First Time up South Mountain....
 

Greetings to all the Phoenicians here on the forum....

Anyone have any crazy experiences climbing S. Mountain?

Today was my first climb.....i made it all the way behind the Antennas to see Awatukee....problem is I was overheating about 300 yards before the parking lot.

I've been riding for close to 3 months now, changed bikes a couple times....and finally decided to take the plunge....

I am hurting like hell right now, my HRM read 3500 Calories burned by the time I rode/got home.

I cannot Wait to do that again!!!!:thumb:

Any of you have stories to share? i did see a lot, and I mean a lot of Roadies!

I don't know about South Mountain, but I have ridden up the crest road of the Sandia Mountains here in New Mexico. On a fixie. With 48x17 gearing. Without a brake. And I couldn't get down. Had to call a ride. That was a lot of sentence fragments, huh?

JRona-dude you are talking about my old neighborhood. I grew around Dobbins and 7th Ave. As kids we would make the ride when the last mile to the antennas was dirt road. Good old Schwinn Varsity days. I graduated South MT HS in'72. I have many memories of those mountains. Most of them not postable on BFs.

One of my favorite on a bike was riding with my younger brother, heading to Dobbins Lookout for a lunch. The ground started shaking, slowing, then a grumbling that kept growing. We were looking at each other wondering what was up. Suddenly a huge like of Motorcycles came pouring around a corner right before the pay station to enter the park. The Helmet Laws were being introduced to Arizona. All the Motor cycle groups were protesting the change. They never stopped to pay the park entrance fee, hundreds of bikes just flew through. There were two Phoenix Metro cars with 4 officers at the gate. All they did was stay out of the way.

Keep climbing, I started when I was @12. It is a wonderful Butt kicker.

Laveen, I worked on a feed lot at the end of 51st AVE., way back when. Laveen was a cotton growing, silage farming post office back then. But those Laveen farm girls were the best looking in S. Phoenix.

Daspydyr- Things have changed so much since you have moved....i mean, even since i moved up here 5 years ago...i mean.....it was looking good and then suddenly splat!!!! it turned into tagland....its sad. Such a nice community, and it went to sh*ts quick.

However, South Mountain seems to be where everyone goes these days.....i have ridden it up a few more times, each time, still the same workout, it just seems easier and easier and easier.

That biker story seems right out of a movie.....thanks for sharing that memory. Ride on...take care.

I live up in central AZ, but recently got to enjoy a Silent Sunday on South Mountain in PHX. They hold these the last Sunday of the month, I wish it was every Sunday!

Great climb, great pavement...I'm not sure if there was a pothole on the entire hill.

The climb is mild compared to Mingus, Skull Valley loop, or highway 260 out of Camp Verde, but still hard enough to get the blood pumping. Great place to practice decending due to the smooth pavement.

100's of roadies, hikers, and runners w/no cars. All the riders stayed on their own side of the road too.

If you live in the area and haven't tried a silent sunday yet, I really recommend it. I also went back on a weekeday and found it pretty peaceful as well, although I'm sure it's busy on non silent weekends

Hey, I got to ride some trails last week at the west end of S. Mountain. It was incredible. The wild flowers and cactus blooms were primo. Keep exhausting yourself out there. BEWARE, if you fall off your bike that buzzards will tear you apart before the Gila monsters can get to you.

I plan on riding up there as soon as I get my 7.3, I don't know how far up I'll make it. I don't think I will make very far up the first time, but I know as time goes by I'll get closer to the top

Never give up! We even rode our paperboy specials up there once.

got my bike Friday, hope to give South Mountain a try next week, been trying to warm my legs up on some 10-20 mile rides down below first

I just rode up it on my hybrid bike on Friday and will be having a go at it again Wednesday morning. It's a challenge, but a welcome challenge compared to the miles and miles of totally flat roads that cover the valley.

Well I gave it a try today, started at 10am from the discount tire store on 3rd st. and baseline. I don't know what the temp was but I know it was warm, I only made 2 miles past the first little gaurd shack with the stop sign. I knew I wasn't going to get far since this was only my 3rd ride in almost 2 months and about the same for my gym visits, but I need a reference point under my belt. I think I could have done better if I would have tried it about 2 months ago when I was hitting the gym almost everyday and riding 3-4 times a week but I still had a good time riding and it felt good to give it a go.

