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I've Got Something to Say
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| Ride Stats |
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Time: 02:42:09
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Distance:
35.57 miles
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Max Speed:
37.40 mph
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Avg Speed:
13.10 mph
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Altitude Gain:
0 ft
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Route:
BJ Reunion
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Weight:
0
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Category: general: leisure -
group
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Terrain: Road: Hills
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Bike: Fuji Roubaix RC Road
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Club: None |
| Weather Conditions: mid 70's to low 80s
Humidity: 25%
Wind: SW17G22
Fair |
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I left my hotel room at 7:30 AM, riding to Woody’s Campground to join the rest of the gang for the pancake breakfast. With the last few plates of pancakes yet to be served, we gathered together for a quick group shot, then some participants hit the road to their next destination – some heading home, others heading elsewhere to see relatives, etc. JulieB & I had agreed last night that we were up to doing a ride of some sorts. With consideration for a headwind going out, thus a tailwind on the return, we were pointed into the direction of Snowbowl, AZ, a ski resort 14 miles from Flagstaff. Though there is no snow out there today, the resort also runs their lifts during the summer for a Scenic Sky Ride.
Just outside of Flagstaff on highway 180, we did pass a sign indicating the current elevation at 7000 feet – Snowbowl’s website says its base it at 9200 feet. Neither Julie nor I climbed all the way up Snowbowl Rd to the resort, a road that is at least 7 miles long (there was a sign stating ‘no passing next seven miles’ near the bottom) and I’m guessing it was at least 8% grade most of the way. We turned around just before the halfway point, so we were probably close to 8000 feet. After a couple of quick snapshots of the view from that point, we enjoyed a sweeeet and righteous, righteous (think of Crush from Finding Nemo) ride back down to 180. I would have easily hit 45-50 MPH if I hadn’t been so conservative and used my brakes so much – there were some other cyclist out there that were flying by us before we started our descent, I’m sure they had more nerve and agility than I cared to demonstrate today.
Back on 180 it was mostly downhill as we returned to Flagstaff, with the tailwind! There were a few short sections of road that didn’t have a shoulder, and there was quite a bit of traffic on 180, especially compared to what we encountered yesterday, but the drivers were very courteous and accommodating when I needed to take the lane due to the lack of shoulder.
Upon our arrival back at Woody’s, Noel was the lone camper left, and we knew he would be. He was hanging around to do a late afternoon mountain bike ride before heading back home to Phoenix. So the three of us sat under the shade of his canopy for a while swapping stories of life learning experiences for us and our kids. Then, Noel started finishing picking up his camp site, Julie head to the bathrooms to prepare for her ride home (also in PHX), and I returned to the hotel to clean up and start getting myself ready for my checkout at 3:30 tomorrow morning.
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