Hi Folks,
I've been lurking here for a while. Here's a trip report of my most recent
adventure.

Bikepacking on the AZ Trail

Photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/garandpatti/sets/72057594069025246/
If you chose the slide show, which is nice, you won't get a description

I'm a rider, not a writer, be easy on me.

2/8/06
It's warm! By 9:30 AM I've pulled off my arm and leg warmers. It's always
funny and good
to feel the air on your legs after a winter of having them covered up. I've
driven 10 hours
from my home in Colorado to find warmth and to ride. Stopped the car at
Roosevelt Dam
in southern Arizona, it's just below the 7,000' Mogollon Rim and I'm at around
2,000'.

I'm on the first day of a 6 day solo self contained bike trip. For the south
bound portion of
my trip I'm following the mountain bike portion of the Arizona Trail. I'm using
the
guidebook by Andrea Lankford, "Biking The Arizona Trail". The hiking portion of
the AZ
Trail is often not practical or legal to ride a bike on and Andrea has mapped a
route for
cyclists from Utah to Mexico. I'll follow as much of it as time will allow.

I'm on the Apache Trail this morning, skirting the northern end of the
Superstition
Wilderness and following what once was the Salt River and is now Apache and
Canyon
Lakes. The road is dirt, steep and never straight, but the scenery here is
fabulous and
extremely rugged country. It seems to be up or down, but never level for more
than a few
hundred yards. This is why I'm here! One climb goes up 800' vertical in a
little over one
mile. After 24 miles the road turns to pavement and the tourist trap called
Tortilla Flat
appears. I wasn't ready for this, a parking with about 20 cars and a bunch of
elderly
tourists walking around looking dumb. I buy a soda and eat the last of the
breakfast
burritos Patti has made me and get out of there. The road is paved now, but
it's still very
twisty and hilly, however still very pretty country in spite of the traffic. It
reminds me of
the roads I've ridden in Italy. Unfortunately, it was also very windy causing
me to be pretty
cautious on the downhills as I get hit with blasts of wind from the side canyons
and hills.

At Lost Dutchman State Park I stop for water and after a few more miles of dirt
I'm on US
Highway 60. A very busy 4 lane with rumble strips and guard rails that tend to
come right
out to the traffic lane. With the wind this was by far the worst part of the
day, my speed
was dismal, the heat now seemed stifling and the noise from the traffic was
deafening.
This is why I seek out dirt roads to ride. The last chance for water was to be
at a gas
station at Florence Junction, unfortunately it was all closed up. So, I had to
go 4 miles,
uphill of course, off my route to the village of Queen Creek to fill up with
water for the
night. I filled my Camelbak HAWG and two big water bottles, 144 onces, enough
to last
me twenty four hours if I need to.

Back on US 60 I head south on a jeep road a slow, rocky gradual climb for eight
miles
before descending into the Box Canyon Narrows, a very pretty canyon and quite
technical
jeep/ ATV trail. I get to the Gila River shortly after sunset and set up camp
on a cactus
infested ridge. Jumping Cactus have these bulbs that fall off onto the ground
and get
flung up by feet or tires and stick to everything like glue. In trying to
remove one you are
almost guaranteed to fling it onto your own body and they are quite painful.
The ground
was littered with these thorns and I spent quite a bit of time cleaning the area
before
risking putting the thermarest down. Next morning I had a flat tire from the
cactus, one
of two for the trip.

Miles for the day- 88.1, hours in the saddle- 7 hour 51 minutes, 4545' elevation
gain
(according to Andrea)

2/9/06 Day 2
I ride over to the Gila River which is nothing more than an irrigation canal at
this point and
fill up with water. I've got 60 miles to do before I get water again. The road
starts out as
a nice two track but when I get to a ranch house I misinterpret Andrea's
directions and end
up losing an hour on ATV, cow and goat rails. Finally I work my way back to
where I am
supposed to be. I'll be on graded roads headed towards the little town of
Oracle. Some of
it is sandy, some washboard, some very smooth and almost all quite pleasant. 52
miles of
dirt and 3780' of climbing. I met the only other bike camper of the whole trip
today. An
older gentleman on a C-dale pulling a Bob trailer. He's hauling more than twice
the weight
I am and doing less than half the distance I am daily. After leaving him I
wonder which of
us is having more fun. At 50 years old I may have to try a slow and heavy trip
as opposed
to my always fast and light trips I do when I go alone.

