2022 Scorpion 600km Brevet

 

Sunrise at Sonora Desert Preserve

Mike Sturgill gives the rider brief

Day 1

Just under a dozen riders lined up for the unsupported Scorpion 300/400/600 events. Mike Sturgill was riding the 300, and once he completed the instructions, we all rode out together just before dawn.

James and Debbie from Green Valley

At the start of most brevets, the group is fired up and heads out like a bullet from a gun. Today I decided to start at a very easy warm-up pace and try to keep that pace all weekend. James and Debbie were using a 'slow but steady' pace also and we rode together at the back of the group.

Many balloons launching in the park.

I dropped off the pace about an hour after the start for a nature break and spotted a mass balloon launch over the shoulder! James and Debbie were caught at the light on Cave Creek and we were back together.

First control in Carefree

We reached the first control in Carefree about 2 hours after the start. James and Debbie rolled through but I stopped to fill bottles and grab some provisions. It's 45 miles to the next control in Wickenburg, and my goal was to make it there non-stop. Top off the bottle, grab a Frappuchino and some Oreo cookies, and I'm back on the road.

Rolling though Cave Creek and back to the Carefree highway, the route turns west for the 40 mile run to US 60. Traffic is heavy until we pass Lake Pleasant but thins out in the open desert. Winds that were on the nose all morning are now light and favorable as we head west and north!

Yarnell Hill Sentinel

I arrived in Wickenburg around 11am and stopped at a convenience store for a quick sandwich and a 15 minute break before heading toward Congress and the Yarnell hill. It is starting to warm up, so I stop 16 miles later in Congress to top off the bottles with ice and grab some chips and a Mountain Dew!

The Green Toad is on watch at the base of the climb, but does not appear to notice my passing, and I roll right by! Its 6 miles of steady climbing up Yarnell hill. The views are fantastic, and we reach Yarnell, but not before the temperatures hit 90!

Its a bit cooler in Peeples Valley and I stop at the Mountainaire Convenience store. Its only another 30 miles to Prescott, but those miles go over the White Spar mountains, so I grabbed a cold drink and took a break in the shade and visited with a motorcyclist who was also passing through.

White Spar Mountains

Back on the road, I enjoyed a gentle tailwind through Peeples Valley and the climb to Wilhoit. Just past the town, a few twists and turns bring you to great views of the White Spar Mountains. Today, even a little snow is still visible.

High point of the ride!

Don't be fooled by the descent, its only one of several 'intermissions' on the climb to 6100 feet outside of Prescott! Reaching the high point, its only one more roller before the 3 mile descent into town and the turn around at the Yavapai County Courthouse.

Yavapai County Courthouse

There are many places for a sit-down meal in Prescott. I opt for speed and stop at a convenience store on the way out of town for a can of Hearty Campbell soup. Feeling the salt stains all over my body and kit, I figure a sodium reload is necessary, so a V8 Juice and more chips are the 'side dish.' The sun is going down, so I finish my sidewalk meal and saddle up to head back the way I came!

Sunset on the 'Spars'

Leaving the Spars in a light show!

Back in the mountains for the return, the sunset provides new and spectacular lighting around nearly every corner! This was clearly the high point of the ride!

Peeples Valley at Sunset

With the sun fully beyond the horizon, and the air rapidly cooling, I stop to add a clothing layer at Kirkland Junction. With all the descending, we are back in Peeples Valley in no time. So with a full bottle I skip the stop at the Mountainaire store and press on through Yarnell and the descent to Congress for the next stop.

Most of this went down the hatch!

A banana and another Frappuchino in Congress held me over until the big feast in Wickenburg. Luckily, I arrived a few minutes before the McDonalds dining room closed at 10pm! After that reload, the only stop I made before the hotel was to pick up a couple of chocolate milks for the room. I checked in about 0130, cleaned up, made some soup, tossed down a chocolate milk, and was in the sack by 0230.

Day 2

Another sunrise on Sonoran Desert Drive

I woke a few minutes before the alarm went off at 0600 and cooked some oatmeal in the room microwave. Kinda rubbery, but better with some chocolate milk mixed in! Checked out, packed the drop bag and headed back out on the road at 0640.

The plan was to ride to the Circle K at Pinnacle Peak and have a hot breakfast there. Its 24 miles into the day, but more importantly, at the top of 9 mile hill. Easy downhill riding after a good breakfast is a great way to start the day.

