Little did we know when we began, how much we would enjoy our quiet two mile bike out of town;just about the only flat stretch we would experience the rest of the day.  The “climbing” began with a short walk up a dirt path to the bridge that would take us over the Colorado River and into Arizona. A few minutes later, we had to get on the interstate for a long and loud ride with the trucks.  Though the shoulder was wide, the road/tire wire and glass kept us focused down.  We crossed dry river beds, saw lots of Cowboy cactus (Saguaro) and enjoyed the varying hills (from a distance).

We took advantage of every possible water and shade stop.  This rest area had exotic green trunked trees and other critters we’d prefer not to see.

Climbing was slow but steady, even with a 12 mile stretch on the highway; it took us two hours of biking to go only 17 miles.

Our return to a quiet service road took us past Dome Rock and more beautiful desert mountains.  It was only 11:00 a.m. when we choose to take advantage of a food break at a truck stop.  A good lunch and freshly iced water bottles, we returned to the interstate on our eastward trek.  The southwest wind reminded us that, though the sun was hot, the temps were still in the low 80’s; a very pleasant day.

Blooming wild flowers, exotic trees and cacti, wild animals and continuous climbing filled our afternoon.  A short ride through a nice valley, again offered variety we were not expecting….…the sign was right (look at that swirling dust)  This couple mile flat stretch had an eire, ominous feel.  But our little valley soon came to an end and once again we climbed; the wind now behind us and offering a much needed boost up our last hill.  The “town” of Hope was six miles from the end of our climbing for the day; we hoped this sign was not an omen.

Our last mile into town, left us with some misgivings as to whether it was now a ghost town.  But our motel, though scrappy on the outside, was clean and comfortable inside and dinner was across the parking lot and delicious.

Our 63 mile day, included three good climbs.  Still hungover from our long ride from the day before, we were (once again) exhausted……kinda felt good!

A Gorgeous 66° morning, but first let’s get some breakfast.  Love to start the morning with an omelet filled with a slab of bacon and a pound of cheese!

Okay, now we are ready to start to bike.  The forecasted 4 mph winds were starting off with at least a 15 mph push at our backs; the wind and slight downhill start was a perfect start!  Though the strong tailwind remained for over an hour, our gradual climb began within the first half an hour, just about the same time the farmland yielded to desert framed by the Harcuvar and Harquahala Mountains.  We enjoyed the various cactus….……Ouchand out-of-place palm trees.Shortly after ten with over 25 miles complete (thank you, wind), we took a saddle and refreshment break at our only available stop of the day.  As we munched on muffins and oranges gusts of wind blew in as a storm was collecting strength.  During our 20 minute stop, the clouds had gathered and the wind had switched directly to our side; no more wind assist ride.  Back on the road, we watched as rain fell in the distance.  Slowly, the sky became totally overcast, the breeze turned cold and the temperature dropped to 59°; we figured it was only a matter of time before we got hit by a downpour.  Thankfully, our steady climb kept us warm as the thermometer crept to 62° and the rain never hit us.  The beautiful desert flowers were in such opposition to the cool weather; we were loving it.  Amazing how prettier everything looks, when you are not expiring from the heat.

Our downhill turn into town began much sooner than expected, but then we didn’t expect the wind to be blowing Up the hill we were descending, either.  It took us close to an hour to give back the 1000 foot climb we had just completed.  The town stretched for miles as we became surrounded by trailwagons and memories of yester-year.  Too early to check-in, so we stopped for a bowl of delicious homemade chili to warm up.

A relaxing afternoon (for a change) and time to catch up and make room for dinner.  We swaggered (cowboy talk) down the street, finally getting close to one of the colossal cactus, to a local saloon.We enjoyed an amazing salad and Roast Pork on a bed of stuffing and fixins’.  Not sure we burned that much in our 53 mile day, but we sure did enjoy it!

Pulled out of our delightful little cowboy town to a cool, 59°, no wind morning.  The charming town of Wickenburg would be worth a longer visit, but definitely off season.  Saloons and restaurants had a warm local feel; but during the high/winter season it is filled with cowboys (three roping arenas) and RV’s.  In fact the last three days we’ve ridden by ghost towns that come alive in the winter, as the RV-driving snow birds flock in.

Crossed the very dry Hassayampa River into the uninhabited Arizona countryside.  The word desert does not seem applicable to such pretty surroundings;flowers were blooming and even the roads wore a smile.  White fluffy clouds obscured the sun from heating the morning and a breeze had begun to kiss our shoulder, so our slight downhill ride remained cool and comfortable.   It was two hours before we saw civilization, as we entered Surprise (yes, that is a town name) and another hour later before our course became a busier roadway.  Shortly thereafter, our map directed us through quiet neighborhoods where golf carts were the preferred mode of transportation; it was a delightful ride.  By 11:00 with 40 miles under our belt, we took a rest stop at a local park and enjoyed an orange.  This was the beginning of our Greenway Channel Trail, a paved path along the overflow canal and Phoenix water supply canal.  The canal wound through the backyards of neighborhoods and parks avoiding busy roads.  With the day still cool, we enjoyed the quiet and scenery this path provided.  The downfall of neighborhoods was no places to eat and we were getting low on energy.  After five hours of biking and 56 miles, we finally found the perfect place; a bike store and cafe.  The hour rest was not only delicious, but informative.  Suggestions abound for the perfect route to get us to the end of the day.  Instead of traversing roads as our map directed, we were told of more canal routes; we were in!  This new route was filled with a variety not seen from a car.  We biked past the front door of the Arizona Biltmore and Country Club, and the backdoor of Scottsdale neighborhoods.  Our ride through Papago Park took us through the Desert Botanical Garden and past the Red Mountain and Phoenix Zoo. The scenery was stellar. By 3:30, we crossed the Gila River into Tempe and our hotel on the edge of the Arizona State University campus.  It had been a cool, downhill, Gorgeous ride; we actually felt pretty good having polished off 70 miles.  But we had promised ourselves a day off and we knew the following week was going to be grueling, so rest was in order, but so was dinner.Now we are ready for bed.

