Ride Report
November 2025
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| Mike gives the rider brief for the Main Event |
A half-dozen riders lined up for the Desert Loop series of brevets on November 8, 2025. Yours truly volunteered to support the event and pre-ride the 300 and 600km brevets in the two weeks before the actual event. This is the tale of two pre-rides.
300km Brevet - October 25
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| Brian heading into the sunrise |
Brian McGuire volunteered to pre-ride the 200km and we met at the start control just before 0600. The routes are the same until you hit Pinnacle Peak Road in North Scottsdale, so we were able to ride together for the first 88 miles of our respective routes. It’s always nice to have some company on these rides.
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| Construction on Ellsworth Road |
We noted some construction on Ellsworth road and were somewhat surprised by the heavy traffic so early on a Saturday morning around Queen Creek. That area is really growing!
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| Brian bombing down Usery Pass |
We took our first real break at the Usery Pass Park HQ just before the summit. There are restrooms and water fountains, and at about 40 miles into the ride, the perfect time to change layers and reload the bottles. It’s just a few hundred meters to the top of the pass and we were rewarded with a great downhill run to Bush Highway.
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| Four Peaks |
The desert is very lush from the recent rains, and Four Peaks was magnificent on this crystal clear morning.
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| Verde River |
Bush Highway joins the Beeline Highway and the next 15 miles to Fountain Hills went by very quickly with a slight tailwind and gentle downgrade. We covered that section of the ride easily holding 25-30 mph.
We rolled through Fountain Hills and stoped at Aztec Park about 79.5 miles into the ride to top off bottles. From there we rode together to the next control at Pinnacle Peak road. From here I headed north on Pima Road to continue the 300, and Brian headed west on Pinnacle Peak road for his 200.
The route climbs to the high point at 100 miles among the huge homes in the Desert Mountain/Mirabel developments. From there its mostly downhill through the towns of Carefree and Cave Creek.
My lunch plan was to stop at a Circle K/Burger King combo on the Carefree Highway at 7th street. But rolling in I discovered the Burger King is now a Filiberto’s Mexican Food outlet. I had burger on the mind so I grabbed one at the Circle K with some chips and took a quick break on the sidewalk. The burger had 370 calories, and that was about the only thing going for it. Probably should have had a burrito at Filiberto’s!
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| Bike path |
Back on the road the route continues to the New River Bike Trail. From here its about 11 miles of uninterrupted cycling along a great path that I had mostly to myself.
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| Way out on the west side |
The path ends near the Cardinals Stadium, then continues south through Avondale toward the Phoenix International Raceway. Luckily no racing tonight, so traffic was light. The sun was beginning to set and I headed west toward home.
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| Free range steer |
The route crosses the Gila River Indian Community, and on this occasion I was not chased by any dogs, but this steer was a bit too close to the road for my taste! With no oncoming traffic I took the left lane as I rolled past.
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| Friendly mutt at Komatke Market |
The last control was the Komatke market. With 22 miles to go, I stopped, filled my bottles, and enjoyed an ice cream sandwich before the last push to home. This mutt was living large at the store, he had a water bowl and someone had purchased some beef jerky sticks for him. I was wary as I approached but he didn’t seem to mind the company while I enjoyed my ice cream.
The sun was setting, and the desert cools quickly and as I roll out, suddenly I’m shivering from the cold. I look at my computer at it reads 70F! The chills passed quickly, and must have been triggered by the ice cream and my kit damp from sweat! I stopped to put on layers and was good to go!
I rolled into the finish control about 8:30 pm and put this one in the books at 13 hours and 24 minutes. Then I restarted my computer and headed home on my bike for a nice 2 mile cool down ride.
One week later…
600km Brevet - November 1-2
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| Sunrise on Riggs Road |
No company on this pre-ride, and I decided to start a bit earlier. I left the house at 0450 and started my computer at 0500 when I rolled by the official start control at Chandler and McClintock roads. I was able to get all the way to Ellsworth road before the sun actually cleared the horizon, and traffic was lighter than the previous week.
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| Calfee taking a rest at Usery Park HQ |
Again I made my first stop at the Usery Park HQ to refill bottles and change jerseys. I decided to start in my light wool long sleeve jersey and switch to a regular jersey for the daytime portion of the ride. After the chills on the 300 the previous week, and since I would be crossing the desert much later at night, I figured it would be worth it.
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| Triathlete Club on Bush Highway |
As I was completing my very fast descent of Usery Pass, a group of cyclists were moving fast eastbound along Bush Highway. They entered the intersection (running the stop sign) and yelled clear as they rolled through, apparently not seeing me. I saw them coming and was able to time my right turn perfectly and tack onto to the wheel of the last man!
They were riding slightly faster than I wanted to go, but I enjoyed the draft for the next 4 miles. They pulled off at the parking lot just below Saguaro Ranch.
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| Salt River |
With the road to myself, I started the climb from the Salt River to the Beeline Highway. Again with my earlier start, the traffic was lighter than last week.
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| Breakfast at BK! |
With a long day ahead, my fuel strategy was pocket food with a ‘real’ meal about every 4 hours. I rolled into the Burger King in Fountain Hills for a breakfast croissant combo. I added extra salt to the hash browns and enjoyed a quick and delicious breakfast break.
