Day 13 - Mountain mauling

Facing what I thought would be a relaxed 80 miler, I took it easy getting up and was on the road by 08:30. And the first 5 hours of the day were great. The sun was out again, the drop in temperature was spot on, and there was little wind. It was truly ideal cycling conditions.

First was a 30 mile cruise out through the Phoenix suburbs. Being Sunday the roads had little traffic, and what activity there was seemed to be entirely church based, as most shops were closed this early. Every church I past seemed to have a full or filling car park, and when I came across what I thought was an open air concert, set out for a few thousand, I was surprised to find out it was just preparations for the standard Mormon Sunday jamboree. It certainly all looked like a good thing and very family/community based, and from an entirely selfish basis meant the roads were full of some of the least aggressive drivers on the planet.

After the last suburb the road opened up and I was rapidly up in the hills of the southern Tonto National Forest, accompanied by hundreds of Sunday motorcyclists, mostly elderly men on Harley's taking in the bends on the road, and the staggering views. I've struggled to find out what the mountain range is, and can only conclude it's the bottom of the Rockies, but with vast valleys and snow capped mountains on the horizon, it was properly sunning. Throw in the good roads and I was in a great mood over my delicious Mexican meal in an awesome little cafe in Superior.

That was until I looked at the map again and realised the pass I'd covered in the morning was not the main one for the day, and half the size of the one I needed to cover in the 23 miles to Globe and my motel. Almost immediately after lunch it got really brutal. Very tough climbing for well over 90 mins on roads without any kind of shoulder, and a 400m mountain tunnel. If riding on a shoulderless road in mountains with trucks roaring past is frightening, then taking on a mountain tunnel is in some undefined category above. It was not fun on any level.

As I entered Globe for the night cramp in my knee spook me it was something more serious. Adding this to the exploits of the last 3 hours riding of the day, I've spent the evening working out future routes that will avoid passes of that intensity. With the all the kit on the back of the bike, it is not only seriously hard work, but just too unnerving on the shoulderless mountain roads.

Luckily it looks like I've worked out a good route south. However it has also thrown up another worry: Apparently much of my route for the next 2 weeks odd is in a Tornado zone, and April/May's the "season." Some research on Wikipedia proved fruitless.... there is really no advice for cyclists, and the recommendation to "find a cellar in a solid building" is about as unhelpful as it gets. I guess I'll just take local advice and pray, the gold plated solution to most problems in life.

Globe is a decent mining town in the Copper belt. It's tired looking like a lot of mining towns, but definitely prosperous. And certainly more so than Miami, AZ the next door town. Definitely head for the FL option if you are given a choice.

Aside from that not much else to add, although I thought I'd share something made me smile today. I try to ride to work everyday from Fulham to Canary Wharf, which is almost dead on 10 miles each way. When I'm out riding here I find myself sizing up distances in my head based on bits of my work route. It just seemed laughable suddenly that I was working out the final distance to my motel through huge sky industrial scenery of the mining belt of mid-Arizona as "twice the distance from home to Peter Jones."

Route  - Tempe - Apache Junction

Breakfast - Frosties and 2 English muffins in the Hotel
Snacks - Cliff maple bar. Delicious and healthy, as part of my improved diet following much female concern about my choices to date.
Lunch - Chimichanga - Cafe Piedra Roja. If you ever find yourself in Superior, AZ (an unlikely prospect I know, but stay with me) head to this place. Run by a lovely Mexican American family the food was fantastic, fresh and prepared from scratch, a real joy.
Supper - Southwest Chicken Salad - Jerry's 24 hour diner, Globe, AZ. Not bad, but not quite as healthy as I'd planned. As for the diner, exactly what you expect of a 24 diner in a mining town in the copper belt of mid-Arizona. As with so much of the trip it looks like something straight out a movie, and the staff were utterly charming. That said was a little concerned about the sign on the door that requested "No open carry, please" (i.e. please conceal you handgun), I'm in the deep West for sure.