Arizona Mountain Bike Ride
Double Bypass Loop Ride
McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Phoenix, Arizona

Ride Synopsis:

Description:

Two weeks after doing the ride up to Windgate Pass and back down, we returned to bag the complete loop. It was awesome! What an incredible workout to have so close to town. And spring in the McDowells... you can't beat it. In a nutshell, the Double Bypass (named for the two passes you ride through) rides up the hill to Windgate Pass, then around the east end of McDowell Peak to climb back up to Bell Pass, then descends back to the parking lot where you came from.

Logistics:

You can park in a couple of places; the Basha's Grocery Store lot just west of the Thompson Peak Parkway/Bell Rd. intersection offers a reasonably populated option and you don't have to worry about the lot being full. There is a small dirt lot at Bell Rd. and 104th Street, but I would expect that lot fills up on weekends and other busy times. You can always try the lot and fall back to Basha's if needed. If there are some available, maps are stashed in a metal box on a pole near the gate on the north side of the lot as you hit the trail.

To Windgate Pass
From the 104th St. Trailhead, ride north through the gate. DON'T turn right for the Levee Trail! Keep going north on the 104th Street Spur (dirt). Half a mile from the parking area, you swing east (right) and go another 0.32 miles to a "T" intersection with the Gateway Loop Trail. Go left here and continue on that trail, passing a left turn intersection for the Horseshoe Trail. Stay on the Gateway Loop for about 1.4 miles at which point the Gateway Trail is a right turn and the Windgate Pass Trail is straight ahead. From here, just grunt up the Wingate Pass Trail for a little over 2 miles to reach Windgate Pass (sign). Skip all the side trails (Desert Park Trail, Inspiration Point) on the way up there. You will be very busy steaming uphill, so make sure to pay attention. There's a sign for Windgate Pass in the saddle. Good place for a break.

Transition to Bell Pass
From Windgate Pass, you go screaming downhill on fairly rocky trail (watch it if you're onsighting this section!) that levels off as you swing around the eastern end of the McDowell Peak slopes. Keep an eye out for the right turn onto the Bell Pass Trail (there's a sign), then start chugging uphill again. This is initially ridable, but eventually turns into a very steep, pretty loose, uphill that all but the hardiest riders will be going hike-a-bike on. You will pass a left turn for the Prospector Trail, but keep going up. As you get closer to Bell Pass, the angle drops somewhat and you can start riding again. Push on to Bell Pass, where another saddle makes for a nice spot to take short break.

Descent from Bell Pass
Dropping out of Bell Pass is pretty dang steep for about half a mile. You'll be riding the brakes hard here. Watch out for the angle and maybe bail off the bike if you're not very comfortable riding down steep, somewhat loose, trail. You do NOT want to end up going over the side!! As you get lower (beyond that half mile), the angle eases and the trail becomes progressively more rideable and fun. Watch out for the odd rock and sharp turns here and there, but mostly it's just a fun run. As you come out on the flats west of the hillside, you'll run through a sort of wooden gate thing. In spite of the great signage for most of the area, there's nothing to direct you back the way you came. In a nutshell, follow your nose. As I recall, we went right (NW) at the gate, then took the next obvious left and that hooked us back up with the trail we rode in on. That gets you back to the parking lot. Sweet ride!