Miles don't mean much here. The road surface always changes, the wind always
blows and
the elevation change is always a factor. By looking at the miles I need to do
before food or
water, even when taking elevation change into account, is does not tell me how
long to
plan for. Hours in the saddle is the only way to gauge distance and that's only
accurate for
me. Today was frustrating because of the wind, the gradual climb and the
sometimes
rough road surface. I felt I should be moving faster, even though my legs felt
great. I
even have some rain sprinkles - Tuscon hasn't had any measurable rain for
something like
115 days.

I find a pizza place in Oracle, eat half of it there and save the other half
for dinner. I ride
out to Peppersauce Canyon on the Mt. Lemmon control road to camp. Tomorrow is
the
biggest climb of the trip.

69 miles, 4380' of climbing, 58 dirt miles and 6 hours 36 minutes saddle time.

2/10/06 Day 3

I feel really good this morning. I'm ready to climb! The road is dirt again
and I'm headed
up the back side of Mt Lemmon which is a beautiful range North of Tuscon. The
road
surface is pretty rocky sometimes, but overall quite pleasant.

I have chosen to ride my Ibis Hakkalugi cyclocross bike on this ride. I'm using
38 mm IRC
Mythos CX slicks on it. I chose this bike when I have a perfectly good 29"
wheeled MTB at
home for several reasons. On a ride like this whatever bike or tire I choose
will be a
compromise in many situations. Overall I'm willing to compromise on the
technical MTB
type terrain, partly because that is the smallest portion of this, and many
other dirt road
rides and partly because I am quite comfortable on the Ibis and I much prefer
drop bars
for long days in the saddle. With the 38 mm tires pumped up to 60 psi. I have a
comfortable and fast road bike on the pavement. Dropping the air pressure down
to
40-45 in the dirt works really well and I never pinched flatted the whole trip.
The MTB will
never be as comfortable or efficient on the road.

The road does a lot of contouring for the first 15 miles, up one drainage and
down the
other. Then it starts up in earnest and I'm climbing most of it in my 34X26 or
34X30 gear.
The views are great and I have it all to myself only seeing two cars the whole
way up. At
about 20 miles the road gets serious and I'm into my small ring quite often.
Climbing up
into the Pine trees it occurs to me this is very much like climbing one of the
many jeep
road passes in Colorado. In Arizona you climb up into the trees, in Colorado
you climb up
out of the trees. One thing about living in Colorado is that I have learned to
love climbing.
It's not the climbing itself that's so rewarding but the dividend it pays; the
views and the
ability to go somewhere new and the feeling of accomplishment.

On top (8,000') all of a sudden I'm on pavement and around all these structures,
a sort of
culture shock after not seeing anyone all morning. Now I get to lose over
3,500' in
elevation going into Tuscon. Why is it that long downhills always seem longer
than the
climb you did to get up? I should have put more clothes on for the descent.
I'm getting
cold but I know that with a little more elevation lost it's going to warm up.
I'm staring to
shiver so I stop and warm up and snap a couple of photos.

In Tuscon I stop at McDonalds for a burger - haven't been in one of these for
several
years. It was good, something called a big n" nasty, I think. I always crave
fat on these
rides. Afterward I walked over to Starbucks for coffee and a roll and spent the
same as I
spent at Mickey's. Then the nice lady at Basha's grocery store let me bring my
bike in to
the store while I got some road food.

About 15 miles out of Tuscon a state trooper was stopping all the traffic and
turning them
around because a wide load had broken down and blocked the whole roadway. I
told the
nice man it would be no trouble for me to go on and I could just walk around the
wide
load. He replied that he was told to stop all traffic and I was traffic so I
wasn't going. I
always want to be considered traffic while riding my bike but this is
ridiculous. It was
obvious that any arguing wasn't going to get me anywhere so I turned around and
pedaled
off. I found a jeep road about a mile away from the road block that might just
get me
around it. At least it was going the right way and if it didn't work I had
everything I
needed to camp. It did go the right direction and after walking along a sand
wash, turned
jeep road, for over a half hour I make it back in site of the highway. The sun
was setting
and I found a nice smooth arroyo to camp in. I have some chicken tenders,
Pringles and a
bit of brandy for dinner. Life is good.

