jcrouse

There have been a couple of recent threads with nice pictures. I enjoy seeing what other parts of the country look like so I thought I'd share some ride pictures I've taken where I live in northern Arizona. The pictures were all taken at least a few months back.

This shows a portion of historic Route 66. This portion of the road is concrete and incredibly smooth. The mountains in the background are the San Francisco Peaks. One of the peaks, Humphreys, is the hightest point in AZ at 12,640'. These mountains, and all the country visible in the photo, would typically be covered in snow at the time the photo was taken (I believe it was March) but we haven't had much snow for a few years now.


This is an old country store along Route 66.


Here is Interstate 40 with Route 66 visble to the left.


There are some 15-20 mile stretches of the old highway just a few miles east of where I live that are very scenic rides with very little traffic. There is an ~100 mile stretch of the old highway that begins an hour or so from where I live. It begins near Ashfork and ends in Kingman. It would be a wonderful, scenic ride.

This is south of my home along my usual route. It was taken this past winter.


This is on the same route as the previous photo. There is little or no shoulder on the road for the first six miles but after that it is plenty wide. This is a popular route and there will dozens of riders on the weekends. It is a very nice ride that is adjacent to some beautiful lakes full of ducks, geese, and, in the winter, bald eagles are common. It is also common to see elk on this ride.



Here is my trusty ride. It is a 1984 Raleigh Super Course that I bought in '85. It is mainly stock but does have some lighter wheels on it and I've put some older Look pedals on it. A new seat, a carbon fork, and perhaps STI shifters and updated drivetrain are planned. I recently put new Shimano 105 calipers on it and newer 105 levers with black hoods.


I can't wait to get out on the road again since I haven't been able to ride for a couple weeks and will likely be off the bike for a few more weeks at least. I had hernia sugery last week and I'm going crazy sitting around the house. I'd strongly suggest that you don't get a hernia.....it ain't fun!

Joe

Doggus

Looks like the locals are having a little trouble driving on that super smooth concrete in the first pic. I wish we had mountains here.

ElJamoquio

Pretty.

wheel

very nice indeed

BoSoxYacht

Nice photos, I hope you get riding soon.

One day this fall, I'd like to ride down Oak Creek Canyon Rt. 89A to Sedona and Jerome. I've driven it many times, but it would be so much better to cycle it.
Have you done the ride? if so, how is the climb to Jerome? It looks fricken sweet.

oilman_15106

Ever done the Mormon Lake or Lake Mary loop? Every time I am out there the weather is crap at that elevation and I have never done it.

jcrouse

Thanks, I'm looking forward to riding again.

This would be a great time of year to do this ride because it has been in the 80s down there. Are you thinking of starting the ride in Flagstaff? If so, the ride each way would be roughly 60 miles and I'd hate to ride back up Oak Creek Canyon. I did this many years ago and actually rode all the way to Prescott. The traffic along this entire route has really increased over the past few years so I'd suggest you do it mid-week to miss the weekend traffic. I have a coworker that transports his bike to Sedona and rides up to Jerome and back. The actual climb up to Jerome isn't terribly long (~5 miles) but it is, as I'm sure you remember, quite steep. The top of the mountain is 12 miles past Jerome. It isn't as steep and is really scenic. My oldest son lives in Sedona and I've been thinking of riding down to his place and having my wife come down later and give me a ride back. The ride back up the hill would be brutal.....for me anyway.

The second and third to the last pictures are from Lake Mary Road. I live just one mile from where Lake Mary Road heads south out of town so this is (or was until recently) my daily ride. I usually don't have the time to ride all the way to Mormon Lake but there is a large group ride that does the entire loop every Saturday. There is a stage race next weekend with one of the stages starting down near Lake Mary. https://www.summitcenterclassic.com/ The weather can be nasty at times but from now until September or even October it should be ideal. You will encounter heavy afternoon "monsoon " rains, accompanied by an awful lot of lightning, in July and August but they usually don't start until the early afternoon.

drmarthacastro

I wish you a fast recovery!

Nice pictures and beautiful place where you bike.

WCroadie

Nice shots, I would love to live out west and be able to ride real mountains.

blonduathlongrl

I really enjoy seing where everyone else ride, thanks for sharing! beautiful routes!!

onkey

beautiful pictures.

thanks so much

oilman_15106

OP - you are correct about the traffic in Oak Creek Canyon. I have never biked it but all the tourists gawking could not make the ride safer. The new highway from Sedona to VOC is to have bike lanes in both directions so that should open up more routes. However the construction is slow. Maybe 2008?

The ride up to Jerome is the same thing with car traffic. Last time we were in Prescott we came back thru Jerome. Guy was bombing down the Mt. going toward Prescott at about 60mph! I would like to hear more about road routes in the area. I'm in Sedona usually 5 times a year and keep a bike out there.

