i’m looking for a good ride to do while at imaz on race day. i’d need to start from the race site but would like to get out of town on a ride. anywhere from 50-75 miles would be nice. any suggestions? thanks.
i’m looking for a good ride to do while at imaz on race day. i’d need to start from the race site but would like to get out of town on a ride. anywhere from 50-75 miles would be nice. any suggestions? thanks.
If you work your way south out of tempe (use hardy, then kyrene, then maricopa to beltline), you can do a loop around south mountain. I usually go clockwise–should be around 60, and you can add a nice little 7 mile climb, if you want–access the climb at the entrance to the park on central.
roddw
Roddw’s suggestion was my first thought too, although you have to be prepared for a lot of stoplights.
Another suggestion…Saquaro Lake or Usuary Pass. Head east through Mesa on any road with a bike lane (University to Main/Country Club then north to McKellips and east to Power Road is one of many). Turn North on Power Road. From here your traffic light hell finally ends and you get some nice riding. If you do the Usury pass loop you have pretty safe roads but have to come back through Mesa again. If you go on to Saquaro Lake you have little shoulder as you ride past the lake and you have to come back on the Beeline. You’d have to either blend in with the IMAZ riders or ride the shoulder on the wrong side of the road.
You can ride north from Tempe through Paradise Valley but it’s sort of hard to explain.
2nd vote for Usery Pass - get to McKillips out of town to Power Rd. and turn left. Take that to the 4-way stop at Usery Pass Rd. and turn right - you’ll be greeted by a nice 3 mile climb through the park. Usery Pass Rd. brings you back to McKillips. You might also try Tempe Cycles (I think that’s the name) - right on University Dr. across from campus. They’ve got a great cycling map and the guys there were very helpful in helping us figure out a good route for riding.
thanks for all the info…any links to routes with directions? i like the idea of the climbs too
You’re quite welcome. For other info, try the Landis Cyclery website (www.landiscyclery.com) - try the ‘Places to Ride’ link - it’ll get you to a variety of other useful links to routes/maps, group rides, etc. If you’re after some good climbing, head out to Bartlett Lake - there’s a great group ride that meets Sat. a.m. and heads out there. Lots of strong riders, and several regroup points along the way. They meet in a parking lot off Scottsdale Rd., near Landis Cyclery but I can’t remember the cross street. Ask about the BOS ride, and somebody will be able to get you to the start.
Your best bet for directions is to pick up a phoenix area bike lane map from one of the many bike stores around Tempe. There are 4 of them within within a couple blocks of University and Mill. Everything is flat and N/S or E/W so it’s really just a matter of finding a bike lane.