[Blatant]

Long, tough afternoon. Since I was off today, I knew I would ride. This morning, I figured I'd try something different than my usual rides (Lost Dog, MMP), so I sort of decided I'd go to Pima/Dynamite. Did a quick search here and then I was off.

Since I didn't know any of the "good" trails, I went north on 136th from Dynamite and parked at access gate "B." I then grabbed a map from the kiosk. I formulated a half-assed plan to ride counter-clockwise around Granite Mountain, figuring the trails would be challenging.

If my definition of "different" and "challenging" was actually unrideable, my day would've been great.

I started north on Trail 36, planning to pick up the unimproved Trail 4. Never found it. Trail 36 is nothing but kitty litter. Ended up on some sort of goat trail climbing up northwest toward Granite Mtn. No tracks, no signs, just some horse droppings. Completely unrideable except for short stretches

Eventually meandered about through ankle-deep sand and found Trail 5. This was a little better. From there hooked up on Trail 24, then Trail 33 back down to where I'd parked. Haven't hike-a-biked this much in years. Most of the trails, when they're not bogged in sand, are covered in this weird gravelly scree. Many of the climbs would have been easily doable with some traction.

My bike: On*One Inbred 29er, 1x9, Reba, Maxxis Ignitors. Me: Reasonably fit, reasonable skill level.

An interesting but frustrating day. Some of those trails would have been very cool -- nice berms, little jumps and stuff -- if not for all the sand making them unusable.

Is there a route out there that's more rideable and fun? It's beautiful, but there's so many trails you could spend months of frustration. Hoping to learn from others' experience.
d

 

[AKA Monkeybutt]

This is Walt's favorite area. Where’s the good trails out there Walt?

 

[Dirdir]

Long, tough afternoon. Since I was off today, I knew I would ride. This morning, I figured I'd try something different than my usual rides (Lost Dog, MMP), so I sort of decided I'd go to Pima/Dynamite. Did a quick search here and then I was off.

Since I didn't know any of the "good" trails, I went north on 136th from Dynamite and parked at access gate "B." I then grabbed a map from the kiosk. I formulated a half-assed plan to ride counter-clockwise around Granite Mountain, figuring the trails would be challenging.

If my definition of "different" and "challenging" was actually unrideable, my day would've been great.

I started north on Trail 36, planning to pick up the unimproved Trail 4. Never found it. Trail 36 is nothing but kitty litter. Ended up on some sort of goat trail climbing up northwest toward Granite Mtn. No tracks, no signs, just some horse droppings. Completely unrideable except for short stretches

Eventually meandered about through ankle-deep sand and found Trail 5. This was a little better. From there hooked up on Trail 24, then Trail 33 back down to where I'd parked. Haven't hike-a-biked this much in years. Most of the trails, when they're not bogged in sand, are covered in this weird gravelly scree. Many of the climbs would have been easily doable with some traction.

My bike: On*One Inbred 29er, 1x9, Reba, Maxxis Ignitors. Me: Reasonably fit, reasonable skill level.

An interesting but frustrating day. Some of those trails would have been very cool -- nice berms, little jumps and stuff -- if not for all the sand making them unusable.

Is there a route out there that's more rideable and fun? It's beautiful, but there's so many trails you could spend months of frustration. Hoping to learn from others' experience.
d

Don't bother. I have been told time and time again that there are many great trails out there and that all you need to find them is a guide familiar with the area. However, everytime I do go there it sucks. I do not plan to ride it ever again.

 

[AKA Monkeybutt]

Don't bother. I have been told time and time again that there are many great trails out there and that all you need to find them is a guide familiar with the area. However, everytime I do go there it sucks. I do not plan to ride it ever again.

I guess it's Dirdir's favorite area too

I would call it one of those once a year ride areas. There's so much better riding in AZ than P&D. If I'm going to drive 40 minutes I'm riding Goat Camp, Hawes or the Far end of SoMo.

 

[waltaz]

This is Walt's favorite area. Where's the good trails out there Walt?

P&D sucks. I ride out there every once in a while to remind myself why I don't ride out there. I've heard there are some good trails out there, but...I don't care.

 

[Blatant]

Sounds like I'm preaching to the choir. Anyone have the lowdown on a decent loop out there?