ImprezaDrvr

Wifey and I lived in Window Rock for five+ years. That part of the country is absolutely incredible. We're heading out there next week to spend a few days around Gallup, Window Rock, Durango and Dolores, CO. I miss it there.

littledjahn

Nice bike. I've got an '86 Grand Prix that rides like a dream. I've also considered a switch to STI - shouldn't be too hard to squeeze a 130 rear hub back there, right?

jcrouse

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Be sure to bring your bikes if you plan on checking out this part of the country.

I haven't tried putting a wider hub on but it seems like it shouldn't be too hard. I think it would only be an increase of 2 or so mm on each side.I do like the way my Raleigh rides. It is a little heavier than newer bikes but it is all I've ever known so I don't know what I may be missing! I would like to sometime get a new bike but this one is working just fine for know.


The ride down into Prescott Valley from the Jerome route really is something else. It was raining when I did it and I'm still amazed I made it down in one piece!

As I previously mentioned, the ~100 mile ride from Ashfork to Kingman on old Route 66 would be a great ride. There are only a few places along the route with any type of facilities so you'd have to be sure to have plenty of water 'cause it gets warm in that country.

Highway 260 (sometimes called the Zane Grey Highway) from Camp Verde up to highway between Clint's Well and Strawberry would be another good, but challenging, ride. It is mostly uphill. You could do a huge loop beginning in Flagstaff and then heading down Lake Mary Road to Clint's Well and then down to Camp Verde. I'm not sure how far that is but it would be a LONG day of riding. It would be a pretty good mix of uphill vs. downhill.

A popular route closer to Flagstaff is the 40 something mile loop that begins at Sunset Crater National Monument and ends west of Wupatki National Monument. This is very scenic high desert but tends to be windy this time of the year and can get quite warm (85-95ish with absolutely no shade) in midsummer. The fall would be a great time to do it our just begin early morning during the summer.

Another great ride is from Flagstaff up Highway 180 all the way to Valle. Grand Canyon NP is ony 40 miles or so north of Valle. The route begins at 7000' and tops out at around 8100' and the end of the ride is probably 5500' or so. The entire route is beautiful but there is little if any shoulder on the road.

Joe

stevesurf

Looks like a great riding area - thanks for sharing. My sister recently moved to Tucson, where they even regularly publish their own Bike Map!

The path by the river looked especially inviting!

Shifty

I've ridden the Sedona to Jerome ride many times, I usually go through Jerome to the top of Mingus Mountain, then back to Jerome for snacks and view of the Verde Valley, just spectacular!! I don't think it's all that steep, but you are right about the increase in traffic, now you need to time it right. The road department needs to sweep the shoulder between Clarksdale and Sedona, it will be a lot safer if they do!

Caliente

awesome pics! cool to see other areas of the country!

DRLski

What city/towns are most of these photos in? Doesn't look like the typical Arizona that I normally think of.

Shifty

Near Flagstaff, at about 7000 ft elevation.

jcrouse

The first three photos are ~20 miles west of Flagstaff. My wife teaches second grade at a small community out there. She only has eight students in her class. The other photos are just 5-6 miles south of Flagstaff. The Flagstaff area gets around 100" of snow a year (but that hasn't happened too much in the last decade) and usually only hits 90 degrees a handful of times each summer. The humidity is extremely low. The winters can be cold, really cold. We've had temps of over 20 below (no wind chill) just ten miles west of town at the National Weather Service station. Phoenix, only 1.5 hours south, is easily 20 degrees warmer and even15-20 minutes east of town the temps will be 10-15 degrees warmer. I should mention that this area, and Sedona just 40 minutes south of here, are popular for mountain bike riding. There are countless miles of single-track and hundreds of miles of Forest Service roads for riding.

The hill up into Jerome from Clarkdale is IMHO plenty steep but your're right that from Jerome to the top of Mingus isn't so bad but it is 12 miles so it would take a fair bit of time.....for me anyway! Have you eaten at the Haunted Hamburger? Good stuff.

I can remember what Cottonwood/Clarkdale was like back in the mid-80s when my in-laws first moved there. There was only a few thousand people at that time. It is growing so fast (and not in any positive ways) that I don't like even going down there anymore.

I have family down there so I visit a few times a year. I'm amazed at how many cyclists are down there.

Joe

Stockton

Man I miss AZ. I used to live in Phoenix and I miss it tons.

How do you carry camera when you ride? Is it a small camera. I have a DSLR so it's a larger camera and I was thinking of combining these two hobbies but I don't want to risk breaking my camera.

Great pics.

jcrouse

Thanks. I've got a Canon A40 (I believe this is what it is, I don't have it handy right now) and it fits nicely and snugly in one of the back pockets on my jerseys.