Internet Special: 
Thanks to all the great riders who showed up for the week long NOD Fest rides. There were riders from as far away as 
We've decided to annex 
A special thanks goes out to Rim Rock Water for donating cases of their special Hi-Energy, Structure-Enhanced 100% Natural Artesian Spring Water, known as AquaX, for the all the riders. We did not go thirsty! (Click here to learn more)
And then there was Kenny, a Sedona local, who took the opportunity during NOD Fest to actually learn how to ride a mountain bike. He was so good right from the start that he got mistaken for a real NOD…. He did have several “initiations” however out on the trail with the local vegetables. But all in all, not bad for a first timer. Way to go Kenny!
Mountain Bike Heaven extends a huge thank you to all the NODs and soon to be NODs who helped create the NOD Fest, which we’ve been threatening to do for over ten years. It has finally come to fruition!
Great riding and lots of fun! See you all out there on trail heaven!
Rama Jon and Mountain Bike Heaven
Year One (November, 1989)
Check out MTBR.com here: http://forums.mtbr.com/
Check out DRUNKCYLIST.com here: http://www.drunkcyclist.com/
NOD FEST 2007Contact Mountain Bike Heaven for further details:
Telephone: (928) 282-1312
Website: http://www.mountainbikeheaven.com/
Mountain Bike Heaven sells and rents an assortment of Iron Horse Bikes:
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The mountain bikes of today are not like they used to be. Today's rugged, all terrain mountain bikes are sophisticated pieces of machinery, and when not tuned properly, you are riding way below your maximum potential. With full front and rear suspensions, dampening springs, air shocks, hydraulic disc brakes, and more, these bikes demand precise adjustments according to each rider's height and weight, as well as to the type of terrain you are going to ride.
Visit our website for more information: http://www.MountainBikeHeaven.com/service.htm
Every week, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week, Mountain Bike Riders get together from all over to have a wild and crazy adventure out on the trail.
The Club Rides are held on Wednesday and Sunday Mornings with everyone meeting at the MBH Store located at 1695 West Hwy 89A in Sedona, Arizona. Ride times are always posted at the Store and vary depending on the season.
These rides are free, and all are welcome. Some rides are more technical than others. MBH also offers MTB Skills Classes. Call MBH at (928) 282-1312 for Current information.
A visit to Sedona is not complete without an Adventure with the gnarly crew.
Come On Along...
For more information visit the MBH Website at: http://www.mountainbikeheaven.com/clubr.html
Stop by our Store located at 1695 West Hwy 89A in Sedona, Arizona, for all your Mountain Biking needs, or call us at (928) 282-1312.
Visit our Website at: http://www.mountainbikeheaven.com/sales.htm
Mountain Bike Heaven now offers
Iron Horse dw-link and Rocky Mountain MTB Dual Suspension Demo Rentals!
Definitely do not forget your Camelpack! Sedona is the high desert after all. Hot and Dry is the standard fare. Hydration is the key to a long and enjoyable ride.
Contact Mountain Bike Heaven at (928) 282-1312 or visit www.MountainBikeHeaven.com/rental.html (print the coupon on the Rental Page and bring in to MBH to get a discount on any MTB Rental!)
Come ride Sedona, Arizona. The endless miles of tight, twisty, cactus-ridden Red Rock single tracks in unbelievable natural beauty are GUARANTEED to thrill all levels of riders.
The high Arizona desert environment, technical terrain, and maze of trails can be hard on riders and equipment if unprepared. A Sedona Bikapelli Mountain Bike Adventure will give you the support and info you need to make your Sedona Mountain Bike Experience an inspiration.
Mountain Bike Heaven offers many Guided Adventures to choose from. Visit www.MountainBikeHeaven.com/sedona_mtb.html for more details, or call MBH at (928) 282-1312.
Mountain Bike Heaven
Mountain Bike News
Mountain Bike News
Josh, keep up the good work. Our prayers are with you!
Hard Time and Tim are two crazy MTB Boyz. They like to do one thing on their MTB's, ride sick, steep, out of control lines anywhere they can find 'em. On this particular adventure they found themselves on the Volcano fields outside Flagstaff, AZ. This place is a free for all... You got dune buggy's, motocrossers, sand rails, and now mountain bikes. The motorized locals thought these boyz were Crazy, hiking their bikes up these cinder cones... "What's an hour up for these kind of downhills anyway!" sayz HT.
The Incredible Singetrack of Utah's Brian Head begs a question: Why go all the way to Moab, anyway?
by Karyn Riedell - Sedona Red Rock News 9/20/96 
A group of local mountain bikers, dubbed the "Sedona 5," pedaled their way to national recognition last November when they rode their bikes into Grand Canyon National Park territory which is strictly off-limits to mountain bikers.
Their feat - and subsequent arrest - has hit the pages of national biking magazines and fired up dialogue on the Internet.
Thousands of e-mail messages sent to the group's web site express support for the group, viewing them as folk heroes of a grassroots movement seeking trail access for mountain bikers. At the same time, critics revile them for promoting a bad-boy image of mountain bikers.
