long and winding road...
Trisha and I decided to do a road trip...a road bicycling trip.
The plan was 4 days and ~300miles. We ended up with a tad under 300 miles but considering the WHOLE state of AZ has chip-sealed (not smooth asphalt road) that was PLENTY!
Day 1 - Tucson to Tombstone - 87 miles
We battled horrendous headwinds to Sonoita (the halfway point). Those headwinds sucked especially since there was a 6% grade climb that lasted for 4 miles. boo!
After a quick lunch in Sonoita - it was heading east to Tombstone. Luckily at this point we had a tailwind and we made the last 40miles in 2:20.
Man - we were glad to get to the hotel and we were especially happy it was on the North side of Tombstone.
The hotel had a decent restaurant and we ate there.
We ran into 3 gentlemen while at dinner. The guys and us two were on the only people in the place. They were Harley motorcycle riders from Phoenix. They were aghast that we rode our bikes from Tucson. They asked "you don't have a gun with you? you weren't afraid?" It never occurred to us to be afraid. We answered a resounding "no!" to both questions.
Day 2 - Tombstone to Bisbee - 25 miles
we woke up feeling pretty good and ready to roll. This was a short day - we made it to Bibsee in ~2 hours.
we got to Bisbee before noon and had the whole day to relax. Bisbee is a super cool town and we enjoyed the day. Bruce (Trisha's boyfriend) drove down and brought us extra clothes and stuff. We had a great and fun dinner at the Screaming Banshee Pizzeria
Day 3 - Bisbee to Sonoita - 68 miles
We were still feeling pretty good this morning. We had a leisurely breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club. Yummy breakfast and a great way to start a 68 mile ride!
The ride started off with a 18 mile downhill - woot! But then the next 20 miles to Sierra Vista was uphill.
On Hereford Road we ran into 2 gentlemen that were biking. One talked the whole time and the other guy was nice and quiet. We let them continue ahead of us. About 10 miles from Sierra Vista the quiet guy came back riding toward us. He offered to show us the way to circumvent the traffic in Sierra Vista. His name was John. He was SO nice. He had a nice pace and I could easily match it but we were dropping Trisha. I told him I wanted to make sure I could keep her in sight. So he adjusted his pace. He was pretty amazing - he was almost 70 years old and had the body of an athletic 29 year old man.
Meeting and riding with John was the highlight of the day! I wish I had thought to get a picture of him.
The rest of the trip to Sonoita was uneventful. It took us 4.5 hours to ride the 66 miles.
The LOWlight of the trip was our hotel. The Sonoita Inn. From the website the place looks like a lurixous spa. At $140 per night it was a total rip-off!
the only place to eat was a steak house operated by the Sonoita Inn owners - it was mediocre too but at least the bartender had a generous pour when she gave us our glass of wine.
Day 4 - 75 miles
Ok...we were officially tired today. Our legs felt good but we were definitely tired.
I SWEAR by UltraGen and Sports Legs. We were really good about our recovery drink and Sports Legs and I guarantee we would have felt a lot worse if we hadn't carried a 4 day supply with us.
Around 5 miles out of Sonoita we had the pleasure of hitting a 30(!) mile downhill (it was 30 miles uphill on our first day).
The last 30 miles home were tough - we were tired - it was hot and I for one was READY to be done. But we made it. 75 miles in 4:45. Whew!
I can't tell you how proud I am of Trisha. She only started road biking 6 months ago!! She is mentally tough and always ended the day with a smile. I am SO lucky my BEST friend in the whole world is my wonderful and beautiful sister.
The plan was 4 days and ~300miles. We ended up with a tad under 300 miles but considering the WHOLE state of AZ has chip-sealed (not smooth asphalt road) that was PLENTY!
Day 1 - Tucson to Tombstone - 87 miles
We battled horrendous headwinds to Sonoita (the halfway point). Those headwinds sucked especially since there was a 6% grade climb that lasted for 4 miles. boo!
After a quick lunch in Sonoita - it was heading east to Tombstone. Luckily at this point we had a tailwind and we made the last 40miles in 2:20.
feeling fresh and feisty
me
Trisha with a big pack
Man - we were glad to get to the hotel and we were especially happy it was on the North side of Tombstone.
us - as usual - we are slathered in sunscreen ;)
The hotel had a decent restaurant and we ate there.
We ran into 3 gentlemen while at dinner. The guys and us two were on the only people in the place. They were Harley motorcycle riders from Phoenix. They were aghast that we rode our bikes from Tucson. They asked "you don't have a gun with you? you weren't afraid?" It never occurred to us to be afraid. We answered a resounding "no!" to both questions.
Day 2 - Tombstone to Bisbee - 25 miles
we woke up feeling pretty good and ready to roll. This was a short day - we made it to Bibsee in ~2 hours.
us after breakfast
rode to bisbee
trisha feeling good
we got to Bisbee before noon and had the whole day to relax. Bisbee is a super cool town and we enjoyed the day. Bruce (Trisha's boyfriend) drove down and brought us extra clothes and stuff. We had a great and fun dinner at the Screaming Banshee Pizzeria
Bisbee
Day 3 - Bisbee to Sonoita - 68 miles
We were still feeling pretty good this morning. We had a leisurely breakfast at the Bisbee Breakfast Club. Yummy breakfast and a great way to start a 68 mile ride!
BBC
On Hereford Road we ran into 2 gentlemen that were biking. One talked the whole time and the other guy was nice and quiet. We let them continue ahead of us. About 10 miles from Sierra Vista the quiet guy came back riding toward us. He offered to show us the way to circumvent the traffic in Sierra Vista. His name was John. He was SO nice. He had a nice pace and I could easily match it but we were dropping Trisha. I told him I wanted to make sure I could keep her in sight. So he adjusted his pace. He was pretty amazing - he was almost 70 years old and had the body of an athletic 29 year old man.
Meeting and riding with John was the highlight of the day! I wish I had thought to get a picture of him.
The rest of the trip to Sonoita was uneventful. It took us 4.5 hours to ride the 66 miles.
The LOWlight of the trip was our hotel. The Sonoita Inn. From the website the place looks like a lurixous spa. At $140 per night it was a total rip-off!
in reality it looks like this
Day 4 - 75 miles
Ok...we were officially tired today. Our legs felt good but we were definitely tired.
Around 5 miles out of Sonoita we had the pleasure of hitting a 30(!) mile downhill (it was 30 miles uphill on our first day).
we were GLAD to see this sign!
The last 30 miles home were tough - we were tired - it was hot and I for one was READY to be done. But we made it. 75 miles in 4:45. Whew!
trisha and i just after we arrived at her house
Comments
i'm so glad you took pix of your awesome adventure ;-)
yyeehhaaww!!
jj