Customer Reviews

Mountain Biking Flagstaff and Sedona

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a collection of mostly oddball rides done by the author of several of Falcon Press' hiking guides. He seems to prefer too many long rides through the trees on washboardy forest service dirt roads without much of a mountain bike feel to them. You can do most of the rides in a car. There needs to be more attention to what mountain bikers really like . . . carving single track trail with varied surface over interesting terrain (i.e. some rough, some rocky, some steep, some smooth and some easy), views, cool destinations and more loop rides. Nice try for a first edition. However, the author is not really a mountain biker, just a hiker taking a stab at what he thinks mountain bikers would like. Ho-hum.

I was getting ready for a moutain biking trip to Sedona +/- Flagstaff. I got this book to prepare. Out of 25 rides listed for Flagstaff, I found 2 that I'd even consider. The rest were all roads. I believe there might be an audience for this, but those folks really just need a Forest Service map and can pedal anywhere there's an unimproved road.

For the rest of us who want to go *mountain biking* -- we're looking for something more.

I've visited the Flagstaff area on a regular basis since 1980. We planned a 4-day, late-November vacation around several books ordered from Amazon.com. Only the Grubbs book arrived by the time we left Southern California. Off my 16-year-old son and I headed for Arizona with the book and our matching Specialized Stumpjumpers. We did 3 of the author's rides rides and found the book accurate as to location, distance, and intensity of the rides. For me, a roadie with limited mt. biking skills the book was outstanding. My son, a good racer, enjoyed the time also. We will be back to do more rides from Grubb's book.

I am a long time resident of Sedona and Flagstaff. I've hiked and mountain biked the trails in both locations many, many times because my job requires me to be on these trails. I have never used this book but I can't count how many times I've been stopped on the trails to help some lost hiker or biker who has relied on this book for accurate information.



The problem: many trails are mis-named; They recommend mountain biking on trails that are in Wilderness Designated area (bike fines for any biker who rides these; Directions are wrong.



Another problematic issues is that Falcon Guides also supplies trail information to www.trails.com therefore thier website is inaccurate as well!



If you are looking for an accurate guide that will not get you lost buy any of Cosmic Rays Books on hiking and biking or the Mangum's hiking books.



Please don't buy this book. I don't want to have to find your bleached bones on the trail!!!!

Good directions and detail. Time for a new edition for sure! I did Sedona and this is what I found:
Munds Wagon Trail is the stuff! It criss crosses Schnebly (forrest) Road.
What a blast!! Bell Rock is good, once you motor past the hikers, be a good little biker and let the touristas know you`re passing. Look foward to Flagstaff when the snow melts.