Go mountain biking for "holistic" experience

If you like to combine fitness with adventure, solitude with excitement, then load up your mountain bike and drive out to the Sugarloaf Peak trails.

Located just 10 miles northeast of Yuma, the trails loop and interconnect near the peak, which is home to a herd of bighorn sheep.

"There are places out here you would never suspect," said DuWayne Fritz, spokesman for the Sugarloaf Sissies mountain biking club.

"These trails go along bedrock canyons with big, high walls and big waterholes. You think, 'This is beautiful.' You feel adventurous, you feel solitude, you feel action-type excitement on downhills; uphills are challenging, and you feel like you get a good workout."

Fritz recommends a full suspension standard mountain bike with 2.25 inch or larger knobby tires for riding the Sugarloaf Peak trails. Mountain bikes may range in cost from about $600 to $4,000, but the cost is worth the "holistic experience," he said.

About two-thirds of the trails are strenuous, and it takes skill to ride them, he said.

"They cut into the side of the hill in several places, but the good news is that the beginners' trails are easily accessible from the parking area. There are loops of easier trails for five to 15 miles."

The Sugarloaf Sissies, comprised of a dozen or so mountain bikers that sometimes complain about the scrapes and bruises acquired along the rugged trails (hence the name), have been developing and maintaining the trails since about 2000.

Before that, the narrow bike paths were just game trails. Now, mountain bikers and bighorn sheep enjoy the pristine desert habitat together. Sort of.

"Two of us have been charged by bighorn sheep," Fritz said, chuckling. Well, maybe not actually "charged," he explained.

"They've never butted us."

One time a ram chased him from a distance but backed off. Another time, a ram ran toward another mountain biker, then stopped about 10 yards away and just stood there, watching him.

"If you see them walking toward you, you think it's great, until they get about 15 yards away and begin to charge you," Fritz said, still grinning. "Not that it's a dangerous place." As long as you respect the wildlife, you should have no problem, he said.

And he's never run across any unsavory people out there.

"The danger is if you crashed and couldn't get out of there, so you'd need a cell phone. It's a pretty safe place."

But if you're one of those folks that likes to have others around, there are usually up to 25 or so people using the trails on the weekend mornings, he said.

"I come out about three times a week. I run or ride two hours then head home. We all come out individually, or sometimes with another person or two, but you always run into people coming and going and chatting." The trails are so narrow that you must ride single file, but it provides a thrilling workout, he said.

"You can go up to 20 miles per hour, typically, if you're really going for it. It's what we call a time trail course (where people can train for races). I used to train for races, but now I do it for fitness and enjoyment. Riding up those trails is work, but riding down the trails is 100 percent pure enjoyment."

Anyone visiting the Sugarloaf area should "stick to existing trails," said Aaron Curtis, outdoor recreation planner with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Yuma. And BLM nationwide policy dictates that motorized vehicles must yield to pedestrians and horses, he added.

The trails are currently undesignated and unmarked, and there are no restrooms, drinking fountains or handicap accessibility.

For more information, the BLM can be reached at 1-928-317-3200, and Fritz can be reached at 1-928-550-9913.

HOW TO GET THERE:

- Go east on Highway 95 to Avenue 7E (Laguna Dam Road).

- Turn left (north) on 7E, go four miles, then turn right (east) at County 5th St.

- When you reach the canal, cross the bridge, turn left, go 100 yards and park. The trail head is just beyond the dike.