RAAZ Day 10 - Big Lake to the New Mexican Border

Also part way up to Alpine, AZ

60.3 miles, 4790’ climbing

We needed to resupply at the Big Lake marina store which didn’t open until 7am, so we took our time in the morning, then rode over to the store. There wasn’t much on offer, and later we realized that one of the freezer-burned sandwiches we bought for lunch had ants in it, and other food was a year past its sell-by date. It’s what you get when you resupply in tiny places, but disappointing. Our food karma was not great at the end of the trip.

We rode back to our route and headed through the forest, seeing a coyote lope across the road. A lot of this area burned in the past, and there were signs warning that dead trees could fall in winds. There was also logging taking place, and we passed a couple of logging trucks before we turned off onto a smaller road.  We lost a lot of elevation which made the miles pass quickly.

As the day went on, we continued thru pine forests, then we turned a corner and found ourselves out of the pines on a several mile descent through scrub, oaks, and juniper. It was hot and windy, exposed to gusts, switchbacking down to the Blue River crossing. The Blue River canyon had red dirt cliffs, stands of cottonwood trees, and private properties. It was 93F according to Ed’s bike computer, hot. Thankfully we had a tailwind for many of the last miles of our route. We stopped to chat with a friendly local, then soon arrived at the New Mexican border.

We took a couple of photos to mark our finish at the RAAZ sign, then there was nothing to do but start the steep ride to Alpine where we left our car. The climb was more elevation gain than any on our route, and very steep, a grind. We pushed on for about 7 miles, then a local, Mike, gave us and our bikes a ride for the final few miles to our car at the Outpost RV park, our bikes piled precariously in the back of his small vehicle and secured with some of our voile bag straps.  We heard that a couple other riders had similar experiences, grinding up the hill then catching a ride with a friendly passing driver. We loaded up and drove to Show Low for the night where we celebrated with dinner out. It was great ride, and we will be glad to take a few days to recover.

RAAZ Day 9 - Show Low camp site to Big Lake

64.7 miles, 5275’ climbing

At our camp site, about 10 miles past Show Low, Sarah’s sleeping pad failed. It was a long night on rocky tent site for her. We thought the valve was the likely culprit.

We were close to civilization and a paved road. We packed up early knowing it was a long day to Big Lake, and the store there closes early at this time of year. We turned onto a few miles of pavement early in the day, the smooth riding easing the start to the day. Soon we were on a washboard gravel road with high speed traffic, then finally we turned off into the woods.

The bulk of the morning was spent going from one dirt road to another in the pines, oaks, and aspens. Most roads were good with the usual rocks and ruts. We chatted with a turkey hunter who lamented the lack of snow and rain this winter.

We had a long climb, about 9 continuous miles, to the high point of our entire ride, around 9600’. Cloud cover kept us from getting hot, and there was a predicted chance of rain that never materialized. We saw storm cells, but it looked like the rain wasn’t reaching the ground, but it did bring strong headwinds for much of the day.

We stopped for sandwiches, but the cheese we had just purchased in Show Low, with a sell-by date of Sept 2026, was full of green mold. Yech! Plain rolls for lunch. We continued up hill.

At around 8900’ of elevation, Sarah saw a creature on the roadside, head facing her. For some moments they stared at each other head on, then the creature turned and dashed into the trees. It was clearly a Mexican Gray wolf, much too large to be a coyote. They are known to be in this area, having been reintroduced in years past. As we rode past the trees where it left the road, we tried to catch another glimpse of it, but there were only chittering squirrels. We’ve seen wolves before in Canada and Yellowstone, but never in Arizona. A couple of miles later we saw a handful of turkeys cross the road ahead of us, quickly disappearing into the trees, a prudent choice given all the turkey hunters that are out and about.

Soon we came over the high point of our ride, out into some open meadows and strong headwinds. We could see the Sunrise Ski Area and Pole Knoll, where we have snowshoed in the past. The wind was vicious. It should not be necessary to pedal down hill, and it’s particularly offensive when it’s a washboard road! We slowed down. Eventually some hills and stands of trees gave us shelter.

We knew the store at the Big Lake marina closed at 5pm, and we were not likely to get there. Shawn the rider we had driven to start with had passed thru 2 days ago and told us there were showers at the campground, so we were motivated by the thought of rinsing off. As we approached Big Lake, our route had us turn onto a rail grade trail that was so faint that it was nearly invisible. Shawn had also mentioned this, so we plowed ahead.  This was the only singletrack riding on the whole route. We stirred up clouds of mosquitos in tall grass as we approached the lake, then we were on pavement to the Apache Trout campground which had luxuries such as potable water, picnic tables, and showers. Sarah tried to use a ponytail holder to partition off the leak in her sleeping mat, but it didn’t work. That’s a problem to be addressed later, and it was another night on cold rocks for her.

RAAZ Day 8 - Mogollon camp site to Show Low camp site

57.3 miles, 3350’ climbing

We woke up in time for a beautiful sunrise and a glimpse of an elk running away. After packing up, we hit the road which was rocky and bumpy for about 18 miles. After that it was rutted, sometimes feeing like a pump-it track as we went thru dips. We chatted with a genial turkey hunter, the only vehicle we passed until we reached the outskirts of Show Low. The road had turned rocky again, and the we were on pavement leading into ten. 

We took a long break at the Persnicketty Cafe, then picked up Subway sandwiches for dinner. We detoured about a mile off route to Safeway to load up on supplies. We don’t know if we will get to a store tomorrow before it closes, and it’s a long stretch to the next water source.

