The Arizona Mountain Bike Challenge Course

Start and End Dates:	May 20-26, 2012	For Reservations / Information Call Stewart Toll Free: 1-866-701-2113 To Contact Us Via Email Fill Out Our Web Inquiry Form
Duration:	7 days, 7 nights
Location:	Williams & Grand Canyon to Scottsdale, Arizona
Price starting at:	$3,255 – All Inclusive
Program Type:	Expeditionary Learning, Lodge Based Backroads MTB,
Meals:	Included.

OVERVIEW

On sturdy fat-tire bikes you will be able to explore and learn Arizona’s heartlands. Another great Wanderland Rolling Field Course: from the Plateau to the Basin and Range,  Grand Canyon to the Valley of the Sun.

Your guide-educators will be facilitating a mountain-bike-based geography lesson on Central Arizona bioregionalism and its history and cultures.

In the cooler plateau and highlands of Northern Arizona we will explore and study the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Verde Valley country. From there we will continue on to explore the Mogollon Rim Country and Salt River Canyon region.  Finally we will drop down to the Sonoran Desert, the most lush desert on the planet.

Look forward to 200+ miles of fantastic backroads and a slice of Arizona from the tall pines to the towering saguaro cacti. You will able to study almost all of the 24 distinct eco-zones found in Arizona on this course.  A week of adventure, breathtaking beauty, and camaraderie.

EDUCATION — The course is hosted by trained field educators and expert bikers and bike mechanics. Your instructors are steeped in local lore and at least one of your hosts is always Wilderness First Responder certified.

CURRICULUM — The focus of this course is on the natural history, geology, biodiversity, human pre-history, post-contact settlement history, water resources, and modern issues of Central Arizona.  The Colorado Plateau; Western Regional Geodynamics; Grand Canyon and Mogollon Rim Geology; Paleo-geology and paleo-climates of Plateau Formations; Route 66 History; Ponderosa Pine Forests and Piñon-Juniper Woodlands – Nature’s Bounty; Pre-historic frameworks and Southwest Anthropology; Modern Cultural Overlays: Spanish and Anglo Post-Contact Trajectories; The Verde River and Central Arizona Water Resource Issues;  Mining and Mining History in the Region;  Verde Valley Viticulture and Bioregional Approaches to Grape Production;  Stress Management.

Cycling – Rolling enclosure for the whole trip insures safety.  From the 7000 foot elevations of the Plateau to the 1300 foot elevations of the Basin and Range valleys, the daily ride profile has rolling terrain, big descents, and fun intermontane climbing.  Surfaces are hard -packed dirt and paved secondary roads.  Remember there’s a sag wagon!  We provide a session on the essential information about mountain bike safety, bike maintenance, and group coordination on the trail.  Great riding and a jam-packed field study.

EDVENTURE ITINERARY

This is a sample itinerary of what we have in store for you in this cycling edventure.
Day 1:   Arrive to Williams, AZ.  Orientation, Bike Check and PM ride.
Day 2:   Departure to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Acclimatization.
Day 3:   Williams to Jerome.  The Mogollon Rim country.
Day 4:  Sedona to Camp Verde.  Red rocks and the Central Highlands.
Day 5:  Camp Verde to Strawberry.  Fossil Creek and the Verde River.
Day 6:  Rye to Roosevelt Lake Junction.   Into the Sonoran Desert.
Day 7:   Roosevelt Lake to Scottsdale.  The Apache Trail.
Day 8:  Departure — Scottsdale into Phoenix and Sky Harbor

(Please contact us for a more detailed itinerary.)