I found a hot croissant sandwich and a large Frappuchino and settled in at the shaded picnic table for a great meal. It was delicious and in retrospect, maybe I should have gotten two sandwiches! Another rider, not on the brevet, who was visiting from New Hampshire on a rented bike joined me for breakfast.

Wildflowers near Fountain Hills

It took about 20 minutes to descend the 9 miles toward the Verde River, I was in no rush and enjoyed the easy riding. Turning toward Fountain Hills, one of the few tailwinds of the day kicked in and soon I was rolling through town. I decided to continue to Fort McDowell, about 5 miles further along the route, to make another snack/water stop.

Verde River at Ft. McDowell

The heat was on and building on the run up the Beeline Highway. I spotted another rider up the road and caught him about a mile from the top of the climb. He was not on the brevet, but seemed eager for company and we visited until the road tilted up at the Bush Highway exit ramp. It was over 90F by the time I reached top and with the wind it felt like a convection oven!

Its a nice descent to Saguaro Lake and trying to build speed for a steep roller the front wheel feels a tad mushy. A few minutes later, at the top of the roller I check the tire and its almost flat. I found a shady spot to change the tube and was soon back on the road and the building heat.

Chez Circle K, sidewalk seating in the shade please!

The last official control was in Mesa with 50 miles to go. I rolled into a Circle K for a brevet dog and some chips. I figured to make one more water stop before the finish, but ended up missing timing the stop and running low on water in the residential 'desert' of Sweetwater Ave and 56th Street between 104th Street and Bell Road!

Two Circle Ks on opposite corners were my oasis at 56th and Bell! I topped off the bottles at one, and enjoyed an ice cream at the other ( the first one's freezer was broken!) before putting the last 15 hot miles of this one in books.

Rolling into the hotel at 5:27, this one was done in 35 hours and 27 minutes!  This completes my brevet Super Randonner series for 2022, but there is still time sign up for the 'near' Kitt Peak 400 and 600 brevets on April 9. Check out Azbrevet.com for all the details!

Thanks for riding along!

Final statistics

The Scorpion 600 is in the bag!

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2022 Arivaca 400km Brevet

Ride Report

March 2022

Sunrise in the Saguaro National Park

Rider meeting before the start

Two dozen riders assembled in the Marana Starbucks parking lot for the 2022 Arivaca brevets. 15 riders selected the 300km distance and 9 of us went for the larger helping of 400km. We would all start together and share the same route to the lunch stop in Tubac 113 miles down the road.

I decided to drive down and not stay in a local hotel, so the alarm went off at 0400 and I was on the road at 0415. Timing my arrival perfectly I had 15 minutes to unload the bike and check the lights and Garmin. DANG! Power meter battery was dead. Mike was starting the rider brief and I grabbed the spare out of the repair kit and replaced it with a minute or two before we started at 0600.

Paul and Jennifer Danhaus

 

We rolled out of the parking lot and by the time we hit Picture Rocks Road a couple of miles later, the hammer was down and the group took off. I drifted back and soon was the Lantern Rouge as we rolled through the beautiful north section of the Saguaro National Park. There are steep rollers here and I could see the group's lights extending into the distance.

Paul and Jennifer Danhaus were on their tandem and at a great disadvantage on the steep rollers so I was able to catch them at Picture Rocks and spend a few minutes catching up. Once the road flattened out they dialed it up and I dropped off. 

Winds were building as predicted from the south, and even though the sun was up, the temperature continued to drop to 37F!

AZ86 with Kitt Peak in the distance

Riding alone I passed a few riders that had dropped from the main group as I made my way to AZ86.  Its slightly downhill to 3 Points and the first control. The road surface is good and traffic is light.

Ray volunteers at the 3 Points Control

I roll into the control and about an hour and a half into the ride. Normally too early to stop, but its 35 miles of headwind and open desert to Arivaca, so its wise to stop top off the bottles and grab a snack. Still too cold to strip off layers, I fill the bottles, grab a banana and roll out after a 2 minute stop.

Nice pace line

I have ridden this route many times and cannot recall a ride where there wasn't headwind along this section. Shortly after leaving the control a group of 6 roll by and I hop on. We picked up another rider or two from the front group and soon are a group of 9.

Yours truly (photo by Bob Fisher)

Bob Fisher had the group organized and we each took one mile pulls into the wind. Its 35 miles to the next turn, and relief from the wind, so only having to go to front every 8-9 miles and have some company made this section easier to handle.

We made a group nature stop that also allowed a few layers to come off before making the much anticipated left turn onto Arivaca road.

