2019 Around the Bend 400km Brevet

Ride Report
March 2, 2019

Tom Baker gives the rider brief

Flat, fast, and with a tailwind! What could be better than that? The 2019 version of the Around the Bend 400km Brevet lived up to all that, and with an average temperature of 65F, you could hardly ask for more in a 'winter' brevet!

25 Randos at the start

Tom Baker designed this route and would be the Trail Boss for the day's festivities. This is the 8th edition of this ride on the Arizona Brevet calendar, and like the last several years would be run in the counter-clockwise direction. The start finish location was moved a few miles east (from Sun Lakes to Chandler) to the Fry's shopping center at Riggs and McQueen Roads. More services and a better split of some of the urban riding on Riggs Road made this a great change.

Traffic stop at Riggs and Maricopa Roads

A few traffic lights along Riggs through Chandler, but at 6am, the traffic was light and soon we were zipping along at a reasonable but fast pace through agricultural portion of the Gila Indian Reservation. About half the peloton, stacked back up together at the traffic signal at Maricopa road. When it turned green, it was back to brisk pace as the Estrella Mountains were slowly illuminated by the rising sun.

The pace line working through the west valley

Riggs turns into 51st Avenue as the route passes through Komakte, exiting the reservation, and entering the City of Phoenix before turning west toward Buckeye. The group, benefiting from a gentle tailwind, continued to course along at 22+ MPH!

Tom checks us in at the first control in Buckeye

The RUSA Rules for Riders point out that brevets are not competitive events. In fact, results are to be listed in alphabetical order, not the order of finish. They are, however timed events with the opening and closing times of the intermediate and finishing controls determined by a maximum (about 19 MPH) and minimum speed (about 9 MPH). Riders must stay within these time frames to successfully complete the brevet.

Nine of us rolled into the first control in Buckeye exactly at the control opening time of 0851! Tom Baker was there to check us in, sign our brevet cards, and provide supplies and snacks for the next leg to Gila Bend. Riders rolled out one or two at a time, but soon another pace line of 7 or so riders formed for the run to Gila Bend.

David and Mike after some work at the front!

Paceline on old US 80

The route continues west and then south, and with a quartering tailwind, the group was easily holding 20-24 MPH through mostly farm land. With the exception of just a few rollers near the Gillespie Dam, its pancake flat, and most of the road surface is in great shape! Just outside of Gila Bend, with 100 miles behind us, elapsed time was still under 5 hours! Credit to favorable winds and a large group of riders working together at a consistent pace!

Lunch Control in Gila Bend

Just outside of Gila Bend, we turn right onto Watermelon road. A slight, but much improved route variation for 2019. We catch a large farm vehicle moving at about 13 mph and 'motor-pace' behind it for a while, then we swing clear and pow, suddenly the wind is on the nose and quite strong. We continue on for a couple of miles, not minding the wind, since we will soon turn south and then east to the control and another 40 miles to Maricopa, with the wind on the tail!

Rolling into the control at 1111, a mere six minutes after it opened, Tom Baker had staked out the tables at the Gila Bend Chevron/Food Mart and set out an assortment of snacks, sandwich wraps, and drinks! More riders rolled in (the Stephen Kinney group had suffered a mechanical outside of Buckeye) and a bunch were ready to go after only 12 minutes!

Stephen took the lead with his group and we headed out with a nice tail wind. Its a straight shot for 40 miles to the next town of Maricopa. The first 19 miles is a steady 'climb' on an incredibly consistent .8% grade. Reaching the summit its another 20 miles of slight downgrade to town. With 150 miles to go, the pace was a little hot for yours truly, and it was time to drop off and settle into a comfortable pace.

On the big 'climb' of the day

About half-way up, other refugees from the front group came into view and soon we were again a group of about 5 working together. Clouds and a light rain were welcome relief as we cleared the 'summit' and still with a reasonable tailwind the speed picked back up and we were really moving.

On long straight roads, sometimes the mind plays tricks on a rider. Seeing a mailbox ahead in the distance, the mind says there is rider on the side of the road, only to find it is actually a mailbox! This time however, the mailbox became bigger and as we got closer, then then it turned into three Canadian riders!

We slowed down to make sure they were OK and had everything they needed for the repair and continued eastward. Of course well before we reach town, they are back on the train. As they rotate through the pace quickens just outside of town and the group splits again!

With the next control in Stanfield only 19 miles away, and with a full bottle, there is no reason to stop and we head south out of town and through the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation. Passing the Harrah's casino, a couple of riders come into view. Its Roger Peskett and Bob Fisher working together. It takes some time, but just a few miles before the next turn we are a group of three. Continuing at the same pace, Bob hops on and we roll into the control in Mansfield together. With diminishing winds and numbers, no need to worry about arriving early, the control opened 90 minutes ago!

Bob Fisher at the Stanfield control

With 82 miles still to go, and building winds out of the northeast (our direction to the next control in Florence), we take a 20 minute break to refill both bottles and chow down a turkey sandwich, Frappachino, and some chips. Bob is ready to go we head out as a group of two working together through Casa Grande and Coolidge to the next control in Florence.

Mansfield Road near Florence

Superstition Mountains on the horizon

Passing more smelly feed lots that we cared for, we finally roll into Florence and stop at the information control at the Circle K on Main Street. Its bustling on an early Saturday evening. It seemed every third customer was wearing an Arizona Department of Corrections uniform! Lots of folks were interested in our ride, and one nice couple shouted out a blessing from their pickup for safety as we continued our journey!

Florence Control

As we roll out, Mike Sturgill rides up, and we ride together for a short trip to the McDonalds where he makes his dinner stop!

Sunset on the Pinal Mountains to the east

We continue out of town, passing several more corrections facilities heading north as the sun illuminates the Pinal Mountains to the east.

Sunset on Arizona Farms Road

Soon we turn onto Arizona Farms Road and literally ride into the sunset! After a quick stop at Attaway road to put on the reflective gear, its Bob in the lead with yours truly hanging on his wheel for the last run to the finishing control in Chandler.

We rolled in at 1859 (7:59pm) to put this one in the books at 13 hours 59 minutes.

Another great Arizona Brevet! Thanks Mike and Tom!!!

Next up, join us for the Patagonia 600!

Steve Atkins

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