Riding the main road thru Show Low was one of the worst cycling stretches of the trip so far. There’s a shoulder coming into town and departing town, but the middle has no bike lane and lots of big trucks. 

With our blinking taillights on and a lot of weight from our food and water, we headed out on the highway. After a handful of miles, we turned off onto dirt. A smiling man with a friend in a 4 wheeler and a lively music soundtrack held the gate open for us.

The next several miles were a little bumpy, and we felt the difference on our loaded bikes. We wound around a mountain with oaks and scrub. A number of people were camping, and somebody up the hill was doing target practice endlessly. Before we edged back to civilization, we found a place to camp out of sight. 

Tomorrow we would like to make it to Big Lake with its nice campgrounds and store, but there’s a lot of challenging climbing between here and there.

RAAZ Day 7 - Rim Country Camping to Mogollon Rim Camping

62.7 miles, 3553’ climbing

We set an early alarm but didn’t roll out quickly. The air was cold as we descended through a canyon, but we quickly warmed as we climbed out the other side. Rolling through the pines we saw about 20 elk which ran across the road in front of us. 

After a series of smaller roads, we came out on the Old Rim Road with its washboard and bumpy rocks and dust, not to mention the scenic views. We were hot and took a few food breaks. The road suddenly turned to asphalt which was a welcome break for a few miles.

We came down to the visitor center, but it was closed and had no water. Some fun small roads brought us to the community of Forest Lakes. There were two very similar general stores where we resupplied, both called "General Store”. Both had similar inventory and friendly employees. Could there be a rivalry? Our hoped-for restaurant lunch didn’t happen when we found out that the cafe was closed on Monday’s. Back we went to one of the general stores for a microwaved meal and ice cream.

After a couple of miles of pavement, we were back on a dirt road, this one a little bumpy. We camped a few miles away from  the Travis Walton abduction site, but we saw no UFOs and had a quiet night in the trees.

RAAZ Day 6 - Flagstaff to Rim Country Camping

68.6 miles, 3458’ climbing

Campsite in the pines

We had breakfast in our hotel room and rolled out at 6am. It was chilly as we rolled down the pavement for a few miles before turning off onto a maintained gravel road with washboard. Eventually we turned off onto a smaller road. The day was characterized by a series of roads through the pines, oaks, and aspens on roads that had washboard or a thick layer of gravel. The scenery was beautiful with some large meadows and wildflowers including irises.  

After a welcome descent on good pavement, we topped up our water bottles at the Happy Jack ranger station, then headed back into the woods. The afternoon felt hot.

Eventually it was getting late. We spent some time looking for an expected water source that didn’t materialize. Finally we dry camped in a pullout, surrounded by pines. We had a full sky of stars and not a single other light visible at night.

 

RAAZ Day 5 - Williams to Flagstaff

42.9 miles, 1965’ climbing

Greentree Hotel, Flagstaff

We didn’t leave until after breakfast at the very comfortable La Quinta hotel. Once we rolled out just before 7, we were soon pedaling uphill on pavement past the pretty Santa Fe Reservoir which is in the pines. After about 4 miles on asphalt, we turned onto a large, maintained gravel road that goes past Dogtown Lake. There were a fair number of trailers and tents where people were camping in the forest. We passed Dogtown Lake which we camped at a few summers ago on a bikepacking trip. It has a nice campground. Today we continued through the pines, avoiding washboard. We passed some open meadows with private land, and then were back in the trees. 

After about 20 miles of cycling, our route turned off the maintained road onto a smaller forest road that first followed a phone line then turned into the forest. The next 10 miles were the most challenging and interesting riding of the trip. It was a nice change from the graded roads we have been following, and also more strenuous. There was about a mile of rocks and ruts that required us to choose our lines more carefully. It was fun.

About 30ish miles into our ride, we emerged onto another maintained road. We stopped for lunch on the roadside, then continued on past Roger’s Lake, a dry lake with some parking areas and nature trails. We stopped to look through telescopes trained on the lake, but we didn’t see anything. 

Our route continued around towards Fort Tuthill. The Flagstaff Interurban gravel trail took us directly to a hotel, and nearby was a Basha’s grocery store and a number of restaurants. It was a short day, and the cooler temperatures made it easier. 

We’ve reached the half way point on our trip. Our pace isn’t too speedy, but given that we’ve been off our bikes recently while travelling, it feels good. We’re thinking it will be 5 more riding days to get to the New Mexico border. 

RAAZ Day 4 - Seligman to Williams

 62.6 miles, 3635’ climbing

La Quinta Inn, Williams, AZ

It would have been nice to lounge in bed longer, but the morning is usually our best time to cover miles. Our burrito purchased last night made a good breakfast with the hotel room coffee. We rolled out before 6am in the crisp air. We had fun taking pictures of the Burma Shave signs as we left town. Trains were passing about every 10 minutes.

We passed a group of horses as we left the pavement and headed up into the junipers. Soon we were on some gentle hills, passing some private property, a juniper tree full of Xmas decorations, some jackrabbits. We had a long stretch of down hill before our half way point where the road got bumpier and we had to climb some hills. It got hot. We made several stops to eat and hydrate. At one place near the tracks we paused to watch an approaching train, and the conductor laid on the horn to greet us. We waved.

After a lot of bumpy up and down, we turned a corner and found ourselves in the shade of pine trees. We coasted down the hill to pavement, and soon we were in Williams. At our hotel, we cleaned our drive trains before going in. Then we showered and laundered all our clothes, picked up groceries, had dinner, and made plans. Tomorrow will be a shorter day to Flagstaff.