The group heads off on new pavement!

Butter smooth new pavement greeted us for the next 12 miles to Arivaca. Readers of previous reports may recall this road was so patched and rough it rivaled Belgian cobblestones! The group was riding harder than I preferred, so with a cross-wind, and new pavement to enjoy, I dropped off the pace to tried and recover.

Brian and Chris leaving Arivaca

Again, I made it a quick stop at the control in Arivaca, since lunch will be down the road in Tubac. So I top off the bottles, grab a Frappucchino and some PB&J crackers. Brian and Chris are ready to go so we leave before the rest of the group. The road turns north-east, and after about 3 miles of climbing, its descending rollers with a tailwind for the next 20 miles to Amado. With the wind, and pedaling through the descents, we were able to soft pedal or coast over the top of a bunch of the rollers. We covered those 20 miles in about 50 minutes!

Rolling into Amado (photo by Chris)

All good things come to an end, and with the right turn at Amado, its back into the wind for the run to Tubac and lunch. The route follows the I-19 frontage road and actually merges onto the freeway for a few miles. No worry, the shoulder is wide, and the truck traffic actually broke up some of the headwind. Our group of three (Brian and Chris) worked together to the lunch stop in Tubac.

Rolling into Tubac (photo by Chris)

Lunch, great volunteers, and live music

We rolled into the Tubac control and were greeted by Vicki and Penny. They were leaders of 2 youth groups called Friends for Life and Adventures with Friends.  The kids checked us in and gave us our pre-ordered sandwiches. Cokes, chips, a break from the wind and encouragement were also on offer at this great control stop. It was located in a Mercado near a bar, so we also enjoyed live country music!

Chris and Brian on River Road

Our group of 3 rolled out together and back into the wind for some more Interstate and frontage road riding to Rio Rico. We decide to make a quick water stop before heading east and the climb toward Sonoita. Roger catches us and we ride as a group for a few miles before turning north-east on AZ83. Another nice tailwind as we begin the 25 mile climb to Sonoita. Brian and I settle into a slower pace as Chris and Roger disappear into the distance!

We roll through Patagonia and continue into the high grasslands surrounding Sonoita. The views are spectacular and we arrive in Sonoita and stop at the Dollar General Store. I select a can of soup and some Chocolate Milk. Brian wants to complete the descent in the daylight so he rolls out while I put on layers and enjoy a can of creamy chicken soup!

A most welcome sign!

Sunset, but plenty of light for the descent

Its a 12 mile descent on a twisty desert highway, but with twilight and my Schmidt Dynamo generator and E-Lux headlamp, there is plenty of light and no reason to use the brakes!

Sahuarita Road

Another 22 miles go by in about an hour before turning west on to Sahuarita Road. The sun has set, but the wind is still strong and back on the nose for the next 20 miles to the Sahuarita control. I see Brian up ahead and catch him just outside town.

One last obstacle before dinner!

We take a short break at a RR crossing before rolling into an Arby's for dinner. We loaded up and ate about half of what we ordered! Note: If you are looking for coffee, don't stop at Arby's! Its not on the menu!

Leaving town its a 5 mile climb up Helmet Peak road and we each rode at our own pace to the top. We regrouped in the hills outside of Tuscon, but I was still craving coffee, and stopped at the Circle K on Kinney road while Brian went on ahead. Lots of cream and 6 sugar packets makes a warm high-powered beverage. Starting to chill while enjoying the coffee curbside, I dump it into one of my thermal water bottles, and get back on the road.

The road through the Tucson Mountain Park is bad and gets worse with every passing. Eventually, we turn into the Saguaro National Park and enjoy smooth roads (I could finally take a hand off the handlebar and enjoy the still warm coffee) there and all the way to Picture Rocks. We still have ten miles to go when I catch Brian again just outside Picture Rocks. I offer to pull but he decides to ride it in at his own pace.

I rolled into the finish at 0030 (12:30 am) putting this one in the books at 18 hours 30 minutes. I quickly load up the truck and am about to head out when Brian rolls up (he booked a room in Marana). We said our good-byes and I pointed the truck toward Tempe for the 90 minute drive home. I packed a sleeping bag in case the sleep monster made a showing, but the caffeine from the Sugar Coffee would keep him at bay until I rolled into the driveway at 0200!

Next up for me, the Scorpion 600. Another array of new routes around Kitt Peak will be offered two weeks after that, so there is something for everyone! Go to Azbrevet.com to check them out.

Steve Atkins

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