Our Sonoran Desert Tour in Arizona included 5 days of splendid mountain biking, mostly single track, on altitudes of 2,000–6,000 feet. We rode through hillsides dotted with shapely saguaro, prickly pear, and spiny ocotillo cactus, and camped in the middle of nowhere in the Santa Rita Mountains and at Catalina State Park.

As expected, the desert air was extremely dry and our skin cracked not only from scraping cactus on the trails. Nights in the tent were bitterly cold (32F, zero Celsius) but the temperatures during the day were pleasant and perfect for riding. We explored the Tucson Mountain Park, a natural Sonoran Desert preserve including the most magnificent Saguaro Cactus forests in the world. We climbed switchbacks in the shadow of Mount Wrightson, navigated between shrubs and cactus, pedaled through sand, and rolled thorough deep arroyos. This was challenging for me (Rita) the novice single-track rider who already went over the handle bar on day one of the trip. We also rode parts of the windy Arizona trail, climbed on the Flume trail and rode some more single-track through Catalina State Park. We experienced an exhilarating day of fun on the famous Fantasy Island mountain bike park, which includes over 35km of single-track. The tight twists and turns between the cactus in combination with sudden steep drops made for the ultimate thrill ride and while Pieter enjoyed the rollercoaster, I got cramps in my fingers from hanging onto my breaks. East of Tucson, we were winded through the loose rocky chutes of the so-called 50-year trail overlooking the Oro Valley on the last day of the tour.

Western Spirit, a great outfitter supported our trip and handled all the logistics, including the transportation of our tents, gear and luggage and the cooking of all meals on open fires. We enjoyed delicious food, and great company!