Gnardruple Bypass

Today was the day to see if I could actually ride the route I had been envisioning since first riding Tom's Thumb trail in the McDowell Mountain Park.  An extension of the widely known Quadruple Bypass which includes Bell, Windgate and Sunrise passes. With the addition of Tom's Thumb, I envisioned more climbing and more pain... but had to give it a try anyway.

I doubled up on the spare tubes in my Camelback, added a couple Cliff Bars and packets of Hammer gel and then headed out. Knowing how important sock choice can be on an epic like this, I took some extra time to pick out the perfect pair.

Represent:

I didn't take to many pictures seeing how we have pretty well documented portions of different sections of this ride before. I did however take a pic at each summit and then made some sort of video with shots of each included.  Not super exciting, but gives a better understanding of what the area looks like.

Summit Number One (Tom's Thumb)

Summit Number Two (Bell Pass)

Summit Number Three (Sunrise)

Summit Number Four (Windgate Pass)

A little wrap-up video of the adventure

Gnardruple Bypass from Elvota on Vimeo.

Issues:

Not to many.  The brakes got very hot coming off Tom's and Bell, but that's to be expected with the extreme degree of steepness and tight switchbacks.  The Tom's Thumb ascent handed my ass to me, I just couldn't get in the groove this time and kept thinking about how much more I had to climb after the summit was reached which made me want to hold back the effort to much.  It was a bit colder than I expected so I should have worn more than a vest.  Can't really complain however seeing that most of the nation is knee deep in snow right about now.  I cut my fancy Hutchinson cobra tubeless tire about 1/2 mile from the car which forced a tube insert.  Being that I was totally cooked from the effort already, that was a headache I could have gone without.

The Route

Parked at the 104th Street trailhead located off Bell road.  Went up Windgate to the Tom's Thumb exit which branches off to the left.  Over Tom's Thumb and then down East End trail to Windmill which quickly connects to Windgate.  Headed up and over Bell Pass and then left again on to Paradise Trail.  Eventually made it to Lost Dog and then over to the Sunrise climb.  Once on the other side I went through the neighborhood and then kept climbing, staying high and hooking into the somewhat new Sonoran Trail.  That now connects to Dixie Mine trail and then I rode up to Prospector.  At the base of Bell I stayed right and then headed back down Windgate, taking a left at the Junction with Windmill and then proceeded to climb over the final pass for the day... Windgate.

I will say for those who have not yet hit this Sonoran trail it is a must do.  There are some switchbacks that don't work well for a bicycle when climbing, but a good challenge none the less.  Once you cross an old road the trail has been freshly carved and simply flies down the mountain.  Not technical, but superb flow.  You can see the ribbon of dirt well in advance for any traffic (unlikely due to the remoteness) and you can carve until your hearts content.

Newish Trail Signage:

The Stats:

Rider: Just myself, Elvota

Distance: 33 miles

Elevation: 6773 feet climbing

Time: just over 6.5 hours

I have the GPS file that can be sent to those who might be interested.  Just send a message to info@thestickichronicles.com.  I'll do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

Final Impression:

An amazing ride with very little repetition.  A majority of the trail is unique with minimal back tracking.  The climbing is stout and the descents very quick. It's an exhausting ride to be sure, but well worth the challenge.

Hard to beat 33 miles almost entirely dirt, probably 90% singletrack with well over 100 switchbacks located only 25 minutes from home.