Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Pictures from saturday's ride

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Pictures from saturday's ride

Old 06-26-04, 11:25 PM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Had a pretty cool ride Saturday morning (real early to avoid traffic). Thought I would share the pictures.


a good at dawn has to be one of the best things in the world.


Sunrise over canyon lake and my bicycle.


Just a cactus near the summit of a climb.


You know what they say about the journeybeing better than the destination. That building down there is basically the town of Tortilla flat, my destination (the store was closed at that time of the morning).


Sunrising on the climb out of Tortilla Flat.


Some cliffs above Tortilla Flat.


Mountains above Tortilla Flat


The town of Tortilla Flat (I am pretty sure this was the bank in "Raising Arizona" if you have seen that movie, They shot a lot of scenes in this area.)


Descending back down to the lake.


This is why they call it canyon lake.


Probably one of the only steel decked bridges in the state of Arizona. It was definitely the first one I ever had to cross. Glad it wasn't wet.


Had to pose by the sign as long as I was taking pictures. Good excuse to rest in the middle of a long hill anyway. OK, no comments about the socks, I got dressed at 3:00 AM to get an early start and the Fashion Concious section of my brain was slow in activating.


The Flat Iron. This is the western edge of the Superstition Mountains.

Good ride, had a motorcyclist go down right behind me at one point and had to wait for the Highway patrol to get there. Remind me to never have a life threatening injury out here as it takes them awhile to get there. I am amazed at how many cyclists do this ride every weekend. Must be the scenery. I am definitely going back. With 4000 feet of climbing it is a pretty good workout over 54 miles. Next time though I will sleep in until 4 AM and not plan on being detained for half an hour by an accident . I also will toss in a first aid kit next time.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.

Last edited by Paul L.; 06-26-04 at 11:30 PM.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 12:48 AM
  #2  
Duct tape won't fix that
 
slotibartfast's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Covington, Washington
Posts: 440

Bikes: 2003 Bianchi Veloce, 2002 Gary Fisher Utopia

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Cool pics. I drove that route a couple of years ago when in Apache Junction visiting my mom. Good burgers at Tortilla Flats! On the drive, I was wondering what a bike ride down there would be like, but I didn't like the narrowness of the road. Any problems with cars? I would guess it would be best to ride that route in a group.
slotibartfast is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 01:32 AM
  #3  
pluralis majestatis
 
redfooj's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: you rope
Posts: 4,206

Bikes: a DuhRosa

Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 537 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
nicer than any ride ive been on
redfooj is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 03:09 AM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
j.foster's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Posts: 133

Bikes: Look Kx Light custom build

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by redfooj
nicer than any ride ive been on

same here. that is absolutely stunning, i'll get you some pics of sunny england if you like so you can see how lucky you are. there's hardly anywhere over here where you can just ride, it's all towns and villages and the few roads that are in the countryside are usually quite dangerous (at least where i live).
j.foster is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 03:25 AM
  #5  
12 2005 DC Finishes
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Folsom, Ca
Posts: 455

Bikes: 1998 Cannondale V1000, 2001 Specialized Sirrus Pro, 2004 De Rosa King

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Great pictures, thanks for sharing. I'd love to get down and ride some of that country.
Stealthman_1 is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 03:27 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
cyclezealot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Fallbrook,Calif./Palau del Vidre, France
Posts: 13,230

Bikes: Klein QP, Fuji touring, Surly Cross Check, BCH City bike

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1485 Post(s)
Liked 73 Times in 64 Posts
Paul..What's the bike..? Maybe a Jamis.? Just appears you have no wedge... Carry a patch kit somewhere... Do notice a pump...
One time I unknowingly commutted to work w/o such...
That on a work commute makes me nervous, just to think about.
cyclezealot is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 06:08 AM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 47
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
One day I will be living in Arizona too. I have wanted to live there my whole life(I'm 19). It has to be the most beautiful area in the world. I love the desert and rocky terrian of Arizona. It is flat and hot over here in Texas(houston area).
WAR85 is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 08:18 AM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 200
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks for the pics! I love my morning rides through the farms and hills of middle Tennessee but it is great to see what other cyclists around this beautiful country of ours get to see on their morning rides.

Thanks again for the photos. BTW, that picture of Canyon Lake is beautiful. I am thinking of getting a camera to take on my rides. Any suggestions?
Tennessee is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 09:22 AM
  #9  
damn straight
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: San Diego
Posts: 283

Bikes: aluminum, carbon, steel

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
man thats wicked cool
rockstar is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:11 AM
  #10  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by slotibartfast
Cool pics. I drove that route a couple of years ago when in Apache Junction visiting my mom. Good burgers at Tortilla Flats! On the drive, I was wondering what a bike ride down there would be like, but I didn't like the narrowness of the road. Any problems with cars? I would guess it would be best to ride that route in a group.

This is only doable by bike early in the morning when no cars are out and even then you need to keep an eye in the rearview watching for cars towing boat trailers. Between 4 and 6 in the morning though traffic is very light (one or two cars per half hour). Coming back is fine until 8 or 9 since the only reason people travel up there is for the lake mostly. Groups help. The sharp turns help to keep speeds down as well but create a blind spot problem. The key is keeping the ears open for approaching vehicles and being careful around the blind curves.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:17 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by cyclezealot
Paul..What's the bike..? Maybe a Jamis.? Just appears you have no wedge... Carry a patch kit somewhere... Do notice a pump...
One time I unknowingly commutted to work w/o such...
That on a work commute makes me nervous, just to think about.

