Golden Tour

A thread by Louis on TucsonMTB.com got the wheels in motion for an epic out at 50 Year Trail. I chimed in to offer my suggestions to the route, but it was Scott who eventually did all the leg work of combining GPX files and researching routes.

Tom, Scott, Jim and I set out to battle rocks and at times cat claw



to ride the proposed loop. We rode through Catalina State Park to the Sutherland Wash/Jeep Road, and over to Baby Jesus. Check out the fish in this Baby Jesus trough. Interesting, eh?



First aid station: spring water and fish. Jim joined us for part of the loop before family affairs called him away.



On to Cherry Tank and the occasional hike-a-bike.




Although for the most part, the route is rideable.





Jokes flied, especially from Tom, who had not realized what he was getting into. Smiles lit up the trail on every technical section.



A geared bike is highly recommended for this route. Steep, technical is how I would describe some of the course.

After descending Char Gap Rd, we walked through the wash and over to Midgate and Upper 50.







Plenty of technical riding throughout the entire route.



As with the Red Ridge Epic, we ended with some beautiful colors in the Catalinas.



The stats say it all (Source: Scott)

34 miles
6000′ climbing
6:40 time

A great way to finish off an amazing year of fun-filled, singletrack riding.