Trans America Cycling Day 8 - Mesa, AZ to Tonto Basin, AZ

The link to today's route and statistics is found here.

Today's ride was probably the most difficult to date.  Difficulty stemed from the ascent of 5,900 ft, the most of any day of the tour, and the temperature in the 90's F when riders finished in Tonto Basin.

Trans-America staff told us that today's ride would be one of the most beautiful in the tour, and that was surely the case.  We were surrounded by cacti on most all of the ride.  There were many cholla cacti in the desert that we passed through, as well as saguaros.  The cholla is sometimes referred to as the  "jumping cholla."  The name comes from the ease with which the cholla stems detach when brushed. Often the merest touch will leave a person with bits of cactus hanging on their clothing.  As always, beware of where you walk off road.  Ouch!

Cholla cactus

Saguaro at SAG stop

Early in the day we rode across the north side of the Superstition Mountains.  The Superstitions have a distinct ridgeline shape that is fascinating when seen from a distance.

North side of Superstition Mountains

Pond in front of Superstition Mountains

Randy from Oklahoma began his day with an equipment malfunction.  His crank broke.  Chuck drove Randy to a bike shop that was able to supply and assemble a new chank set in addition to a new bottom bracket and bearings.  It was fortunate to find a local bike shop with all of the parts that Randy needed.  After repairs, Chuck drove Randy to a SAG stop from which his ride began. 

Randy breaks a crank

There were steep downhill grades on the route.  Grades of -6% and -7% were ridden, each several miles long.  Traffic was very fast on these downhills.  The shoulder was rough and strewn with sand to fine gravel.  Cyclists were not able to descend at a high rate of speed on the shoulder due to its condition, and riding on the main pavement was dangerous because of cars and trucks.  So most riders used a lot of brake going down the shoulder.  In one place on the -7% grade a hay bale had fallen onto the shoulder, completely blocking the shoulder and forcing riders onto the roadway.

Brake check area for vehicles prior to the -6 to -7% grade

Ray from Malta took some beautiful photos today.  He takes his time looking for photographic opportunities while riding, and he stops to take many outstanding photographs.  Below are two of Ray's photos from the ride today.

Feature near Tonto Basin

Possible UFO sighting, according to Barry

Ray is enjoying the tour, as one can see in the following photograph.

On the road with Ray, Kristin and Ahne

Thinking of veterans and in concert with the theme of the tour, Barry found a Military Museum in Punkin Center, near where the riders and TAC staff ate dinner at the M&M Reno Creek Cafe.  Meatloaf was a big hit in the restraunt.  Chicken fried chicken also had a good following.  Many of the local gents were packing heat (pistols) worn openly in holsters.  John from Malta acted a bit concerned.

Military Museum in Pumpkin Center

Footnote:
We should mention that today was a difficult day for TAC.  Over much of the route there was no cell phone coverage, making it impossible for SAG vehicle drivers to communicate between themselves when at different sites.  At one point Larry actually grabbed a bike from the trailer and rode backwards on the shoulder to get to where Vicki had set up a SAG.  The road that we were on had lanes of traffic separated by a wide "median" of desert, and connections between the lanes, where a vehicle could cross over between north-bound and south-bound lanes were often separated by as much as 10 or 15 miles.  This made Larry nervous trying to look out for riders in difficulty.  One numskull rider, possibly yours truly, even unwittingly blew past SAG1, and Larry raced forward towing the trailer to stop on the shoulder in front of the rider and set up an impromptu SAG beside the guard rails.  Larry asked the cyclist to in the future try call or text him via mobile phone to say that he/she is OK (not Oklahoma Barry and Randy) and riding on or worse and the buzzards are circling.

All should sleep well tonight, following the ultra challenging ride today.