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GABA Ride Itinerary
(The Plan)
Ride Day 1: Sunday, September 30th
Laughlin, NV to Kingman, AZ (50 miles, approximately 5,100' of
climbing): Head into the Black Mountains, and cruise into the
old mining town of Oatman.
Ride Day 2: Monday, October 1st
Kingman to Seligman (88 miles, approximately 3,900' of climbing):
Continue pedaling on the longest currently used stretch of Route 66.
Ride Day 3: Tuesday, October 2nd
Seligman to Grand Canyon (99 miles, approximately 5,700' of climbing):
Enjoy the changing scenery as you pedal to the high desert forest of the
South Rim. About 25 miles will be on the wide shoulder of I-40, the only
paved road connecting these places, during light midweek traffic.
Day 4 (Rest Day): Wednesday, October 3rd
We had a day off at the Grand Canyon National Park.
Many folks rode out the West Rim Drive. We walked the Rim and enjoyed the
views. Some had the energy to descend down the Bright Angel Trail.:
Ride Day 4: Thursday, October 4th
Grand Canyon to Flagstaff (80 miles, approximately 3,300' of climbing):
Enjoy the cooler temperatures at higher elevation and the scent of the pine
forest as you pedal along the shoulders of the San Francisco Peaks.
Ride Day 5: Friday, October 5th
Flagstaff to Payson (94 miles, approximately 5,600' of climbing):
Ride by Lake Mary and Mormon Lake in the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest. Crest over
the Mogollon Rim and enjoy steep descents through the small towns of
Strawberry (great pies) and Pine.
Ride Day 6: Saturday, October 6th
Payson to San Carlos (95 miles, approximately 8,000' of climbing):
Savor a thrilling 9 mile descent into saguaro country, past Roosevelt Lake.
View historic Roosevelt Dam, and travel over the world’s longest steel arch
and suspension bridge. Test your legs on the steep climb to follow, cycling
through the old mining town of Globe, and on to San Carlos Apache country.
Entire course profile (505 miles, approx. 31,500')
Sunday, October 7th
Bus trip from the Apache Gold Resort to the Best Western Airport Inn in
Phoenix.
The Ride! (The Story)
Doerte and I were up early and on the road shortly
after 6 am. Being from the Pacific NW we preferred to ride in the cool of
very early morning and enjoy the rising sun on the Mohave Desert. There was no
traffic riding on the Boundary Cone Road to the Black Mountains. Shortly after Sag 1 we arrived at
the old mining town, and now a tourist attraction - Oatman, AZ. There were a
bunch of old closed mines and some that were still in some form of
operation.
This was the steepest part of the ride.
Oatman, Arizona is a mining town in the Black
Mountains of
Mohave County,
Arizona,
United States. Located at an elevation of
2700ft it began as a tent camp soon after two prospectors struck a $10
million gold find in 1915, though the area had been already settled for a
number of years. Oatman's population grew to more than 3,500 in the course
of a year.
Oatman was named in honor of
Olive Oatman, a young girl from Illinois
who was kidnapped by the
Apache. She was rescued in 1857 near the
current site of the town bearing not only the psychological marks of her
ordeal, but physical marks as well. Traded to the
Mohave tribe who adopted her as a daughter,
Olive had her face tattooed to identify her as an honorary Apache and
photographs of her clearly show the markings.
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Wild Burros at Oatman, AZ
Oatman looks like a town that should not be there.
The burros are not native, and are left over from
the prospector days of old.
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We arrived at camp in Kingman early and had time to
cool off and enjoy the pool. We had driven through Kingman in the car many times, but
it was much more fun to ride through on our bikes. Our KOA Campground was
nice, but not really very close to stores and shops.
We were up early Monday
morning and broke camp in the dark. Doerte and I went to the truck stop for
coffee, and then took off for Hackberry. We had a tailwind (at least for a
while) and a big storm bypassing us to the east. As we neared Hackberry the wind
turned around, and bothered us the rest of the day.
