2013 MS 150 Arizona-Ride the Vortex

First, the good news:  NO SNOW (or sleet, or whatever that was last year)!  The weather this year was beautiful, with temps in the 80s to 90s (F).  As one would expect, the course was  beautiful, beginning in Cottonwood, with views of Jerome on Mingus Mountain to the south, and long vistas of valley, the Mogollon Rim to the east, and Sedona to the north.

The bad news (if it can be called really bad) was that they had changed the course from last year, and there were some sections of out-and-back that weren't well-marked.  As well, they had kind of shorted the courses (96 miles for the "century" day, and 48 miles for the 50-mile day).  Thus, I ended up going about 74 miles on Day 1 (see the map above), with numerous "technical difficulties."  Besides missing one of the out-and-back sections in Oak Creek, I accidentally turned off my Garmin for about 2 miles in the middle of the course.  Nor did my Oakley Bluetooth sunglasses really work with my new (dumb) cell phone.  But Chris, Nate, Tana and I (the other three were sightseeing Sedona) did manage to rendezvous in Sedona, just south of uptown at a roundabout (see below).

We also ran across each other as I was riding the out-and-back through Boynton Canyon.  A great day altogether, though the Boynton Canyon section was pretty gnarly in spots, with short 15% grades.  As well, at rest stop 3B, a microburst sent a large and heavy canopy flying.  I ducked, but another rider tried to restrain the canopy, which flew anyway and knocked down two volunteers.

We had had supper at L'Auberge the night before, so I was fully carb-loaded (even after having main course venison).  What a setting, dining creekside under the lights, with great food and company. 

We also routed down through the side road to Oak Creek Crossing State Park, near where Chris and I had stayed at a guest house, which ended up not having direct creek access, though it was a mere 200 yards from the creek itself.  That side road included about a mile of gravel.  All in all, a wonderful and short day of riding, with just a little slogging in Boynton Canyon.

Here's the day 2 route, which ended up being about 46 miles long according to my Garmin, though the route description pegged it at 48.  This one ended up being almost exactly the same as last year, going through the wine country of the Verde Valley, and having an out-and-back to I-17 (though this year, we didn't actually have to ride the shoulder).

I could wax lyrical about the scenery, which was great, but instead, I'll talk about what struck me most this year--pavement types.  I had forgotten how, on long-distance rides, seams in asphalt or (especially) concrete roadways can bang the heck out of hands and arms.  There were many bumps and narrow shoulders in and around Cottonwood; these smoothed out once we were off 89A and onto country roads like the Cornville Road.  I find that I remember the route primarily in terms of three things:  roundabouts (good and interesting intersections in both Sedona and Cottonwood, though drivers seem not to be able to figure out how to use them and signal their intentions, as they do in Great Britain), road incline (which, in concert with tail- or headwinds did the most to slow riders down or speed them up), and surface.  The gravel section was less gnarly than I had thought it would be, and I remembered my daughter's boyfriend, who had ridden the Apache Trail (circa 100 miles, about 20 of it gravel in the middle of nowhere) when he visited for Christmas this year.  89A, outside the seams in the asphalt close to Cottonwood, was freshly tarred and graveled, Macadam fashion.  I'd forgotten how rough those tar-adhered bits of gravel could be.  Regular asphalt is much smoother.  Interesting the things one thinks about on long rides.

I seem to have gained either better fitness, or mental toughness, or both (or neither) this year.  Why was the tour so smooth?  Was it the weather?  My fitness?  My ability to lean into pain?  My missing some turnoffs?  In any case, this ride was one of the most enjoyable I've had at this event.