I had the opportunity to take a private mountain biking tour with Wild Bunch Desert Guides in…read moreOctober 2021. Coordinating my tour details was a breeze with Laurel at the helm. I received all of my details with my confirmation in an email with my guide's name, where I would be able to find him and the trailhead location. They did also offer transportation but I was traveling by car, regardless, so I opted to meet him there. The details in the email also went over what the tour included as far as snacks and gear. There were, of course, all of the details regarding Covid-19, health and safety guidelines and cancellation information.
On the morning of the tour I arrived 15 minutes early as advised and found Don, my guide, quickly because of Laurel's details. He was amped and excited for the day and the tour. We spoke about my previous mountain biking experience, or lack thereof and what our loose plan was for the day. I had previously notified Laurel that I had minimal experience and would probably fall into the beginner category. Don provided me with a souvenir water bottle, a day pack to hold my personal belongings/items during the tour, a helmet, full finger gloves and a hard tail mountain bike.
He had me ride the bike up and down the parking lot access road to make sure it felt comfortable and to familiarize myself with the brakes. I looped around and felt confident with the bike as it was. Don loaded up and lead me down the spur trail. He pointed out trail features and possible obstacles as well as guided me on how to handle them when it came to my body and pedal positions. After the one steep uphill climb we hit the ground "biking" and were cruising around the sandy curves of the park. Along the way Don pointed out natural features, names of rock formations and provided plenty of desert facts, as well as dad jokes. He was so upbeat and happy about the entire area I smiled the entire tour. He was happy with my bike handling and took me on a bit of a more difficult trail as we continued through the park. He'd stop occasionally to capture my photo while riding and even got a couple of videos, too. We parked our bikes and took a break atop a rock formation and he showed me the more difficult trails that climb and hop down the boulders. After our break we hit the trail again, at a faster pace which he had me set. He was encouraging as I was making my way up a slick, pebble-covered climb, I didn't make it up without stopping while I was trying to heed his directions. He asked if I wanted to give it an additional shot, heck yes! He told me how to approach the climb and how much speed I needed to hit the base with, he verbally guided me around the obstacles and cheered as I made it up and over it. We cruised back to the parking lot, Don capturing video of me as we rode. Back at the van we chatted about the great ride and he let me know he considered me almost an intermediate rider :) He was kind, the trip went off without a hitch and the communication pre and post tour was perfect. I was also able to obtain my photos through their website! Overall, there was nothing better I could have expected.
