2023 Arivaca 400km Brevet

Ride Report

Sunset at Sonoita AZ

For 2023 Mike Sturgill repeated this Arizona classic with a new start/finish in the heart of Tucson. Nearly thirty riders gathered at the El Con mall Starbucks to check in and participate in the 300 or 400km options of the 2023 Arivaca Brevets.

Mike Sturgill gives the rider brief

In addition to the usual Arizona suspects we had riders from the frozen north of Alberta Canada, Washington, and five Colorado riders from the Rocky Mountain Cycling Club! Weather looks good, so let’s get going!

One huge pace line at the start

The route takes mostly back streets through the University of Arizona as we head west toward Silverbell road. University boulevard is nearly deserted in the predawn chill as we roll through just after 0600! Watch out for parallel trolly tracks embedded in the pavement! The group stays nearly intact for the 6 miles to Silverbell road. Now heading north we start to split and regroup at traffic lights headed toward Marana.

Rashid, Jenn, and Steve at first control

The first control is a yogurt shop in a strip mall to answer a control question. For the promise of beer, Michael awarded me a day membership in the RMCC and we would ride together for the rest of the day! After we gathered the control information, we let the large group go and headed out at our own pace.

Leading the pack at sunrise

Pascal rode ahead to take the picture with yours truly leading the pack on Twin Peaks road. We settled into a nice pace with each of us taking one mile pulls. Our group grew as we picked up riders dropping back from the lead groups.

AZ  86W with Kitt Peak in the distance

The pavement on Sandario road is relatively fresh and traffic was light and before we knew it, we were heading west on AZ86 toward Robles Junction/Three Points. While not an official control, we stopped there to reload calories and fluids, already nearly 50 miles into the ride. There are no services for the next 38 miles and the Three Points store has tables out front so it’s a great place to stop. 

John and Pascal enjoying a great AZ morning

Again I rolled out with the RMCC riders and our group grew again to a dozen riders. With a building headwind, 34 miles of false flat, and nothing but a lonely boarder control checkpoint, one mile pulls made the ride much more enjoyable!

Lunch #1 in Arivaca
Steve, John, Michael, Pascal

The new start in Tucson means that we have 20 more miles to get to Arivaca and the world famous Arivaca Mercantile. More miles = more hungry, so we enjoyed our first lunch of the day! To each his own, for me; Mountain Dew, potato chips, and potato salad from the deli section!

Brian joins the party outside Arivaca

Back on the road we climb a few miles to reach the 3955’ summit before enjoying 20 miles of downhill rollers. The wind is now at our back, so we make great progress rolling along at a recovery pace! Brian McGuire from Phoenix joined the group on this section and it was great to catch up. 

Downhill rollers with a tailwind? Yes please!

Michael sizes things up in Amado

We roll through another Border Patrol checkpoint on the outskirts of Amado. We stop at perhaps one of the most photographed restaurants in the state… for a photo!

We turn right and south, and our old friend Tailwind becomes annoying crosswind! It’s 8 miles of I-19/Frontage road riding to the next stop, so while taking turns at the front does not provide as much relief from the wind, the miles go right by!

Adventures with Friends provides Lunch #2

Great lunch in the shade

Pascal, Michael, and Steve in the ‘team jerseys’

Lunch #2 two is in Tubac AZ. Volunteers from Adventures with Friends manned this control and provided fantastic hospitality. Mike Sturgill pre-ordered sandwiches so we just had to find one with our name on it and select from a wide assortment of drinks and snacks. The Adventures with Friends volunteers made sure we had everything we needed and were wonderful hosts!

RMCC regroup after a mechanical
Michael, John, Rashid, Jennifer, Pascal

The only problem with such a great control is that it is hard to get going! We rolled out for 11 more miles of mostly I-19 frontage road (with a freeway section or two) to the town of Rio Rico. Along the way John disappeared from the group as we were about to enter the freeway for the last time. He stopped for a mechanical and made a wrong turn but quickly corrected and rejoined the group.

River road leaving Rio Rico

Beautiful canyon outside Patagonia

From Rio Rico we again head east and the winds are again at our tail as we head to Patagonia. While there was some loose talk early in the day of hitting the Wagon Wheel Saloon in Patagonia, we wisely chose to stop at the general store for a quick reload. While John sorts out his mechanical issue, I headed out alone for the climb to Sonoita. I had been yo-yoing off the back on the climbs to Patagonia and wanted to get a head start on the group.

Sonoita Mercantile was open so we stopped in!

The group caught me just outside of Sonoita and we rolled into the Sonoita Mercantile for supplies. We arrived before closing time, so we stopped here instead of the Dollar General that stays open a few hours longer. I learned later that Brian McGuire stopped at the Dollar General and just missed our train!

Lights and reflective gear leaving Sonoita 

We left as a group and stayed together together with yours truly dropping off the back on the climbs and Pascal dropping back to pace me back up to the group! It’s about 9 miles of uphill rollers to the summit at 5176’ and 17 miles of fast descent on AZ 83. Its good to be in a group, especially at night!

We turn west onto Sahuarita Road for the 20 mile run to the next control. Along the way we welcome Roger Peskett back to the group. Well after sunset, the winds have died down and we trade pulls into town. The only fast food with an open dining room was Taco Bell or Arby’s (too late for McDonalds or Panda Express) and Taco Bell was the choice.

From here it’s 35 miles to the finish, so it was good to reload some calories for the final push to the end. The last obstacle is the Helmet Peak climb, about 6 miles of 2-3% moderate climbing before a mostly downhill finish in Tucson.

A definite highlight of the route was using about 6 miles of the Loop. A dedicated bike path that circles Tucson. At midnight we had the path to ourselves before exiting and rolling through town. One last pass of University drive, but this times its well before closing time and bustling, so we add a few aimless pedestrians to the trolley track hazard, but pass through without incident.

Pascal and Michael at the finish

The last hazard was a series of enormous potholes in the El Con Mall parking lot, but we successfully navigated through them to arrive at the Starbucks start/finish control. The store is closed so we take a few photos to document our arrival. We finished this one about 12 minutes after midnight to put this one in the books at 18 hours and 12 minutes. Great day on the bike with good friends from near and far!

Next up is the Just North of the Border 600 on March 25/26, come join us for two days touring Southern Arizona. Go to azbrevet.com to register.

Steve Atkins

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