Greetings.
Bama here, fotos by Troy.
An update on the Sedona Experience. Life is still good. Actually, life is freakin' awesome. Why? Because living the Sedona Experience is different than living in what your parents called "the real world." What am I talking about? Please pause your iGizmo, stop texting/tweeting/driving, and stop for a moment whilst I break it down for's you's.
Okay. There are things that make us feel good… things that excite us, things that cause fear, love, lust, and stress. Often times, living in "the real world" means trying to figure out how to make money, influence people, and get ahead. There's a formula to that.. a mechanism that leads us to being a successful person. But humans aren't mechanized; we're not machines, and we don't thrive on stress. We're more complicated, and yet, we're very simple.
We need friends. We need good food. But we also need to feel tiny and insignificant. I think many of us are overly worried about things that we have no control over. It's very easy to feel rushed, broken, and displaced. In the last year, I've lived in three different states and five different cities. But I feel more at home living in Sedona than I've felt in a long time.
I think there's a few reasons why I've found peace here, and they're the same reasons why you should come and visit. First off, you don't need to drive a car to get by in Sedona: the weather is very mild, the town is small in size, and you can ride trails from your house/hotel/campground. The elimination of driving seems to alleviate feelings of being rushed, late, or too busy. There's seldom a traffic jam on the sidewalks, and your own fitness governs your speed–not car accidents, road construction, or other urban drags. Biking in Sedona, whether you're commuting, mountain biking, or road riding, is as much of a nature hike as it is anything else. I've seen many different kinds of plants, animals, and strange people whilst riding to the grocery store.
Secondly, there's a lot of great people here. I'm sure you have many friends in your own home town, and I'm proud to have many friends around the country. But the combination of kind-hearted locals and enthusiastic tourists creates a very welcoming social vibration. I've really enjoyed getting to know the few, true locals, and I've made life-long friends with the many visitors. I can't wait for the next band to play Dead Kennedy's and Blue Oyster Cult covers at the Olde Sedona.
And lastly, perhaps the most important reason to visit–> the trails. Sedona has an un-ending and stunning variety of trails which range in difficulty from easy to insane. You can easily ride singletrack all day long with an absolute minimal amount of road riding (we're talking 100 miles of singletrack matched with a few blocks of pavement). But bikepacking on the Black Canyon Trail is a truly unforgettable experience and should be a priority. As of right meow (Feb. 2012), you can bikepack roughly 80 miles of flowing, ribbon-ous singletrack. It's a journey through not only the Bradshaw Mountains, but also an exploration of your own soul. If you open your heart, I promise you'll see yourself in a different light. I've never breathed life as heavily as when I hit that first double with my sleeping bag straped to the handlebars…..
For more information on bikepacking the Black Canyon Trail, please contact the staff at Over the Edge Sedona.