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| Fresh Hot Dogs! |
The route is the same as the 300 until reaching Peoria. There was a new convenience store at Lake Pleasant and I was due for a meal so I stopped in and grabbed a hot dog, chips, Mountain Dew, banana, and a Payday bar. Another 1135 calories to throw on the fire, and soon I was back on the road.
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| Catclaw Solar Project |
The route heads west before reaching the New River Trail, but after a nice quite ride through Sun City the course continues to the Sun Valley Parkway. With fresh pavement, a good shoulder, and very little traffic you hardly notice the slight climb to Sun City Festival. It was warmer than I expected and I took a little extra time in the Subway/convenience store to cool off. The route soon heads south with a long gentle descent all the way to Buckeye. Not much along the way, although I passed this solar project in the middle of nowhere. Signal Energy bid on this project but did not win the contract. I am an outside Director on Signal’s board. Signal has completed several other utility scale solar projects in Arizona.
I had two flat tires heading into Buckeye. I was running tubed tires with sealant so I was a bit surprised to have two flats. The first just needed an air refill with the pump and it resealed. The second puncture was large enough that the sealant sprayed out! It appeared to reseal, and I again topped off the tube but it held for only about 3 more miles.
I stopped at the Palo Verde School and decided to replace the front tube with a spare. I was quite a mess with sealant everywhere! But the repair was complete and I was ready to roll. It had been a long run from the Sun City Festival control and I was nearly out of water. I topped off one of my bottles at a hose bib at the school, but the first blast out of it was rusty! I let it run clear then refilled my bottle. I figured it was better than nothing. About 5 miles later, before I needed to use it, I was able to refill it with filtered water from a bottle dispenser at Earl Edgar Park!
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| McDonald’s charging statin |
The 600 route passes right by Phoenix International Raceway and of course, this was the NASCAR championship weekend. I looked on the web and noted the race started at 7:30 pm, so I timed my dinner stop a few miles from the track at a McDonalds. I rolled in and ordered my food, and it was freezing in the dining room. So I quickly put on my wool long sleeve jersey and waited for my food to arrive. After last weeks chill from the ice cream, I decided on hot apple pies instead of a McFlurry for dessert. Enjoyed one with dinner and one later on the road.
I was about to leave when this young man rolled his E-dirt motorcycle into the restaurant and plugged in the charger! No one seemed to care!
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| The finishing pole at PIR |
I left the McDonalds at 7:45 thinking most of the race fans would be in the parking lot as I rolled by. I was surprised by the amount of traffic
leaving the track. Apparently I misread the Web, and the 7:30pm time was the estimate for the post-race Award Presentation! By the time I got to the track, many of the cars were gone and traffic was not too bad.
I rolled through the Gila River Indian Community again, stopping at the Komatke Market for a snack before heading out for the last 22 miles. My dog friend from last week was not there!
I arrived at the control just under 18 hours after I started (about 11pm) and headed home. A quick shower, dinner, and then quietly sneak into bed for a nap before starting the 200 segment.
600km Brevet - Day 2
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| Sunrise in Chandler |
I woke up at my ‘normal’ time of 0420 and probably got about 4 hours of good sleep. With the flats on yesterday’s ride, I decided to change the tire and tube of the rear wheel on the convenience of my garage bike stand and workbench! It took a little extra time, but I figured that was better than risking another flat. It was just after 0600 when I rolled through the first control.
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| Rear flat 13 miles into the ride! |
Brand new Gatorskin tire and tube were no match for a tiny wire that found its way into my rear tire! I made the quick change and wondered, this early into the ride, if my two extra tubes would be enough!
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| Lavine AZ |
The 200 route goes around South Mountain following the ATM (Around the Mountian) route. Just before you re-enter Phoenix, you go through the farmland of Lavine. Interesting contrast.
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| Silent Sunday |
I was hoping Silent Sunday (the main road up South Mountain is closed to motor traffic), would be in effect and it was. However the gate would open at 10am, and it was already almost 9am. I cleared both summits (TV Towers and Dobbins) and was headed down before the first car made its way up the hill.
Leaving South Mountain, the trail heads to the Rio Salado Bike Trail. The trail starts at 7th Avenue and continues uninterrupted all the way to Mesa!
Other that some pedestrian congestion along Tempe Town Lake, the path is a great cross-town route, with no traffic lights and very light traffic!
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| Consolidated Canal Paths |
About two miles of bike lanes from Mesa Riverview, take you to the Tempe Canal which joins the Consolidated Canal bike path for about 20 miles of canal riding all the way to the Hunt Highway.
The route heads south on AZ587 to Casa Blanca Road. Several years ago, the highway and shoulder were repaved and it was smoothing sailing along this section. Well, let’s just say the frost heaves were so bad that we are considering changing the route for the next version of the Desert 600. No photos here, probably because the road was too rough!
The next control is the Casa Blanca Convenient Store. I stopped here for a snack and enjoyed the covered picnic tables outside. Lots of food choices here, and usually a vendor is selling burritos in the parking lot!
The next 10 miles to Maricopa Road were flat and went by quickly. More rough shoulder on Maricopa Road with lots of debris and frost heaves. The recent heavy rains made both worse!
I rolled into the finish a little after 5pm to compete the 600 in just over 35 hours.
Thanks for riding along.
Lots more brevets coming up!