San Diego, California to Tempe, Arizona

420 miles

Seemed strange to wake and not put bike clothes on, but that didn’t mean we were skipping breakfast.  We headed down the street to a delicious breakfast shop and apparently the locals place to eat.  The people watching was as fascinating (sorry no photos) as the food was amazing (fried eggs on Ciabatta with bacon, tomato and Gorgonzola cheese).

Later, we strolled the quiet streets and were surprised to see very few people and even less cars; but bike lanes were everywhere.

The last couple of days, we have been struck by how clean the entire Phoenix area is, not to mention creative,quirky and fun.

On our way to dinner we learned that next week is ASU’s finals week, so the students were obviously locked down and studying note the cases of beer.

The rest of the students were letting off steam at this locals bar equipped with Jinga, Cornhole, Baseball and Beer.

 Inspired, we stopped for a Margarita on the way to dinner.  Knowing we could not hang without food and Ummm hydration, we found the perfect remedy……yes, we are eating as if we biked 100 miles today.  The icing on the cake, homemade ice cream.  Tomorrow we leave civilization and any evidence of good food, so we were stocking up……that is our story and we are sticking to it!

Our early morning departure was cool, 61° and breezy, this time in our face.  Thankfully, it was only about 10 mph out of the southeast; we were due, but that didn’t mean we liked it.

The campus was still sleeping as we pedaled out of town on a long straight road.  One housing development followed another as suburbia spread from the city.

 Stopped for breakfast with only 12 miles completed, yet almost an hour and a half of biking; it was a slow go on our gradual climb. An awesome Crunchy French Toast with ample butter and bacon was just the remedy for our slow progress (or anything other ailment, for that matter).

It was still in the 60’s as we returned to our straight road; for twenty miles we saw nothing but homes and mobile parks.  One cannot imagine how many mobile homes there are here, it’s tough to imagine this many exist in the world!

It was not until Apache Junction that the homes gave way to desert and a better view of Superstition Mountain.

Four hours of steady climbing and still only 37 miles down.  And the serious climbing was only now about to begin, but the breeze had turned and was now to our back.  The dark clouds that had threatened rain earlier had obviously hit before we got to our major climb; wet roads and white fluffy clouds remained.  Whether the new rain or cooler than average temperatures, the desert was awash with color.

By 1:30 we made it over Gonzales Pass and were looking forward to the downhill into town.  As we turned the corner we were struck by the beauty of The Picket Post Mountain.  The sun lit sections, while clouds shaded the top, it was an awesome sight (as evidenced by all our photos of it).  The mountain temporarily distracted us from the fact that our downhill was short-lived.  Though the road looked downhill, we struggled to pedal the last eight miles into town.  It took us an hour to maneuver through traffic construction and the continuous uphill grade.  We were spent after our 55 mile constant uphill ride and hoped our Stromboli refueling would bring us back to life for tomorrow’s ride.

It was a most spectacular morning, sunny 61° a cooling breeze blowing; perfect day to sit on the veranda sipping coffee and watch the sun dance on the mountain.  But our motel didn’t have a veranda, or a view and we were destined to bike; so this is our version.

A fierce wind was blowing down the canyon wall and the road construction we’d experienced on our way in to town yesterday, followed up the course we were to take.  We had not been looking forward to this climb and the 15 mph wind and construction was an unhelpful one-two punch to add to the day.The white dots close to the top right are trucks.

A mile in, we had a tunnel to navigate.  Our map had warned that traffic was heavy and the sidewalk was minimal.  Oddly enough, the road construction worked to our advantage; an entire lane was blocked off for workers, who were more than willing to allow us to use it.  The climbing was slow and we took short breaks when we had an extra inch of road.  The wind was relentless and determined to beat us down, gusting from 20 to 30 mph.  But it was as gorgeous as it was grueling; majestic rocks of the Queen Creek Canyon offered diverse albeit temporary distractions.  At one of the rougher areas of construction, Jim pulled beside us and suggested going behind the barriers for safety.  He met us at the next opening and detailed for us the next couple miles; down the Devils Canyon and then the climb back up.  Jim then drove ahead and if we were forced to be on the road, he would pull in behind us and keep the traffic from bearing down; over and above and very appreciated. It had been one of our most interesting sections of any course.

Finally, after over two hours of biking and ten miles we reached the Top of The World 4600 foot pass.  A small section of tall trees, then more rock to start our descent.  We only had two miles of true down hill (had to pedal down the 6% grade just to manage over 10 mph) then back to up and down riding, wind always in our face.  One last gift from construction workers was an invitation to bike down the closed road, while traffic was being held.  We just had to be respectful of one tight spot on the way down.

By the time we reached Miami (Copper Center of the World), we had dropped 1200 feet.  It was a quiet ride through Miami that joined the outskirts of Globe with a lot of ups and downs in between.  After being on the road for four hours, we had only managed just over 21 miles, but needed a lunch and rest break.  It was a nice hour break and one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.  On the road again, it took 45 minutes for us to pedal our last four more miles to our stop, the wind slowing us to the last minute.

We were looking forward to a large Margarita and some good Mexican food at the restaurant two doors down. We should have known the food was not going to be great, when they didn’t serve Margaritas…..how does that happen?  Can’t eat great every night.

Today was a scheduled short 26 miles in order to rest for the next few long days ahead.  But it took us six hours (4 hours of riding) to get here, hoping the wind will favor us on the next few days.