On November 19, the group decided to take advantage of the five-day shutdown of the park and go for a spin on the North Kaibab trail-head, located on the Grand Canyon's North Rim.
However, they were never able to complete their ride. Fourteen miles into it, they were intercepted by park ranger Sandie Hand, who took them to Phantom Ranch to be interviewed and frisked.
THEIR RIDE out of the Grand Canyon was quite different from their ride in six hours earlier. They left in leg shackles and handcuffs aboard a National Park Service helicopter. Accompanying them were two rangers with automatic weapons and bullet-proof vests.
The five bikers - Rama (Jon Cogan), Long Tall (John Panetta), Wheeze (Mitch Obele), Forest (Forest Michaels) and "Dangerous Dave" Hart - were taken to the National Park Service holding facility.
Ten days later, they were found guilty in the U.S. Magistrate Court of violating a national park closure and bicycling in a prohibited area. Each was fined $244 for the helicopter ride and $250 for violating the closure and riding in a prohibited area.
Although the $250 was suspended, the riders were forced to turn over their bikes to the court.
"This is the most notorious thing in the world of mountain biking," said Cogan, group member and owner of the Mountain Bike Heaven shop in Sedona.
Since the November ride, admirers have praised the group for committing a daring act of civil disobedience, while detractors have condemned them for damaging the reputations of mountain bikers everywhere.
ONE SUPPORTER, writing on the Internet from Canada, praised the group's act as "a revolution of sorts," saying that "working with the system isn't going to work in this case."
"I am all for what you guys are doing," wrote another supporter from Arizona State University.
"We cannot let the developers and the 'forest circus' (U.S. Forest Service), along with ranchers and miners, the Sierra Club, and numerous overly conservative horse loving conservation groups crowd us off the land that we pay to maintain. As a climber I have seen it already happen," he continued.
This e-mail is one of more than two-thousand sent to the Sedona 5 web site address. Most of these - about 75 percent - express support, according to Cogan.
Some of those sending e-mail messages indicate that they plan to boycott Sedona if mountain-bike access will be limited.
"I am going to Sedona this winter with my family. I am very concerned that mountain-bike access to trails might be curtailed. If this takes place, we may reconsider our winter vacation plans. I speak for a family of four," wrote David Yu Greenblat, of Rutgers University in New Jersey.
BRUCE BOIKESS, a resident of High-land Park, N.J., even seemed to think that Sedona would be closing trails to mountain bikers. "I am a mountain biker. Sedona is famous for having beautiful riding areas. I was planning to go there in the future. Now I hear trails may be closed," he wrote.
Some mountain bikers fear that the Sedona 5 are damaging their reputation. Daniel Paduchowski, manager of Sedona Bike and Bean, said he is afraid that confrontations with other groups, such as hikers and equestrians, will escalate and that even more trails will be closed to mountain bikers!
About 80 to 90 percent of trails in the Sedona area are now designated as wilderness and are thus closed to mountain bikers.
Paduchowski regards the group's Grand Canyon ride with disdain. "They're not the first people to ride the Grand Canyon. They're just the first ones to get caught. They probably think it's cool that they get written about as bad boys, dope smokers and renegades," he said.
EVEN ONE of the Sedona 5 has since abandoned his fellow bikers. Obele said that he is no longer a member and regrets his participation in the group. "I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not a member of the Sedona 5 organization, and I do not support their policies or share their opinions. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, I do not support the use of controlled substances," Obele wrote in a letter to the Sedona Red Rock NEWS.
Another critic is Jennifer Burns, landscape architect and planner for the Sedona Ranger District.
"We're concerned about the Sedona 5 giving mountain bikers a bad name," Burns said, adding that Sedona 5 members have not attended U.S. Forest Service meetings or contributed to discussions.
"These guys have not really worked with us. If there is something we can do to meet their needs, then we'd like to talk to them. But I don't know what motivates them," she continued.
BURNS SAID that the U.S. Forest Service is considering opening up more trails for mountain bikers and developing more trail connections, such as one between Midgley Bridge and Schnebly Hill.
For his part, Cogan said that he will continue his efforts to increase trail access for mountain bikers by seeking grass-roots support.
One of the things Cogan wants to see changed is the 1964 U.S. Wilderness Act. "The Sierra Club was instrumental in keeping mountain bikes out of the wilderness. They weren't nearly as successful at keeping out ranchers and miners," Cogan said.
The Wilderness Act restricts all mechanical vehicles, including bicycles, from entering wilderness areas. "We're not saying we're better than cows. We just want equal rights. I have nothing against a wilderness act that would keep out cows, horses, mining equipment and rugged hiking shoes," Cogan said.
"Anyway, much of the area around Sedona is not really a wilderness - as defined in the Wilderness Act - so the trails should not be off-limits to bikers," Cogan said.
But Cogan said he has gained hope from the movement that he helped launch. "The political stuff is new and alive. It shows hope that maybe the people can impact something," he said.
Channel Some New Age Singletrack with Rama and Stickums in Sedona, Arizona
