2023 Desert 600km Brevet

Sunrise over the Salt River

Pre-Ride Report

Mike Sturgill added the Desert 600km Brevet to the calendar at the end of April for a last chance Arizona 600 before it gets too hot. With my Just North of the Border fail a few weeks ago, it was nice to be able to check the 600 box and not leave town. Only a few riders have signed up so far, but Brian McGuire was game and we did the pre-ride together to check the course for the main event. Here is our story.

Brian; predawn in the Gila Community

Heat and wind are in the forecast so we decide to push out a bit early and start at 0400 Saturday morning. Traffic is light and soon we are at the first information control in Laveen Village. The normal route turns west here and continues on quiet roads through the Gila River Indian Community. The only problem was that route uses 91st Avenue to cross the normally dry Salt River. We were lucky to realize this before the ride and adjusted the route to use the bridged crossing at 51st Ave. The river is still flowing, 91st avenue is closed so the 51st Ave. bridged crossing will be used this weekend.

Do we really need to stop at every bridge?

We stopped at the 51st Ave. bridge for a photo of the Salt River at sunrise (cover photo) and would continue to stop for pictures at each crossing during the ride!

Actually, the 51st Ave. route was first used when Tom Baker designed the inspiration for the Desert 600; the Around the Bend 400 several years ago! The roads were good, just more traffic and stops than the run through the Gila community.

Gila River in Avondale

Hence the reroute !

We made our first stop at the Circle K in Avondale near Phoenix International Raceway. We had good timing, as their computers went down just was we completed our purchases and they had to close the store for 30 minutes to ‘reboot.’

Palo Verdes outside Estrella 

We rolled past the quiet raceway and through the planned community of Estrella. We pressed on to the next control in Buckeye for another Circle K snack and bottle reload. The Sheep Camp restaurant next store has great reviews, and as I stood outside consuming a breakfast muffin from the Circle K a number of folks commented that the Sheep Camp had great food. We were both concerned about the building heat in the forecast, and while a sit-down breakfast would have been great, we needed to press on and we did.

Flat in Palo Verde

Just a few miles past Buckeye, I noticed Brian's rear tire looked soft and flatting. He checked it and it was. Luckily there was some nice shade by the Palo Verde school and he replaced the tube. Uh-oh, the replacement went flat too!

I noticed he had brand new Vittoria tubes. I have had several where the removable valve was not fully tightened at the factory and leaked. We tightened the value and refilled the tube and were good to go for the rest of the ride.

Important safety tip: Check/tighten the removable valves on new Vittoria tubes!

Gillespie Dam/Gila River

Brian was noticeably faster on the fully inflated tube and soon we were at Gillespie Dam. Normally dry, but with lots of water flowing today. An excavator was working replacing a portion of the earthen dam. The old concrete dam breached years ago and has not been repaired.

Lunch Break at McDonalds

The western most point of the route

We rolled into Gila Bend and had lunch at the McDonalds. We both were feeling good and commented how unusual it was to have our stomachs fully intact this far into a ride.

We both purchased an extra water bottle for the long run to the next control in Maricopa. There would be no services for the next 43 miles, much of it uphill! Winds were predicted to be on our tail, but our fast pace had us at the base of the climb before the winds shifted. So with building heat, and swirling winds we made our way up the 15 mile, albeit shallow, climb to the Sonoran National Monument. 

The heat and wind took its toll. I deployed my spare water bottle about 10 miles outside of Maricopa and limped into the Circle K. Tried some Mountain Dew and chips for sugar and salt, topped off the bottles and pushed out to Casa Grande.

Brian at Maricopa

Brian was feeling strong and would lead the way to Casa Grande with yours truly barley hanging on in the heat. We rolled in to Casa Grande and stopped again at a Circle K. I downed my first can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle soup (loaded with Salt), another chocolate milk, and we reloaded the bottles and pushed on.

Brian leads the way to Florence

The temperatures were starting to drop as we rolled into Florence about 6 pm. We decided to mix it up with dinner at Sonic. I was still feeling the effects of the heat, but was able to get down a Corn Dog kids meal, Coke and some ice cream. Plus seating in the picnic area was nice, although Brian’s meal took a while to get delivered. Good thing for me, I was starting to recover from the heat.

Sunset near Florence

We had 56 miles to our overnight stop to go. We rolled out with Brian in the lead and headed into the farmland.  The temperatures continued to drop, and heading west there is a slight downgrade. Somewhere between Florence and Queen Creek, our roles reversed with me taking more lead pulls and Brian taking advantage of my wheel.

