Sunday, November 15, 2026 · Mesa, AZ

Ride the Tonto Mountain 60 on a plan, not a hunch

Two loops of Usery and Hawes, sixty miles of Sonoran desert singletrack and wash. Below is the course the way the model rides it: your finish at three paces, where a fast rider gains on you, the climbs that cost the most, and a fuel plan timed to the ground.

No card. No account needed to try it.

01 · The course, as the model rode it

2 loops, 59 miles, 3,965 feet of climbing

58.7 mi2 × 29.4 mi loop
3,965 ftClimbing · 1,983 ft a loop
1,441 to 2,303 ftLow and high point
4Climbs that decide it, on every loop
The Tonto 60: elevation, the climbs that cost most, and where to eat 2 loops of 29.4 miles between 1,441 and 2,302 feet. Shaded and numbered: the 4 climbs the model rates costliest, on every loop. Amber dots on the axis: 8 feeds for the guest rider at moderate pace. 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 2,200 2,400 11 22 33 44 loop 2 4.7 mi, 0:26 in: 63 g carbohydrate10.7 mi, 0:52 in: 43 g carbohydrate18.0 mi, 1:34 in: 70 g carbohydrate24.8 mi, 2:05 in: 52 g carbohydrate29.8 mi, 2:29 in: 41 g carbohydrate34.0 mi, 2:54 in: 41 g carbohydrate40.1 mi, 3:20 in: 43 g carbohydrate47.3 mi, 4:02 in: 51 g carbohydrate start10 mi20 mi30 mi40 mi50 mi ft
the climbs that cost most, numbered as in the table belowa feed, for the guest rider at moderate pace

Aravaipa's event page lists 60 miles and 3,992 ft, 30 miles and 1,996 ft a loop, through Usery Mountain Regional Park and the Hawes trail system. The figures above are the model's own reading of the organizer's CalTopo course map for the 60 and the 30, with elevation from AWS Terrain Tiles. Start 8:15 AM, cutoff 8 hours, aid at the start and finish, plus remote water and electrolyte stations on the course. The same day runs a 30, a 20, a 10, an adaptive 10 and a 9 hour relay.

02 · Your finish

4:39 to 5:28, depending on how you ride it

The rider the app opens with, 185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve, at the app's three pace settings, beside a fast rider. Your own numbers move all of it.

the guest rider (185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve) at the app's three pace settingssteady to aggressivea fast rider (150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve)the cutoff

Riding it steady costs 33 minutes against moderate; riding it aggressive saves 17 minutes and takes your anaerobic reserve down to 56% at its lowest, against 77% at moderate. Each loop takes about 2:28.

03 · A fast rider against you

Where the 1:08 goes

A fast rider

150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve, aggressive

3:47

282 W average, 15.5 mph

The guest rider

185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve, moderate

4:55

199 W average, 11.9 mph

How far behind the fast rider the guest rider falls, mile by mile The line is the guest rider's deficit to the fast rider at each point of the Tonto 60, over the course's elevation. It ends at 1:08. It grows fastest from mile 39 to mile 48. 0 0:30 1:00 1:30 1:08 behind at the line start10 mi20 mi30 mi40 mi50 mi
the guest rider's deficit to the fast riderwhere it grows fastest

The deficit grows fastest from mile 39 to mile 48, 16 minutes of it in 10 miles. It takes in climbs 2, 3 and 4 on the second loop: watts buy the most time where gravity is what you are paying, and on the flat and the descents the gap barely moves.

04 · The climbs that decide it

4 climbs, twice each

WhereClimbGradeTimePower
11.0 to 3.4 mi of each loop455 ft3.5%16:40245 W
212.9 to 14.4 mi of each loop313 ft3.9%10:32251 W
314.7 to 15.9 mi of each loop155 ft2.4%7:16229 W
417.3 to 19.0 mi of each loop266 ft3.0%10:45238 W

For the guest rider at moderate pace. Ranked by what each one costs as a share of the ride, not by how tall it looks, then listed in the order you reach them.