Hackberry is a fun stop and
should never be missed when passing through, and to our delight Sag 1 was also there. There was a nervous excitement in the air
among the riders.
From Hackberry we continued on old route 66 to the Hualapai capital of Peach
Springs. At the community Center we were served delicious Indian Tacos for
lunch.
Out next stop was Grand
Canyon Caverns. We didn't have any luck going into the caverns as the
next tour was 4 pm and it was only 1:30, so we rode on to Sag 3.
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Donna and the famous pickle crackers on
the ride from Kingman to Seligman! Steve and Donna were Sag 3. |
With all the energy gathered from Sag 3 the ride into Seligman was easy.
The clouds were clearing
and the light and scenery was
astonishingly beautiful. We cheered as we rode into Seligman. We'd been
through Seligman when it was almost of ghost town, but it seems that the
Route 66 revival has been good to it. It seemed to be hopping.
We rode by the famous Sno
Cap Drive Inn which is usually a must stop.
Our Camp in Seligman was
ride in the middle of the hotel grounds so the atmosphere was festive. We
had a big salad and pizza buffet for dinner and then turned in by 8 pm. For
me, at least 8 something seemed to be normal bedtime. We were always up at 4
something and on our bikes by 6:30 am each morning.
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One of the best stops was Seligman, AZ.
Doerte and Kurt discuss strategy.
Kurt was the camping coordinator.
He made sure we all had fun and stayed relaxed.
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As usual we broke camp before sunrise
and headed to the cafe for coffee and oatmeal. Riding east from Seligman in
the early dawn was amazing. Riders disappeared into the fog. A runner
appears, and it is Steve from Sag 3. This was one of my favorite parts of
the ride. Eventually we were forced on to I40 for
a few miles.
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Are you ready to ride I40?
Tom, Doerte, Chris, Ann, Jerry are ready to ride!
Perfect riding weather! |
Sag 1 was waiting for us at Ashfork. They always had hot
fresh delicious coffee and oatmeal. Starbucks had nothing on Sag 1! From Ashfork we had to ride I40 again to Williams. Many riders had flat tires due
to the amount of glass and other debris on the shoulder. This section was a
bit annoying due to the traffic (although the scenery was beautiful)
As a reward, we did get a really fun fast downhill to the Williams exit and
into town.
Most riders stopped for delicious pie in Williams. We tried to hook
with our friends Dale and Natalie who are residents. We missed Dale, but did
get to chat with him on the phone a little. Sag 2 was in the Kaibab Forest
just north of Williams on Highway 64. This was one of my favorite stops- in
the Ponderosa Pines, and perfect weather. It reminded me of why I like
Northern Arizona so much. It is truly a special place. From here it was a straight 50
mile shot on big rollers to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!
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We saw many tarantulas on our route from
Hackberry to Globe. We had never seen them before.
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The Desert Tarantula grows 2 to 3 inches long and is
colored gray to dark brown. It is common to the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and
Mojave deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California.
The most common North American tarantula is found in
California, Texas, and Arizona. A 30-year life span has been recorded
for one individual of this species. Certain South American tarantulas,
which have a body length of up to almost 3 in., build large webs and eat
small birds.
The tarantula prefers to live in dry, well-drained soil.
If the soil is suitable, the female digs a deep burrow which she lines with
silk webbing. This helps prevent sand and dirt from trickling in. Otherwise,
she hides in cracks in logs and under any loose-lying debris.
The tarantula is a nocturnal hunter. It does not spin a
web to capture its prey, but catches food it by speed It will take virtually
anything of the right size that moves within range, but feeds primarily on
small insects like grasshoppers, beetles, sow bugs, other small spiders and
sometimes small lizards.
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Sag 3 at Flintstone City
in Valle on the way to the Grand Canyon!
It was a party! Fresh Watermelon and Pineapple! Yumm!
