Day 51: Tonto Basin to Mesa

April 6, 2025

Picture from AZ-188 near Tonto Basin at start of ride.

Lots of road like this for the first 13 miles. Not much traffic this morning so we could ride on the roadway.

Picture with Ethan from the top of the 2nd big climb.

There were lots of Saguaro along the road.

80 miles and he does track stands at traffic lights.

We have had many arguments of whether to buy Daves bread, so this had some special meaning to trip members.

I was up until almost 11 last night getting stuff ready to go, rolling out my legs a 2nd time, and catching up on journaling. I slept well, but woke up at 5:15 and couldn't go back to sleep. I got up at 6:00 and got ready. We ate the usual (oatmeal) for breakfast. I put bars and a sandwich in a stuff sack to put in the van, which planned to meet us at mile 25, at the top of the highest climb of the day. It was in the 40s, so I wore leg warmers, a short sleeve jersey, sun sleeves, a vest and light long-fingered gloves. I pa

Ethan, SR and I left at 7:45. The first 13 miles were on AZ-188, the same road we did yesterday. There weren't any motorcycles that early and it was low traffic so we could ride in the roadway. At Jake's Corner we intersected AZ-87, a 4-lane divided highway with lots of traffic. The shoulder was wide but with lots of crap in it. A big climb started just after we turned onto AZ-87. We saw BW on the other side about to start up the climb. Ethan and I stopped before we started up the climb to answer the call of nature and take of some clothing. I put my vest in my seat bag along with the rain jacket and put on my half-fingered gloves. SR went ahead and BW also started the climb.

When I looked at the collection of routes soon after they were handed out, this day looked to be one of the hard ones. I was glad that my legs felt really good today, and with tomorrow being a rest day, I really wanted to leave it all on the road. So, I climbed really hard and tried to keep it around 170 W. This was 5.7 miles long and gained about 800 feet of elevation gain. I alternated climbing seated and standing. We passed BW and SR on the climb. At the top there was a long descent of about 3 miles. I didn't fully let it rip because the road surface was wet and my eyes were watering because it was a little cold. At the bottom we started the second big climb. It was 4.5 miles and gained 1300 feet. I again felt good and rode it as above. Near the top it was hard for me to hold 170 W, so my power started to slip to the 150 range. The van was waiting at the top of that climb, which was a really nice place to meet. I ate a sandwich and a clementine and SR and BW joined as at the top. I filled my water bottles and we started down and put on my light rain jacket as I expected the descent to be cool. The descent lasted about 15 miles. It was a little gnarly because of burned out holes from car fires and the fact that traffic was whizzing right beside us. I had some trouble on the descent as the combination of the rough surface and gusty crosswinds made my bike seem unstable. As a result, I did some braking and kept my max to less than 40 mph. As a result, Ethan was letting it rip and got pretty far ahead. There were some small 0.5 mile climbs that interrupted the downhill.

At the bottom of the climb was a long slow descent. Ethan was in front and was driving us at 25-28 mph. It was fun, but a little nerve wracking: he is large to draft behind so I had to really trust his eyes. The miles really flew by. At mile 48 we got off onto Bush road. We stopped on the side of the road shortly after and I took of my rain jacket and leg warmers as it was starting to warm up. The first several miles of Bush Road were not very fun: there was lots of traffic, including people towing things, and the shoulder was not very ride. I asked Ethan not to go too fast on that section. However, in a few miles there was a nice wide bike lane that was free of crap and was relatively smooth. We were going in the 20s, but it was hard as there were a series of small hills and I had to burn a match on each of them to keep up. The last big climb of the day started at mile 59. It was 4 miles long an gained around 700 feet of elevation. I was feeling really good and was able to stick to Ethan's wheel with a combination of seated and standing climbing. I was trying to keep. it at 170 W. Near the top it started to flatten out, so I dropped the hammer and went over 200 watts for about the last mile. We stopped at the top, in the entrance to a shooting range, to wait for SR and to have a quick snack. From there it was pretty much downhill into Mesa. I was dreading riding in Mesa, given recent experience in El Paso, Del Rio and Globe, but it was actually quite nice. We went on low traffic roads with bike lanes. The only downside is that there was a stoplight every mile to mile and a half, and we always had to wait for them. Ethan amused himself by practicing his track stands. We arrived at the La Quinta before the van. So we went to a nearby Smashburger for lunch with Stan. By the time we got back, the van had arrived.

A group of us went to a local bar and grill for dinner. I had a Calzone and an Athletic Brewing NA Hazy IPA. Both tasted great.

Ethan leaves for the Sea Otter Classic tomorrow. It has been great riding with him in this section of 4 hard rides, 3 over 80 miles and two with significant headwinds. It really meant a lot to me to have him here.

There are only 7 rides left. Three of them are 70 miles, though flat, and the ride into Alpine, CA is 60 miles with 7000 feet of elevation gain. Hopefully the winds will be with us.

Today's ride: 83 miles (134 km)
Total: 2,631 miles (4,234 km)

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