Campbell Mesa

I've decided to start mountain biking more regularly.... there are too many good trails around here to let my bike (and body) just sit around.

So, sunday I went to Campbell Mesa to check out the loops. I rode the longest one (Campbell Mesa loop... 4.9 miles). It was pretty fun, and I think about as tough a workout as I could handle at this point (which is to say, not a very tough workout). The loop is a singletrack trail that curves through the trees on the mesa. It has a few very small hills, and not too many rocky parts, so was pretty quick and fun. I think it took me around 45 minutes (I didn't really pay close attention).

Monday, I was still feeling pretty good, so I thought I'd go do the second smallest loop (Walnut Canyon loop). However, as soon as I got on my bike and started riding to the trailhead from the parking lot.... I was worked. I hadn't been sore, so I thought I was good to go, but I could tell right away it was worse than I thought. I changed my plan and did the much shorter Sinagua loop (1.9 miles). Since I started off tired, this was plenty. This loop seemed to have more rocky sections and turns, and a fun downhill part at the end that has some little rolling bumps.

I bought the Cosmic Ray arizona trails book a while ago... and I plan to stick to the "easy" ones for a while until I get a bit of wind back. There are a lot of other trails that sound fun (a big loop around Mt. Elden, Dry Lake Hills, etc).. but I think I need to get a bit more fit and a bit more practice on the bike before attempting those.