I am serenaded by coyotes every night. Tonight they are really, really close.
Perhaps less
than 100'. I love coyotes and really admire how they seem to be able survive in
any
environment. I think they are singing just for me tonight.

82 miles, 29 miles dirt, 4350' elevation gain, 6 ¾ hours saddle time.

2/10/06 Day 4
Every morning I'm up before I can see well. The days are still too short for
camping
without using my headlamp. I'm on the road somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 each
morning. I make a cup of instant coffee on my homemade soda can, alcohol stove
and
make a cup of Patti's oatmeal mix she sent with me. I'm carrying enough food
for 2 days
just in case I don't happen to hit a store that has food I want.

Today is my down day. On every tour I seem to have a day or at least a part of
a day
where things just don't flow. Today is it. I ask myself why am I doing this, I
get hung up
on what's hurting. My feet, especially my left foot is going numb on me so I
don't stand
enough and my butt then goes numb. I foolishly didn't use bag balm on my crotch
the
first day and am now having to deal with chafing. The wind is still blowing, a
cross
headwind for the whole trip. How come when I read other people's trip reports
they never
go here? If you are new to bike touring remember folks, sometimes it sucks!

I make it into Sonoita in time for a second breakfast. I had a 2,000' climb to
get here, it's
Saturday AM and the road is full of Harley's and diesel pickups pulling boats.
I choose to
bypass a part of Andrea's route before Sonoita and do some mileage and time
calculations
while here to see what my options are. I call home and learn that a very close
friend of
mine has had a cerebral aneurysm and was flown to Phoenix for surgery. At this
point
things are looking unsure for him. He is my age, a well known NM bike racer and
(was)
very healthy. This took even more wind out of my sails. I decide to start
closing my loop
now, if I continue south to Patagonia, as I'd originally hoped, I was looking at
doing 100
mile days to get home in time. This way I had an extra day and I might need to
go to
Phoenix to be with Cliff and Kathy.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. East on AZ 82 then North on AZ 90 to
Benson.
Even though I was losing altitude the whole way the wind was still working
against me.
Lots of traffic and not enough hills made the time past very slowly.

I spent the first 45 years of my life in New Mexico. The roadsides are full of
litter there.
Arizona is at least as bad. To pass the time I started paying attention to all
the stuff. For
some reason there was at least a closet full of clothes scattered over 30 miles
of highway.
Not just a few random bits of clothing but several wardrobes, at least, and some
of it
seemed to be in good shape too. My mind was playing with the scenarios that
might have
taken place. Also, just as in CO and NM, Bud Light is the official beer of
litterbugs. I have
no idea why this is, but 4 out of 5 beer cans are Bud Light.

In Benson I had a pretty good Mexican food dinner and headed north along the San
Pedro
River valley. I will follow this valley all the way till it meets the Gila
River. The road is
paved at first. A very nice, rarely used hilly, twisty stretch for about 10
miles. Then the
road turns to dirt for 45 miles. I find a very nice arroyo to camp in about 15
miles North
of Benson.

84 miles, 6 hours 59 minutes saddle time, only 5 miles of dirt but a lot of
wind.

2/12/06 Day 5

I'm sure glad yesterday is over with, now I can start enjoying myself again. It
was cold last
night. My water is frozen, not solid but plenty of ice in it. This will be the
only night I
have ice. The San Pedro Valley has a dirt road that runs from Benson in the
south to San
Miguel to the north. It's paved for around 10 miles on either end. It has very
little traffic
and is quite pretty. A few people choose to live out here far from the rest of
civilization. I
could be quite happy out here, at least in the winter. This stretch of 36 miles
of dirt is far
and away the very worst stretch of washboard road I have ever been on. Not only
in length
but in magnitude. I finally have a tailwind this morning and I'm going downhill
slightly.
But I can't go faster than 10 mph, often only 5-7 mph because of the washboard.
I have
to laugh at it. Crying would be of no use. I rarely look forward to pavement
but it sure
looked good when I finally hit it south of San Miguel.