The bike is a Mercier Corvus, same as the ones they sell at bikesdirect.com. The price of the bike was less than the components would cost so I figured even if the frame was cheap I could still replace the frame and have a good bike. So far the frame has been doing good though. Since no shops were open at that time of morning I decided to take my hydrapack in addition to the two bottles so I would have 4 hours of fluids with me (I finished the last of my water 2 miles from home so it was a pretty good estimate). I put the all in one tool and the patch kit in the hydraspack. I usually keep all that in a rack trunk but didn't want to mess with the trunk on a fifty miler with all that climbing.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:24 AM
  #12  
Spinmeister
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Tempe,AZ
Posts: 623

Bikes: Scattante Carbon, Full Ultegra

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I have done the tortilla flats ride only once so far, it was great. I loved the climbing and the fact that I wasn't in the city so much. I went on a weekday morning and had a few boats go by on the way down to the lake but coming back out I had only one or two cars pass me in the 45 minutes or whatever it took to climb out. This was in late may though so there is probably more traffic with people out of school. The climbing was so nice compared to south mountain that I am used to, smooth pavement, long climbing at good gradients. I will definetly be back...as soon as I get back to AZ! Where'd you ride from? I started at ASU which added about an hour to an hour and a half or so just to get out there. Made for a very pleasant, very rewarding ride. Great pics, makes me miss AZ! Just a few more weeks...
TriDevil is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:25 AM
  #13  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Tennessee
Thanks for the pics! I love my morning rides through the farms and hills of middle Tennessee but it is great to see what other cyclists around this beautiful country of ours get to see on their morning rides.

Thanks again for the photos. BTW, that picture of Canyon Lake is beautiful. I am thinking of getting a camera to take on my rides. Any suggestions?

I have the Cannon powershot s400 (Digital ELPH). It has worked great and has and I haven't hadn't had any complaints.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:32 AM
  #14  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by TriDevil
I have done the tortilla flats ride only once so far, it was great. I loved the climbing and the fact that I wasn't in the city so much. I went on a weekday morning and had a few boats go by on the way down to the lake but coming back out I had only one or two cars pass me in the 45 minutes or whatever it took to climb out. This was in late may though so there is probably more traffic with people out of school. The climbing was so nice compared to south mountain that I am used to, smooth pavement, long climbing at good gradients. I will definetly be back...as soon as I get back to AZ! Where'd you ride from? I started at ASU which added about an hour to an hour and a half or so just to get out there. Made for a very pleasant, very rewarding ride. Great pics, makes me miss AZ! Just a few more weeks...

I started from east Mesa so it is only about half an hour of city riding to get out to where the real riding starts. I ride past ASU from here twice a day so I am very familiar with that part of your ride.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 07:18 PM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Desert
Posts: 271

Bikes: Colnago, GT Team

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Nice to see water in AZ paul, thanks. ill have to visit canyon lake this week.
pacesetter is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 07:28 PM
  #16  
riding a Pinarello Prince
 
orguasch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Downtown Toronto,Canada
Posts: 2,409

Bikes: Pinarello, Prince and an FP5

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
you must have a very wonderful ride, out there
__________________
"Racso", the well oiled machine;)
orguasch is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 08:09 PM
  #17  
Coastal NC
 
oneradtec's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,040

Bikes: 2004 Trek 5200 w/ Ultegra

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
boy!...that shot of the lake makes a nice background on my desktop. Thank you!
oneradtec is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 09:38 PM
  #18  
winning magazine junkie
 
lofter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: spfld ill
Posts: 518

Bikes: top end gitanes and some funky ones too

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
nice ride paul . i toured that area with my grandparents when i went to see them in apache junction ,i was there in the month of feb. quite a few years ago .your so right on the cars its real touristy . we stopped at that little town went into the saloon where the bar stools are horse saddles . wow that brings back memories, thanks.when we went they said it was a wet month got to see a waterfall in the desert quite different to say the least . nice pics and thanks for sharing
lofter is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 09:54 PM
  #19  
Senior Member
 
1inamil600's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 81
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
awesome pics...looks like you had a lot of fun!
1inamil600 is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 10:02 PM
  #20  
Nam
Stinky Mouse
 
Nam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: NY
Posts: 128

Bikes: Giant OCR3

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
oh gosh, I've never ridden on the streets like that, they're perfect.
Nam is offline  
Old 06-27-04, 11:12 PM
  #21  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Michigan
Posts: 799
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Great pictures. Just got back from Pedal to the Peaks, a 450 mile in southwestern Colorado. Looks like a lot of the scenery I rode in. It must be wonderful to live there.
outashape is offline  
Old 06-28-04, 10:41 AM
  #22  
Senior Member
 
caloso's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur

Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times in 1,417 Posts
Gorgeous.
caloso is offline  
Old 06-28-04, 10:53 AM
  #23  
Bananaed
 
Brillig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Philly-ish
Posts: 6,426

Bikes: 2001 Lemond Nevada City (only the frame remains)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Nice! Must be great to have rides like that right out your front door.

What's wrong with the socks?
__________________
If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.
- Thomas De Quincey
Brillig is offline  
Old 06-28-04, 11:48 AM
  #24  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Paul L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Brillig
Nice! Must be great to have rides like that right out your front door.

What's wrong with the socks?
Many roadies I know abhor the tall sock look, preferring the look of the below ankle cycling socks. I prefer the cycling socks as well but not necessarily for looks but rather the wicking properties. Unfortunately they were in the laundry.
__________________
Sunrise saturday,
I was biking the backroads,
lost in the moment.
Paul L. is offline  
Old 06-28-04, 12:11 PM
  #25  
Zin
On your what?!?
 
Zin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Lakewood, CO
Posts: 2,317
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks for sharing the pics, Paul! Nice work!
__________________
---
Former 340# Type 2 Diabetic.
My web site.
Proud member of Colorado's Best Cycling Club - Club Hypoxia
Zin is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.