 

[Epicrider]

OK, here are a few that I used to ride all time. You need to look at my GPS map to follow along
http://www.singletrack.us/gallery/displayimage.php?album=54&pos=2

Loop 1: Start at P&D intersection: Take West Express (14), cut across over to Flower Garden (18), then take Slant Mountain trail north to Browns Jam (21), then Metate (24) to the trail 28 south to Cholla trail (30), then west to Roller Coaster and back on Bail out (15).

Loop 2; Similar to Loop 1 but heads north after Metate:
Start at P&D intersection: Take West Express (14), cut across over to Flower Garden (18), then take Slant Mountain trail north to Browns Jam (21), then Metate (24), then left on trail 46, then right on Burnout (5), left on trail 44 - Girls Route. Stay on Girls Route, Trail 25, until you hit trail 54, then cut across on the jeep roads to the north end of west Express (23) and take it all the way back to P&D. Rolling DH back to the car.

For more technical and epic rides, here are a couple starting from 136th and Trail 2:
Loop 3: Head west and pick up Cholla Trail (33 & 30) past Mushroom rock. North on Trail 28, right on tr 24. Make your way over to Girls Route, take that north to Northern Exposure and ride it almost al the way to the east end, but then take the trail that head south that is just west of forest road 2091. Take this trail until it hits road 2092 and then find your way over to East Express and back to 136th and Trail 2. This is a long route and be prepared to be out on the trail for over five hours. Take lots of water. We've always had someone run out! Also, this route take some navigational skill, not all the trails are marked, and it's easy to get turned around out there!

Loop 4: Similar to Loop 3 until you get to Northern Exposure. Head west from 136th and Trail 2 and pick up Cholla Trail (33 & 30) past Mushroom rock. North on Trail 28, right on tr 24. Make your way over to Girls Route, take that north to Harris Hawk, NW on Harris Hawk then cross over road 2091, and ride Rock & Roll clockwise and pop out at the road 2091 & 2091 intersection. If you have any energy left, you can make your way south along The Burn (very technical with hike-a-bikes). This is another long ride, five plus hours!

Here's a short fun ride for those not into all day epics. Start from P&D. Take West Express (14), cut across over to Flower Garden (18), then cut across between Cone and Slant Mtn. Then take Roller Coaster around to Trail 15. Take Trail 15 north to Dara Sara (16) then southwest to trail 13 and back to P&D. A fun two hour ride.

There are numerous loop combinations that are fun, it just takes a little time to explore which trails are fun for you to ride. I enjoy the area, especially the northern parts.Tis the season for big rides out there :thumbsup:

 

[Blatant]

Epic: Thank you very much for taking the time. I want to give the area a fair shake, but my experience today wasn't all that pleasant.

A couple of your epic loops sound like what I rode today, though I was going counter-clockwise. The "trail" section I ended up on between #36 and #5 was super-sketchy and almost completely unrideable.

 

[Dirdir]

There are numerous loop combinations that are fun, it just takes a little time to explore which trails are fun for you to ride. I enjoy the area, especially the northern parts.Tis the season for big rides out there :thumbsup:

If getting to the alleged fun parts requires riding through the proven as fact not fun parts, then I agree with Walt and have little interest in riding out there. The only way to get me out there again is if I get to ride behind hot chics in spandex.

 

[dgangi]

Agree with Geoff on this one...don't bother. I've been to P&D scads of times and every time I end the ride thinking to myself "jeez...that sucked". No matter where I go or which trails I ride, it seems like everything out there is (a) kitty litter; (b) sand; (c) washed out rutted kitty litter; (d) sand; (e) loose slippery kitty litter; (f) sand) or (g) whoop-de-doos full of kitty litter. And I've tried everything within a 3 hr ride from Dynamite. 'Tis such a shame too...becase as you pointed out, there are so many fun berms, turns, ups/downs, and other undulations that would make for a great ride if the damn trail wasn't so f*cking loose.

And then there are the dirt bikes. Jeezus...all day long all you hear is "brrrp.....brrrrp" from the 2-stroke engines. Those guys are usually really cool and are mindful of the guys on MTB's, but it still sucks when you are constantly running into them.