05 · Fuel, timed to the course

403 g of carbohydrate, 8 feeds

About 82 g an hour at moderate pace. Each feed goes in about 20 minutes before the model says you need it, on an easier stretch rather than on a climb, and none in the last 20 minutes, where it could not be absorbed before the line.

FeedMileInto the rideCarbohydrate
14.7 mi0:2663 g
210.7 mi0:5243 g
318.0 mi1:3470 g
424.8 mi2:0552 g
529.8 mi2:2941 g
634.0 mi2:5441 g
740.1 mi3:2043 g
847.3 mi4:0251 g

From the burn the model puts on this course: work along the route, carbohydrate share from the pace, what your glycogen holds for your weight, and 400 kcal an hour through the gut for a glucose and fructose mix. Move the feeds to the aid stations you will actually use; the plan updates.

06 · Progression

Between now and November 15, 2026

Your likely finish, and how likely the goal is

Set a goal time for the Tonto 60 and the app reads your recent rides against this course: a likely finish range, its middle, and your goal marked likely, possible, a stretch or unlikely. With a power meter from measured watts; without one, from your speed on your own ground.

The same clock, week by week

What your best riding of each week would finish in on this route, so you can see whether the training is moving the number, not just adding miles.

The climbs you have ridden

Each of the climbs above, checked against what you actually ride: covered, mostly covered, thin or not ridden, so the next session goes where the race will hurt.

07 · How it is solved

Physics first, then your numbers

The route is cut into short segments and each is solved for the speed your power holds against gravity, rolling resistance for the surface, and air, thinner at altitude. On twisting trail your speed is capped by how fast you can corner, and on the far side of a climb you keep the speed you carried in. The time on each segment is added up, the reserve you spend above threshold and win back below it is tracked the whole way, and the carbohydrate is burned where the work is done. It is fitted against recorded races: on a Chequamegon 40 validation ride it predicted 2:24:28 against an actual 2:24:20.

Three steps before race morning

  1. Load the route. Aravaipa publishes the 60 and the 30 on CalTopo. Export it and upload it; CalTopo files carry no elevation, so the app reads it from terrain data.
  2. Say what the ground is. Tag the wash, the wide desert track and the rocky singletrack, or describe it in a sentence. Worth 13 to 17% of a finish time.
  3. Set your pace and get the plan. Weight and fitness once, then the finish forecast, your reserve on every climb, the fuel plan and the markers that matter on your head unit. No power meter required.

Tonto Mountain Rides questions

How long does the Tonto 60 take?

For the guest rider the app opens with (185 lb, 280 W FTP, 20 kJ reserve), the model puts it at 4:55 at moderate pace, 5:28 riding steady and 4:39 riding aggressive. A fast rider at 150 lb, 350 W FTP, 28 kJ reserve is around 3:47. The cutoff is 8 hours. Put your own weight and fitness in and it forecasts yours.

How much climbing is there?

Aravaipa's event page lists 3,992 ft for the Tonto 60. The route file the model rode measures 3,965 ft over 58.7 miles, 1,983 ft a loop, between 1,441 and 2,303 ft.

Which climb costs the most?

Climb 1 on the chart, 1.0 miles into the loop: 455 ft at 3.5%, 16:40 at 245 W for the guest rider at moderate pace, and you ride it twice.

How much should I eat?

At moderate pace the plan is 403 g of carbohydrate over the ride, about 82 g an hour, in 8 feeds. Each goes in about 20 minutes before the model says you need it, on an easier stretch, and the last is at mile 47 so it is absorbed before the line.

Is the surface right?

The model rode it as singletrack throughout, the app's starting assumption. The organizer describes a mix of wider rolling desert terrain, sandy wash sections, and rugged, rocky singletrack. Surface is worth 13 to 17% of a finish time, so tag the sections in the app and the forecast follows.

Is it free?

Yes. Load the route and run the whole plan as a guest, no account. Pro ($9 a month, or $59 a year) adds saved routes and plans, a saved athlete profile and the head unit export.

Other race plans

Same model, one page per course.

Every race on the calendar

Plan the 60 before the second loop plans it for you

Same course, your weight, your fitness, your pace. Two minutes of setup now.