{"id":19527,"date":"2016-05-02T22:57:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T02:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=19527"},"modified":"2016-05-03T08:47:48","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T12:47:48","slug":"day-10-monday-may-2-superior-to-globe-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=19527","title":{"rendered":"Day 10. Monday, May 2 – Superior to Globe, Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a most spectacular morning, sunny 61\u00b0 a cooling\u00a0breeze blowing; perfect day to sit on the veranda sipping coffee and watch the sun dance on the mountain. \"DSCN0662\"<\/a>\u00a0But our motel didn’t have a veranda, or a view and we were destined to bike; so this is our version.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0\"DSCN0659\"<\/a>We had not been looking forward to this climb\"DSCN0663\"<\/a> and the 15 mph wind and construction \"DSCN0679\"<\/a>was an unhelpful\u00a0one-two punch\u00a0to add to the day.\"DSCN0672\"<\/a>The white dots close to the top right are trucks.<\/em><\/p>\n

A mile in, we had a tunnel to navigate.\"DSCN0678\"<\/a> \u00a0Our map had warned that traffic was heavy and the sidewalk was minimal. \u00a0Oddly 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.\"DSCN0681\"<\/a> \u00a0The climbing was slow and we took short breaks when we had an extra inch of road.\"DSCN0692\"<\/a> \u00a0The wind was relentless\"DSCN0691\"<\/a> and determined to beat us down, gusting from 20 to 30 mph. \u00a0But it was as gorgeous\"DSCN0685\"<\/a> as it was grueling; majestic\u00a0rocks\"IMG_1968\"<\/a> of the Queen Creek Canyon offered diverse albeit temporary distractions. \u00a0At one of the rougher areas of construction,\"DSCN0705\"<\/a> Jim \"DSCN0708\"<\/a>pulled beside us and\u00a0suggested going behind the barriers for safety. \"DSCN0702\"<\/a>\u00a0He met us at the next opening and detailed for us the next couple miles; down the Devils Canyon and then the climb back up. \"IMG_1981\"<\/a>\u00a0Jim\u00a0then 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\u00a0interesting sections of any course.<\/p>\n

Finally, after over two hours of biking and\u00a0ten miles we reached the Top of The World 4600 foot pass.\"DSCN0723\"<\/a> \u00a0A small section of tall trees,\"DSCN0720\"<\/a> then more rock to start our descent.\"DSCN0731\"<\/a> \u00a0We only had two miles of true down hill (had to pedal<\/strong><\/em> down<\/em><\/strong> the 6% grade just to manage over 10 mph) then\u00a0back to up and down riding, wind always in our face.\"DSCN0752\"<\/a> \u00a0One last gift from construction workers was an invitation to bike down the closed road, while traffic was being held. \u00a0\"DSCN0740\"<\/a>We just had to be respectful of one tight spot on the way down.<\/p>\n

By the time we reached Miami (Copper Center of the World),\"DSCN0738\"<\/a> we had dropped 1200 feet. \u00a0It was a quiet ride through\u00a0Miami\"DSCN0748\"<\/a> that joined the outskirts of Globe with a lot of ups and downs in between. \u00a0After being on the road for four hours, we had only managed just over 21 miles, but needed a lunch and rest break. \u00a0It was a nice hour break and one of the best lunches<\/a> \"DSCN0755\"<\/a>I’ve ever had. \u00a0On the road again,\"DSCN0759\"<\/a> it took 45 minutes for us\u00a0to pedal our last\u00a0four more miles\u00a0to our stop, the wind slowing us to the last minute.<\/p>\n

We were looking forward to a large<\/em> Margarita and some good Mexican food at the restaurant\u00a0two doors down. We should have known the food was not going to be great, when they didn’t serve Margaritas…..how does that happen? \u00a0Can’t eat great every night.<\/p>\n

Today was a scheduled short 26 miles in order to rest for the next few long days ahead. \u00a0But it took us six hours (4 hours of riding) to get here, hoping the wind will favor us on the next few days.<\/p>\n\n\t\t