| Riding Hi-Lites: The ride to Tombstone with the big climb over 5700 ft Mule Pass was a blast. I could not believe how easy it seemed! After stopping at our favorite coffee shop in Bisbee we enjoyed at least a 10 mile descent on the way to Douglas. The ride to Safford was wonderful including a scenic 8 mile climb over a mountain pass. On the climb I kept turning around to check out the scene behind me. It is one of the best views in the West. Mt. Graham was the best part of the week for me, a 12 mile gut wrenching climb full of switchbacks. I kept thinking of what Bob Roll said “the difference between most club riders and real riders” is the ability to climb mountains. I was striving to be “real”. The final ride from Tombstone, up over a mountain pass to Sonoita, then south to Tucson is one of the best rides I have ever been on. It starts with a 10 mile descent to the San Pedro River, followed by an 18 mile climb past cattle ranches to Sonoita, then ten miles of rollers, then a plunging descent of over 11 miles. What a thrill. What scenery. Riding Lo-Lites: Lo-lites were few. Because there are few roads in the area we were riding, we had to ride a total of about 50 miles on divided freeways. Truck traffic passing us at 75 mph+ made for some interesting moments. We were enjoying a lovely ride from Wilcox to Tombstone when we turned right onto the final leg. The headwinds increased to 30 mph with higher gusts. Despite our best efforts, we could only manage 13 mph on the gradual climb. Tombstone was 26 miles away. Those two hours were the most brutal of the trip, harder than any mountain we climbed! -------------- The Boston group of riders hung out together: Rick, Bruce, Theresa, Elizabeth, and myself. Jeri from L.A. (our concierge) took care of restaurant reservations and cabs as usual. Pierce (Rhode Island) often joined us, as did Robert and Maryann from Steamboat Springs. Rick Hayes and Linda Klein were MIA this year. They were missed. The many meals we ate together were pretty much non-stop laughs. Bruce frequently had us in stitches. We laughed so much that we were asked to keep the noise down a couple times, once by a grumpy PAC rider! It was a fun week. Any time you can ride your bike instead of working, there is very little to complain about. --Dave |
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