Steve and Donna always manage to have the
truck positioned just right to keep us out of the sun, wind, or rain. |
From Valle it was more big rollers all the way to Tuysayan and
the Grand Canyon. For most of us this was a hard long day. We blew
through Tuysayan. Although I lived there for 6 years, I have no lasting
connection.
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Mike and Doerte at the
entrance to the Grand Canyon!
It is a tradition (or so we implied) to
hold your bike up as high as you can! |
We rode into Mather Campground and celebrated
by going immediately to the shower! That night we had a group dinner at
Yavapai. As a former Canyon resident, I am still amazed at the poor food quality of Yavapai. Some things
never ever change.
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Our old friend Mike Quinn from the Grand
Canyon Museum came by Yavapai and took our team picture!
Have you ever seen a better looking group
of riders and support staff?
Thanks Mike Quinn! |
We really enjoyed the Grand Canyon. We saw
elk, Bighorn Sheep, tarantulas, and the famous Kaibab Squirrel. We visited
with our friend Mike Quinn, had breakfast at the El Tovar, and dinner at the
Arizona Steakhouse.
Thursday morning we left at first light for
Flagstaff. Nearing the San Francisco Peaks we encountered lightening,
thunder, rain, and even reports of hail. Most of us bagged it and were
sagged in by Stuart. We can come back and ride the missing 27 miles anytime,
but a sag ride with Stuart is an experience not to be missed. There were 8 of
us in his truck on this trip. We easily could of gotten two more in.
In Flagstaff, as the storm cleared, Doerte
and I went downtown to have a late lunch at Cafe Express. Unfortunately, the
staff didn't show up and the owner had to close. Good thing, as we found a new
place. We also went by to see the Trader, and as usual, left with a new
Navajo rug, and bolo tie. We ran into Tom and Jerry, and then Kurt came
riding up, dry as a bone. He managed to avoid the storm.
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Our good old friend Charlie Bongo came by
early Friday morning to have coffee and ride with us through Flagstaff.
That was a real treat! |
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In the excitement of the
evening, several of us came very close to getting tattoos in Flagstaff
at the Flag Tattoo parlor. We were so wound up we all wanted a "GABA" tattoo
on our biceps! Eventually we all (maybe all) were talked out of it!
Still, if I ever get a tattoo - it will say GABA!!! |
Charlie Bongo got us off to a great start in
Flagstaff,
and we continued riding to Lake Mary and Mormon Lake. The day began cool, and stayed windy.
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Doerte riding into the wind
in the Ponderosa Pine Forest below Flagstaff on the way to Payson.
In Payson we splurged on super cool GABA
jerseys, and additional GABA socks! |
At Payson, we had a very luxurious camp in the
grassy area of the Best Western and had a home cooked dinner at the Elks
Lodge. Interacting with the communities are some of the best parts of these
organized rides.
Saturday, our last day, went very fast.
Everyone was now in top condition and had ridden over 400 miles and climbed
over 20,000' feet of elevation gain. So 95 miles and 8,000' feet of climbing was no big
deal. We rode through forests of saguaros, and along Roosevelt Lake, and
then up the big climb to Globe, and then the very fast 6 miles finish to San Carlos.
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Woohoo! The finish at San
Carlos. Lots of happy people! It was bittersweet in that
we had such a good time on the ride and now it was sad to have to leave all our newfound
friends. |
Back home in Seattle I would see another
rider and expect it to be someone I knew. It was quite the experience to
shrink our lives to a bicycle, road, and small group of people who become
friends. Thanks to GABA for putting this ride all together and
making sure every one had a good time, learned some stuff, and stayed safe!
Greater Arizona Bicycling Association, Tucson
Chapter http://www.bikegaba.org/
More Ride Photos!
Mike and Doerte from W Seattle, WA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/84805602@N00/sets/72157602792480321/detail/
Jim from Bellingham, WA photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimlott/GABAAZCycleTour2007?authkey=miVG_kDiJqg
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email at
mikem@(rem0vethis)grandcanyontreks.org