Pay Back Time

Did I mention that the last few days have been quite flat? Well - today was time to climb! It was a short mileage day - just 50 miles from Apache Junction to Globe AZ, but we had a few climbs through mountain passes. We climbed a total of 4100 feet and had some fun descents totalling 2200 feet. Other than the first few miles of the day it felt like we were either going up or down. It was a great day, though. The uphill grades were fairly gentle, the scenery was amazing and the winds were tailwinds. Our guides, Carol and Linda, put on their St. Patrick's Day duds and fueled us up before we headed out (picture below). There were lots of takers for "bumps" and van rides to avoid some of the hills and more challenging sections of the day's ride. But, about 10 women rode from start to finish. We rode through our first tunnel of the trip. It wasn't long (about a third of a mile) but tunnels are never fun and this was no exception. There was an uphill grade of about 6 or 7% throughout, so we didn't exactly rocket through it. But - we all made it safely to the other side and then continued climbing for a few more miles. Then we came to the "Caution - downhill 6% grade for 12 miles" sign, after which we descended for about half a mile and climbed for another 5 before we encountered another short downhill section followed by more uphill. On sections of the downhills there was about a 2 foot wide shoulder with rumble strips on one side and guardrail on the other. That would have been fine, but there were lots of thorny bushes growing out into the shoulder about 1.5 feet. We all got whacked across the legs, arms, hands and face by a few of these :( At the "Top of the World" we took a refreshing stop for an overpriced and poorly prepared "shave ice" treat. Back on the bikes and down through the former mining town of Miami AZ. Lots of mine infrastructure still standing and many abandoned buildings. Not much happening these days in this former one-industry copper mining town. Quite sad to see. Shortly thereafter we made it to our destination town of Globe AZ, but had to continue climbing to get to our hotel at the far end of town. Best thing about the location, though - DQ is a block away. Had a yummy blizzard while we were waiting for our rooms to be ready. A great day and lots of laughs!