Mountain Bike in the Moonlight at McDowell Mountain Park

I finally got out to one of the mountain bike night rides put on by Maricopa Parks and Recreation at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. I have been a few times in past years, but haven’t been able to make it this year. It is getting more popular every year. If you haven’t been out there for one of these, you need to go. The turn out is awesome! I heard that officially there were 140 mountain bikers, but there were more than that, because not everyone registers (not required).

The ride starts at 7:30pm and everyone needs to be off the trail by 9:30. It takes place on the 15.4 mile Pemberton trail. It isn’t a guided ride, so you can start your ride whenever you want, as long as you are the trail by 9:30. Be sure to bring a lot of water and light designed for mountain bike use. And don’t forget $6 for the park entrance fee.

We started our ride at 7:40 and got done about 8:55. It was a brutal pace as you can see from my average heart rate below. Amazingly, you don’t run into that much traffic with over 140 mountain bikers on the trail. I guess it is because everyone starts at different times. It was a little hot when we started, but it was beautiful at the end of the ride. We hung out and ate hot dogs and drank beer in perfect weather.

Thanks to Slippery Pig bike shops for an awesome post ride free bbq. We had hot dogs, chips and free beer. Yes, I said FREE BEER. A whole keg of it. Thank you to Parks and Recreation for allowing us mountain bikers to ride on the Pemberton trail at night to get out of the summer heat.

Don’t miss the next Mountain Bike in the Moonlight at McDowell Mountain Park on August 27th, 2010.

Mountain Bike in the Moonlight at McDowell Mountain Park, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating