2023 North Valley 300km

Sunrise over the North Valley

 Pre-Ride Report

16 riders are signed up for the 2023 edition of the North Valley 300km brevet on February 4, 2023. This will be the second time this route has been on the AZ Brevet Calendar, and this year I pre-rode it to check the conditions for main ride.

It was chilly at the start, my computer touched 32F at the start and topped off in the mid-sixties later in the day. Lets get started!

Cave Creek Road Construction

I rolled out just before 6am, the main event will start at 7am. About 4 miles into the ride, there is construction on Cave Creek Road. It appears to be a sewer line conditioning project with a pipeline off to the right and traffic is pressed into the left lane. I was able to ride inside the barriers, protected from the light traffic for most of the mile long construction zone. 

Several things to be careful of. First, there was some construction tape connecting the barriers at an intersection, and I nearly rode through it. Second, there are some random pavement cuts near the bike lane to watch for. Lastly, near the end of zone, there is a pump connection in the right hand lane that will require you to enter the traffic lane for about 30 feet.

At mile 19.9 there is a left turn onto the Black Canyon Freeway (aka. South I-17). Don't worry, just after the turn, you stay to the right on the frontage road and don't have to get on the Interstate!

New River Road

The route enters Peoria and heads north toward Lake Pleasant Dr. The route here is the reverse of the Bartlett Lake 200 that was held a few weeks ago. There is an information control at the Paloma Park entrance along the way. If you rode the Bartlett 200, you'll be happy to know that the construction is complete near the Lake Pleasant Road intersection. From there, a quick turn and 10 miles along New River road will take you to the next control in New River.

Don't stop here!

Stop at the Mini-Mart, not the Nudist Resort. Probably no risk of seeing a nudist today in this cold weather, but you probably want to keep moving past Shangri-La road!

Time check in Carefree 

The route continues to back-track the Bartlett 200 route through Cave Creek and Carefree. Curios, French food, and biker bars, something for everyone in these two tourist/retirement communities! 

Nine-mile Hill

The route heads south shortly after leaving Carefree into high-end luxury homes in the Legends before turning left and down Pima to Dynamite Road. It’s time to climb back up toward Pinnacle Peak. Your reward is nine miles of downhill to the golf community of Rio Verde, with a shoulder/bike lane the whole way down.

Great views on McDowell Mountain Road

It’s 10 miles of scenic rollers to the planned community of Fountain Hills. This is a popular cycling route and there were quite a few riders on the road. The Fountain may be visible, but the route heads east before you get there. Down through Ft. McDowell to the Beeline highway for the run up to Bush highway. 

Bush highway has been recently repaved, but the shoulders go from slim to none until reaching the Salt River below the Stewart Mountain Dam and Saguaro Lake. From here the shoulders are wide and paved through the Salt River Recreation Area. 

Great views on the Usery climb

Climbing Usery Pass

About 3 miles of steady climbing will bring you to the top of Usery Pass. If you think you are hearing gunshots, you are. There is shooting range here! At least the ranges face away from the road!

Mike is checking on this!

On brevet day, Mesa is running a Marathon event that will start at Usery pass. They should be well on their way before brevet riders arrive. After clearing the pass, another joyful downhill awaits. Just be careful not to miss the right hand turn on McDowell road to the next control on Power Road.

More fresh pavement on Bush Highway

Leaving the control, Power road becomes Bush Highway. This section used to be quite rough, today fresh pavement allows a fast and fun descent down King Kong hill.

Salt River below Stewart Mountain Dam

Continuing east you will retrace the route back to the Beeline highway. I usually stop at the base of the climb out of the Salt River Recreation area. The view today was especially spectacular in the late afternoon sun!

Verde River at sunset

It’s easy to hold a fast pace on the Beeline highway with its gentle descent back to Fountain Hills. Just look out for debris and car-b-que scars on the shoulder. The good news is that some of the roughest sections had been resurfaced since last year!

The route continues past the light where you entered the Beeline earlier in the day. Continue up to Shea before turning right and the next control at the Circle K at Saguaro Blvd. There is also a McDonald's and other fast food options if it’s dinnertime!

The route continues on Shea. After a couple of short climbs, its a fast downhill into Scottsdale. The bike lane disappears, but the route exits Shea at 136th Street onto quiet roads through the McDowell foothills.

15 turns over the next 20 miles will take you though Scottsdale and North Phoenix and the finish.

Flat #1

Flat #2

I enjoyed two flat tires in this quiet and dark residential area. The first flat was a thorn, the second a failed stem on my spare tube. The second tube held, and I’m glad it did. I normally carry 3 on a brevet, but forgot to check my saddle bag before this one!

The finish

Riding hard the last 15 miles to outrun a potential third flat, I rolled into the Cortado Coffee Roastery just under 15 hours after I started. There is still time to sign-up for the main event, go to Azbrevet.com to sign up!

Steve Atkins

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