We rolled through the main control in Chandler and headed out on the 200km loop. About 5 miles in, we took a detour to my house for the overnight stop. Debby made some navy bean soup and cornbread and also had potato salad and ice cream waiting for us (She was in bed!). Both of us had trouble downing a decent solid meal, but we stuffed in what we could and hit the sack about midnight. We both downed a couple of Ensure drinks, they were cold and seemed to hit the spot. We decided to set out for the 200 at 5 am, so we set the alarms for 0420 and tried to get some sleep.

Still feeling sour, I woke up and had my normal brevet breakfast (granola, yogurt, blueberries) and a couple of Ensures. Brian had a worse night but was raring to go when we rolled out a few minutes after 5. It’s a familiar route through Tempe to ASU and another Salt River Crossing. Again our roles reversed, with Brian doing most of the work.

Tempe Town Lake/Salt River

We stopped at the Tempe Town Lake bridge for a photo. The lake is ‘flowing’ as evidenced by the muddy color, and the water rushing out of the spillways further west. The route continues north through Scottsdale on 68th Street to Jackrabbit. Turn right and go about a mile, and its bike paths nearly to Shea boulevard.

Bike path in Scottsdale

It took us about 2 hours to cover the 25 miles to Aztec Park and an adjacent Circle K. A good place to stop, restrooms at the park, and a table outside the Circle K. I was starting to feel better and power was coming back, and we picked up the pace. We both enjoyed Circle K breakfast sandwiches warmed in a microwave. There was a sign on the microwave indicating that the warming of fish is not allowed! We put the fish back in our pockets and continued on!

Construction on Pima Road

There was about a mile of construction on Pima road at Pinnacle Peak road. The bike lane was gone. We decided to ride on the hard pack gravel (straight ahead from the photo above). It was fine, and better than mixing it up with the traffic. Only a mile or so, and we were back on the road.

Brittlebush outside Fountain Hills 

We made the climb around Pinnacle Peak and the yummy 9 mile descent to Rio Verde. Temperatures were still good. The breakfast sandwich was doing the trick and I was feeling strong and we made good time in spite of some headwinds. At this point, at least they were still cool.

Best lunch ever!

We had a nice tailwind from Rio Verde and if you timed the power right, you could crest the rollers with just a soft pedal! Our next stop would be the Circle K control at Shea, .2 miles after the turn from Saguaro Blvd (there is one there too!). It has shaded tables, is less busy, and best of all it had fresh hot dogs! At least they seemed fresh! I bought a back-up water bottle, since last time I rode this route I ran out of water on the Usery Pass climb.

Verde River

Another photo stop at the Verde river before the 6 mile climb to Bush Highway on the Beeline. Plenty of flowers along the way. Brian mentioned wild horses were grazing just off the highway. I didn’t notice them, and wondered why a number of cars had stopped on the shoulder of the highway! Now I know!

Weavers Needle from Bush/Beeline Highways

Salt River

From the Bush/Beeline Highway intersection, it’s a fun plunge down to Saguaro lake. Traffic was not too bad. We did notice the long line of boats waiting to use the boat launch! The Butcher Jones camping and day use area was also full! Of course we stopped at Blue Point for another photo of the Salt River.

We made our way up the Usery Pass climb and decided to stop at the Usery Mountain Park visitor center. There is no fee to enter, and shade and restrooms are available.

We topped off and headed for our last stop at a QT store at Baseline and Lindsey. With the heat, we wanted one last stop and chance for ice cream before hitting the Western Canal trail and the last miles of the ride. 

We entered the bike trail off Lindsey and about a mile later we were in the heart of downtown Gilbert. Many places to stop and eat and drink. But we were ready to get out of the heat and continued on.

Brian on the new bike bridge

There is a new bike bridge over an active rail line that sure beats dismounting and scrambling across! Brian gave it two thumbs up and we continued into what seemed like a convection oven for the next 9 miles. Hot heavy winds on the nose…no thanks!

At least the last few miles were in a crosswind as we put this one in the books at 34 hours and 45 minutes. It was great to team up with Brian on the ride, it seemed like at least one of us was feeling good throughout the ride and could get the other through!

There is still time (midnight April 26, 2023) to register for the main event, go to Azbrevet.com!

Steve Atkins

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