Sounds like you got far enough to get a good burn going. In several ways. 10am start time! Nothing like riding in the summer time heat. Keep it up, take a camera with you. Post some pictures from Dobbins

I remember the first time I tried South Mountain in February I made it about 200 feet past the curve (one way up South Mountain, the other to San Juan). Do a few hill repeats, either on a local hill, or on the mountain itself, and over time you'll be able to hit the summit in no time. I have two blocks coming up where I'll be doing hill repeats twice a week of various sets and times up South Mountain. Shoot me a wave if you see me!

From March:

http://www.mapmyride.com/view_resour...4072009&size=2

Creatre, you need to eat some cheeseburgers. You look like one od dem Tour de France riders. Good work.

Haha I try.

I rode it in the spring when I was in PHX for a few days.

It's a nice climb, not overly challenging, not overly long, but it reminds you its there.

I went up there again Sunday during thier Silent Sunday event, my starting point was Buckeye Rd. Last time I went there I only got as far as what I call the triangle, that is where the junction that takes you up towards the tower or you can take the San Juan Rd. I stop at the triangle for a short break to drink some poweraide, I was going to try the tower road but was talking to a lady and she mentioned San Juan as a warm up so I decided to try that first. The San Juan road was a nice ride in but the ride out was challanging for me, I did have to end up walking the bike for about 1/4 mile up the longest uphill section. After that short walk my legs felt like they got their second wind and I got back on and rode out of there back to the triangle. I didn't try the tower road but I figure once I can make the San Juan Rd without burning my legs out I will be ready to give the Tower Rd a try. All in all it was a fun ride, I put in about 23.5 miles of riding and 1/4 of walking. I will going back next weeked again

Awesome, congrats. I personally think San Juan is harder than the actual South Mountain, but I hate rollers compared to pure uphill mountain goodness. Try to get out there a couple more times, and you'll be at the TV towers in no time.

I've been pumped up all morning!!! I gave the San Juan Rd another go this morning and it turned out a heck of lot better then I thought, no walking today and I only had to use the lower 8 gears once coming back up San Juan. I've been doing some short (7-10mile) stop and go rides during the week while keeping it in the higher gears to wear out my legs more. I guess its working cause today I rode a total 23.6 (on my ODO), 11.5+ each way and it felt great, when I got back to the triangle area, I sat there on one of the boulders at the edge of the road and looked up at the road going towards the towers and was tempted to try it but I figured it be best to save it for another day. On the ride back home I found myself cruising along at a good pace and not really feeling it. My average speed on todays trip was 13.3, did I mention I am pumped up right now and its been over 3 hours since I got back. Can't wait til next weekend

Congrats again! I haven't been to SoMo in a couple weeks, hoping to get out there next Monday again!

just a heads up for those that like to go up to the towers, this Saturday the 23rd the road up to the towers is closed to all traffic, this includes those walking, riding bikes and vehicles. I am not sure if any of the hiking trails will be closed or not.

HEY-fat tire crew of South Mountain. even though i grew up riding the mountain, that was back in the 60's and 70's. I gonna be down there for Thanksgiving and want to ride some of the dirt that I have heard about. Any suggestions on trailheads, locations, maps? I will be staying in Glendale so east or west end or Central Ave is all about the same? Give me some ideas, please.

I'm always in awe of the guys riding up the road when I blast by on my Triumph Triple sport bike, and then I'm really in awe of the guys coasting down the hill. Looks like fun both ways, but vastly more fun going down.

Hmmm... Kind of an old thread but I just started and this was my first day going up SoMo! I got up to Dobbins point alright and cooled down a bit (I thought this was the top!). I think my heavy breathing scared some of the onlookers up there haha. I didn't even notice the cold weather until I got back to my car at the base of the mountain and took off my jacket (I highly recommend the Salomon jacket that's on sale at REI! :)). I kept up with a Jetta on the way down and the passenger even kind of waved back at me. Fun fun fun.