I headed up to my parents’ house in Fountain Hills for a couple days since we had family visiting from Minnesota and were having a big get-together. Since I don’t get a chance to go mountain biking as much as some of my other activities, namely hiking/backpacking and rock climbing, I figured this would be a good opportunity to check out some of the trails in McDowell Mountain Regional Park, and at the same time do some research for Earthgoers!
I had done their competitive track with my old mountain bike before, which was brutal since it was an old bike without shocks. Even though I have a new, full-suspension mountain bike now, I wanted something a bit easier technically but long enough to get a decent workout. My dad recommended the Pemberton Trail, a 15.4-mile loop that has plenty of elevation change but is fairly smooth riding for most of its length.
I snapped a few pictures along the way, but other than those few stops, I made good time and generated a great calorie deficit that I would earn back later that day during the big family party!
