend to.

Seems like a great opportunity to hop on a bike and go for a ride. I'm a fairly lightweight rider, and not much of a mtn biker at all, so an easy 30-40 mile loop would be great. I understand there's some kind of MUP or something along canals in or near Scottsdale where we are staying which might be good for a start, at least. And googling 'Phoenix bike rental' brought up a bunch of shops so there are probably good options there.

Any suggestions welcome--thanks!!

cbresciani

https://www.trailheadbikecafe.com/ (602) 264-2328 they have some pretty nice rental bikes available.

Chicago Al 

Thanks, CB. I will try to call them tomorrow. I see they have 'shop rides' on Saturday (road) and Sunday (mtn) which I bet they're happy to offer rentals for.

I have done that with Topanga Canyon Bicycles when working in LA, though their idea of a 'mellow, easy' ride was very different than a flatlander's!

Also the canal seems like an easy, perhaps interesting, 20 mile RT. And it goes right close by our hotel.

Saguaro

Hi Al, welcome to Arizona! We have a little weather moving through right now, light rain and whatnot, but this weekend should be nice to ride. I recently set up a nice loop ride in Phoenix/Scottsdale you might like. It's 37 mellow miles of neighborhood back streets, established bike paths and canals. Here is a link to the map of the ride:
https://maps.google.com/?q=https://sha...21204-1058.kml

And here is a link to a description of the route I just posted here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post14991585

I plan to do the route again this Sunday and would be happy to guide you. You can contact me at www.stoffeldesign.com

Enjoy your stay in beautiful Arizona! (and don't work too hard!)

cbresciani

Nice route, mile 9 is really close to my house!

frpax

Al, do you want a hilly ride with some good climbing? Or more flat-ish? How far are you willing to drive to get to the good rides?

frpax

I don't know of any shops that rent road bikes. Rentals would be more along the beach cruiser line... maybe a mountain bike rental somewhere.

roadrunner2012

Any number of shops rent good road bikes. Tribe Multisport comes immediately to mind. Lousy weekend to ride, though.

Chicago Al 

I'll have to rent a car so I can go to a bike cycling shop to rent a bicycle, then put it in the car and drive somewhere so I can go on a bicycle cycling ride. Because I love bike cycling so much.

Unf (?) 'work' today is at a golf course some miles out from town with spotty internet and a hectic day (sun isn't up yet which is the only reason I can write now) so doubt I can do any more research until tomorrow.

I suppose it's possible that there is a shop with rentals reasonably close to our hotel (Scottsdale Plaza 'Resort'), and as it's close to the Canal and to part of Saguaro's route maybe that's a way to start. (btw thanks for the offer, I'll be in touch, tomorrow AM most likely)

Anyway my cycling at home is confined to the basement trainer for the next few months so even a cruiser on a MUP for a few hours would be a treat. And no complaints about the weather here---looks like it's going to clear so I don't have to film in overcast!

roadrunner2012

The best riding is out your door to the West. The Mummy Mtn area is fantastic riding. Tribe is at Indian School and Granite Reef.

OTS 

Cactus Bike rents bikes ( road and mountain)
Been there, done that.
Have fun.

frpax

For a nice hilly ride, start in Apache Junction and ride to Tortilla Flat. Bit of a drive for you to get to AJ, but the ride is great.

Closer to hotel, ride to Fountain Hills, and then toward Usury Pass. Flatter than the Tortilla Flat ride, but also very nice.

Looks like a few shops will rent you a road bike (which I was unaware of), so enjoy your stay in the Valley of the Sun! (even though it is very cloudy & rainy this weekend!)

Chicago Al 

Well, Saturday it rained like heck, and today mid-day we needed to test a rig (camera on mini-copter=awesome) so that left me just a couple of hours to ride. I had found a shop called Bike Emporium in Scottsdale which does rentals and is close to the AZ Canal and the Greenbelt, which they recommended for a short ride. The shop seems oriented toward family biking, not so much road and certainly not C&V, but they were very friendly and helpful. I picked up a hybrid bike of some sort, maybe a Giant, and had a there and back kinda ride, stymied a bit by several places the path was flooded out. It was a nice urban/suburban path ride, nothing very exciting, but I was glad to be on a bike in a new environment. Hopefully next time (February it looks like) I'll be able to do more, and maybe even meet up with local C&Vers. Thanks for the advice, guys--I do hope to use it!

cbresciani

Glad you got in a ride! BTW what size frame do you ride?

frpax

Congrats on getting some riding in! Very sunny today, though...

It'd be great to ride with you in February!

roadrunner2012

I got 50 in today. I did not ride the path, just the roads around Mummy/Camelback. There was a lot of debris in the bike lanes, but still pretty darn nice. This weekend was much better for hiking (apart from today) in the Mountain Preserve. There was snow on Four Peaks and off in the Mazatzals to the North. Beautiful day.

WNG

This was not the weekend to ride! Rained constantly Friday and Saturday. Bad timing, but it should be great in Feb. I work over at Bicycles of Scottsdale on Shea Blvd/Scottsdale Rd. We also rent hybrids, but may also release a flatbar road bike.
I can vouch for Usery Pass, nice ride with good climbing. The Apache Trail to Canyon Lake is challenging and mixing with the tourist car traffic could get dangerous (IMHO).

Hope to make it for the Feb ride!

Drillium Dude

Ha, I'll miss the Feb ride, but I'm hoping to meet up with some of you for the loop Saguaro linked above. My riding window in AZ will be from January 6 to the 25th.

DD

Saguaro

That's a nice neighborhood! I received your PM but I don't have privileges to reply yet. I plan to ride the Silent Sunday ride on South Mountain this coming Sunday, 12/23 with some friends. No cars allowed on the summit road on the last Sunday of every month. I'll give you a call if you're interested. Bring your De Rosa Primato! And if there are others interested in riding up South Mountain on a C&V bike, let me know. Maybe we can set something up.

Drillium Dude

I'd be up for that, provided it isn't really as steep as I remember

I'll pass along my info soon - you'll probably be at 50 posts soon enough!

DD

Saguaro

Oh, its steep alright! But views from the summit and the downhill makes it worth it, especially with the road closed to car traffic.

I last did it on Thanksgiving Day. It was the 30th Annual Turkey Day Ride. https://www.turkeydayride.com/

It was a blast! There were about 300 riders in a giant peloton that day. Most were riding modern carbon and aluminum bikes. I saw a few C&V bikes but I think I was the only one with toe clips and fenders.

1,483 foot climb. The descent was fast! Some of the experienced guys and gals were hitting 50 mph coming down. I didn't feel that confident, got up to 37 mph.

I'm guessing there were a few BF members there. I plan to do it again next year and will organize a group of C&V'ers to ride it together.

I look forward to hearing from you DD. I just learned about your upcoming trip to Diego Garcia. Very cool! That island reminds me of Bermuda, single island with lagoon in the middle of the ocean (also very British). Let's get together when you're in AZ!

Saguaro

Great to see you got a ride in Al! Looks like the Indian Bend Wash is flooded out in that photo. Too bad about the timing of the weather but it looks like you made the most of it.

"Mini-copter camera"? Sounds like you have an awesome job!

Next time you are in town let me know if you'd like to do a ride together

Chicago Al 

Hey, Saguaro, use this thread to build up your posts...recite the alphabet or something.

cbresciani

South mountain sounds like fun, I haven't done that climb in over 20 years. Not sure about riding my De Rosa up that, a 12-21 might be tough, I'm old!

Tuc

No cars on the Summit Road at South mountain? hmm, wish they had that a decade ago. Have they repaved the road?

Chicago Al - that is a serious climb up that mountain these youngsters are challenging you with, but if you can roll it, well worth the exercise for the scenic beauty of the largest city park in America. Too bad it rained when you were here, one weekend of maybe a dozen in ten years that it has rained like that, climate change - what can you do?