San Miguel is a copper mining town, of which there are several in southern AZ.
The town
has no core, no center, no character, but it did have good food and water.
That's all I
needed. Now I'm back on AZ 77 still in the San Pedro Valley heading towards the
Gila
River at Winkelman, another copper mining town. They have tailing piles around
here that
must cover hundreds of acres. One of them had ATV tracks all over it. A very
appropriate
place for them I say. This and many roads in the southwest are straight fairly
flat and
have a lot of traffic. These are the hardest sections for me mentally. At
Winkelman I fill up
with water, grab some food and call home.

I'm now following the Gila River. It's a real river here, not an irrigation
ditch. It's quite a
contrast to see the Saguaro Cactus coming right down the canyon walls to water.
A very
pretty canyon. I find a place to camp right on the water. My last night.

I travel ultra light on these trips. My bedroom consists of a 2 lb. Feathered
Friends bag, a
Tyvek ground cloth, and a 5X7' silnylon tarp, which I never needed on this trip.
My kitchen
is mostly homemade, a soda can alcohol stove, a small aluminum pot and a cozy
to let my
food cook in. I just boil water with the stove and pour it into the cozy with
food. Dinners
are usually a Lipton dinner, my favorite is beans and rice and some dried bacon
bits for
protein. Breakfasts are usually oatmeal and instant coffee. I like good coffee
as much as
anyone but the hassle of it while camping has me using instant. I feel the very
small
weight of my kitchen is well worth hauling around. My food is lighter than if I
had no
stove and hot food is much more satisfying than cold. My complete kit goes in
two stuff
sacks and my Camelbak. The weight is less than 10 lbs. not counting food, water
or tools.
On this trip I'm trying both a front and rear rack, a stuff sack on each. My
theory being
the bike will handle better having the weight on both ends. In retrospect I
don't think it
matters much. With a 10 lb. load I think it'd be fine to carry it on just the
rear rack. This
is what I've done in the past, but I've carried more weight on my back. For
this trip I want
to keep as much weight off my back as is practical.

79 miles, 45 miles dirt, 6 hours 19 minutes saddle time.

2/13/06 Day 6
I start at 7:00, it's my last day and I know I've got a climb ahead of me. I
don't know how
much of a climb, but I'm guessing around 2,000'. A very pretty ride and after
breaking
away from the Gila River I start up a side canyon. After 8 miles the road
really starts
climbing and I'm quite surprised as to how much it really does climb. I'm in
my 34X 26
and 34X30 often, but rarely do I ever use this low of a gear on pavement. In
10-11 miles I
gain around 3,000' to top out at El Capitan Pass (5,000'). Funny, my maps don't
even
show the pass. If it was in Colorado it would be on the maps and it would
probably be
above timberline after that sort of climb. I now have more respect than I used
to for the
ruggedness of Arizona. The state has some impressive climbs and extremely
rugged
terrain. I descend into Globe for a second breakfast, call home and head north
for the last
leg of the trip. I have about 2,000' of elevation to lose before I get back to
my car. Not
surprisingly, someone put another 1,000' (plus) climb in between Globe and
Roosevelt
dam. I am actually really happy to have it. I get a great view of the lake and
it felt good to
know this was my last climb for the trip. My payback was a 1,500' descent to my
car. In
the last miles my thoughts are of Patti and wanting to be with her. Of the ride
I just did
and I'm already making plans for doing Tucson south next winter. I want to
spend more
time in the Patagonia area too.

61 miles, 5 hours saddle time.

Total for trip:
464 miles, 173 miles of dirt.

For me the cyclocross bike is the bike of choice for this type of ride. I never
had any tire
issues even though I started with well used tires. I did carry a spare Michelin
Jet just in
case. I might choose 700X 42 tires next time. I weigh 140 lbs, maybe a 200 lb.
person
wouldn't be as happy as me on my bike. My rims, were still perfectly true after
all the
pounding they received. I had nothing break, nothing needed adjusting or
tightening. I
found it very comfortable for all day rides. It may have been a little slower
in the roughest
sections, but I'm pretty confident it was faster and more efficient everywhere
else. I
wonder why more people don't choose these bikes for this sort of adventure.

I'm not sure what to call a trip like this. Bike touring just seems inaccurate,
I have visions
of a hugely loaded bike going slowly over smooth roads. Adventure touring?
Maybe.
Bikepacking seems to describe it as well as any term I know of. It is very
similar to
backpacking, just with a bike as opposed to walking.

Gary Blakley
garyblakley-at-amigo-dot-net