I dunno if I will ever ride out there again. For some reason about every 8-12 months somebody poses yet another ride at P&D...I forget about how crappy the trails were...I think to myself "ok, this could be fun...maybe the trails are more packed down now"...break out the SS...and fall into the same cycle yet again...ending the ride with "jeez...that sucked".

Granted, I haven't ridden some of the all-day epic loops on the Tonto National Forest that Dale posed on this post...so maybe there is something out there (like WAY out there) that is fun. And maybe that is the carrot that will bring me back to P&D yet again.

So in summary...if you can't tell already...I am definitely not very high on the Pima/Dynamte area. In fact, I'd venture to say that both Pima AND Dynamite are more fun on the road bike than they are on the MTB (and remember...Dynamite is 9-mile hill, so that's not saying much!).

Thx...Doug

 

[DrEVS]

I'm an MTB'er by heart, but I gotta tell you guys that P&D is 800 times more fun on my YZ250F. Just sayin...

 

[DurtGurl]

I'm an MTB'er by heart, but I gotta tell you guys that P&D is 800 times more fun on my YZ250F. Just sayin...

I agree with Dale that P/D has some really great stuff to offer. Hike-a-bike and sand are inevitable in places but i'm ok with that as it's all part of the adventure. However, whenever I see the dirtbikers out there in their cool gear throttling up the steep climbs then I get this gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach..... Dang! I want to do that!

 

[Mike H.]

I used to ride out there a tonne.
The rolling sweeping single track is awesome.
I will admit to being envious of the storm troopers on their gravity defying fossil fuel fed contraptions.

PS, brrr brrr is the 4 strokes... bingbing bingwaaaaaa bingbingbing is the 2 strokes...

 

[DrEVS]

Dang! I want to do that!

Yeah, you do. Give it a shot sometime, it's a blast.

 

[DurtGurl]

Yeah, you do. Give it a shot sometime, it's a blast.

I recently sold my Honda 599 street bike as part of a deal to get my parents to move from Florida to AZ. An unspoken part of that deal was me riding no bikes with motors... I do however see giving dirtbiking a try (just a try!!) in my future if the opportunity were to arise . And what do you know.... my new pals SuLing, Monkeybutt, and Dirtroder are dirtbike riders!! Hmmmmm......

 

[Blatant]

Nothing against dirtbikers here, either. Used to ride when I was a kid. Luckily for me, though, with my work schedule, I ride weekdays and rarely see another soul. I was completely alone out there yesterday.
d

 

[DrEVS]

I do however see giving dirtbiking a try (just a try!!) in my future if the opportunity were to arise . And what do you know.... my new pals SuLing, Monkeybutt, and Dirtroder are dirtbike riders!! Hmmmmm......

Let me know if you guys get a ride organized.
My YZ is setup just like my DH bike. Left lever is front brake, right lever is rear brake. It has a rekluse clutch so there's no more clutch lever to deal with. It's really quite simple to transition from a MTB to my YZ, but YZ is about 220 pounds heavier

 

[Noelg]

An unspoken part of that deal was me riding no bikes with motors...

Won't hold up in court! :thumbsup: ...unless of course their atty uncovers this written proof...quick..edit your post!

 

[Dirdir]

I recently sold my Honda 599 street bike as part of a deal to get my parents to move from Florida to AZ. An unspoken part of that deal was me riding no bikes with motors... I do however see giving dirtbiking a try (just a try!!) in my future if the opportunity were to arise . And what do you know.... my new pals SuLing, Monkeybutt, and Dirtroder are dirtbike riders!! Hmmmmm......

I rode dirt bikes as a kid for many many years. Unless you do mad crazy stuff like Monkey Butt, I think it is safer than mountain biking in many ways. Tooling around P&D on a Honda has got to be safer the biking the National.

 

[mwcet8k]

I agree that P&D would be a great place to mtb if it wasn't so loose. The kitty litter single handedly ruins it IMO. Every time I've ridden it, I've seen quite a few dirt bikes cruising around. Makes me wonder if they're part of the reason it's so loose. The power that they're able to lay down must have had some effect. No other place I ride in AZ has the amount of kitty litter that P&D has, yet no other place I ride allows dirt bikes.

BTW, this is just an observation. I'm not knocking dirt bikes or those who ride them. They should have designated areas that they're allowed to ride just like mountain bikers do. P&D just happens to be one of those areas.