RIDE SERIES
PATAGONIA, ARIZONA
Some of the best experiences and conversations happen on the bike and around the campfire. That’s why WTF Bikexplorers has organized a nationwide series of multi-day bikepacking rides to bring a limited number of WTF riders together to tackle challenging routes in beautiful places and to get the conversation started for the summit.
Read the recap from the first ride in our series, a 4-day bikexploring adventure through the beautiful Sky Islands setting of Patagonia, Arizona.
RIDE INFO
DATES
April 12 – 15, 2018
START LOCATION
Patagonia, Arizona
ORGANIZERS
Sarah Swallow and Mary Lytle
DISTANCE
125 Miles
ELEVATION
Ascend 8,356 ft / Descend -8,361 ft
ROAD CONDITIONS
85% Dirt roads ranging from groomed gravel, washboard, double track dirt, sand, and rocks. 0% Singletrack. 15% Pavement.
AVERAGE MILEAGE PER DAY
32 miles
DISTANCES BETWEEN FOOD RESUPPLY
81 Miles (2.5 days) and 44 Miles (1.5 days)
DISTANCES BETWEEN WATER RESUPPLY
36 Miles, 47 Miles, 43 Miles
SUGGESTED WATER CARRYING CAPACITY
Up to 6-8 liters
SUGGESTED TIRE WIDTH SIZE
2.2” – 3” (Tubeless!!!)
RSVP
Each ride is limited to 13 people identifying as women/trans/femme/non-binary who must RSVP prior to the event.
These rides are free of charge and unsupported. All participants are responsible for getting to and from the ride start and end location and are required to be equipped with the necessary supplies, water, food, to successfully navigate and safely complete the ride.
See WTF Ride Series Bikexploring Check-List.
Once you RSVP we will send you another e-mail confirming your expected participation in this ride and a link to a google group where we will follow up with more details about the ride!
ROUTE OVERVIEW
We will be riding through an ecoregion of the Sonoran Desert called Sky Islands. Named for a grouping of unique mountain ranges that emerge independently from lowland desert and grasslands. The route circumnavigates one of the Sky Islands within the Coronado National Forest, the Santa Rita Mountains, and offers views of many others, most notably, Baboquivari, Whetstone, Huachuca, and Santa Catalina.
The east side the route traverses smooth gravel roads and gated dirt double tracks through the grasslands San Raphael Valley, Elgin Wine Country, and Las Cienegas National Conservation Area making way to the rolling foothills through the oak-pine forests of the Santa Rita Mountains. The west side of the route drops to Santa Cruz River Valley to resupply in the suburbs of Green Valley from where the route follows sand and rocky dirt roads lined with ocotillo, saguaro, and menacing cholla cactus while ascending the west ridge of the Santa Rita Mountains back to Patagonia.
The elevation of this route ranges from 2,900 ft to 5,500 ft in elevation. In mid April expect daily temperatures ranging from 75 to 85 degrees and nightly low temperatures from 35 to 50 degrees. Sun and wind exposure is high in the lowland areas of this route. Because of the great distance between between food and water supply and the likelihood for hot sunny days we strongly suggest that each individual has the ability to carry up to 6-8 liters of water and enough food for 2.5 days. Bug nets aren’t necessary, but a tarp is suggested in case of rain. We strongly suggest using a tubeless tire set-up.
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