375 Miles - 600km Tombstone Brevet

What: 600km Tombstone Brevet
Where: Casa Grande to Tombstone & Back
When: March 19 & 20
Who: Mike Enfield and I
Description: ...beyond description? But I will try :)

It has been 3 weeks since I finished the this final Brevet in the series of 4...200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km. It was a great ride and adventure, pushed me way past any limits I believed I had, and probably the toughest thing physically I have ever done. It is a strange feeling to have completed these rides...I have thought about this for several years, had countless hours of workouts, cycling, planning, and thinking of these epic rides...and now I have finished them. It is great to have an adventure/challenge on the horizon...it drives me, keeps life exciting/butterfies, and keeps other things in perspective. This has been a great experience and one that I am not sure I will do again...but the further it gets behind me, the more I think I may?

** I must give serious Credit to my "blood brother" Mike Enfield. We have now been on some serious adventures together, shed some blood/pain, and had some great times! Without him leading me through these, navigating, and sharing with me all the details of what it takes to make it though...I seriously doubt I could have done it. Thanks Mike!!

 Yes, a total of 932 miles worth of self supported riding around Southern Arizona and I can now purchase the 4 medals and a schweet jersey! I have officially qualified now to ride the "oldest cycling event in history"...the Paris Brest Paris 1200km in August. I didn't start this series with that as a goal in mind and dont think I will be doing it. It is only held every 4 years though...and you must qualify the year of the event...


Casa Grande Arizona to Tombstone and back...on a bike...lol.

 Elevation Profile for the ride...was approximately 12+ feet of gain over the ride. Not bad at all for a ride this long...but some of those climbs were tougher than any I have ever done.

Ride Statistics....it wasn't pretty, but we got it done!

Last minute instructions from Susan Plonsky regarding the ride...then it is off into the morning darkness.

We got slightly off track for the 600km Tombstone Brevet, leaving our hotel in Eloy a bit late. We got to bed close to midnight and it really felt like I had just closed my eyes before the alarm was waking me up at 4am. We did make it to the start with about 5-10 minutes to spare...got checked in, got our Brevet cards and were ready to roll. The Temperature was about  53 degrees at 5am in Casa Grande so I decided to skip the arm and leg warmers. Once again, I underestimate how much the temperature can change in the desert...about 10-15 miles into the ride it was in the low 40's and once again I am freezing :)

 Yes...from 30 degrees at night to nearly 100 on Sunday afternoon.

About 10 minutes into the ride just outside of the city, I finish a little prayer on my bike asking God to watch over us for the next 2 days on the road. I look down and I have no water bottles! I think what in the world? Why would someone steal my bottles? What is going on? ...turns out in the rush out of the hotel, I forgot to grab them from the fridge in the hotel...in Eloy! Luckily it was only about 1 mile out of the way on the route. We were able to swing by, pick them up and get back on the road. It did suck to loose the main group and I am sure we probably lost 30 minutes because of it...but, this ended up being a 38 hour ride...not to terrible I guess. Another Brevet lesson learned.


Organized the food and supplies for the ride...I try to stay so organized for these events...still can't believe I left my water bottles!

We made it to Marana in great time despite a bit of a head wind and phreaking cold temps...we caught up with quite a few riders there. Pounded down an Egg Salad sandwich, Coconut Milk, and Carrot cake...back on the road.


One of the climbs near Saguaro Park.

Saguaro Park was beautiful as usual and I was feeling really strong. We made it through the hills and rollers there in good time and were turning on Mission road before I knew it. This road about killed me last time...gave me serious doubts with the 2-3% grade for miles and a 20-30 mph head wind...this time, there was very little wind and we pushed right through it. We were in Green Valley (100+ miles) about 7 hours from the start. We stopped at "Tirvetti's" italian restaurant for lunch. They were really friendly and even let us bring out bikes in to keep them safe. Cleaned up a bit and had a great sit down lunch of lasagna, soup, and cake. Then...it took about 45 minutes to get our check completed and back out the door :( We burned probably an hour and 1/2 there...not good for a lunch stop.


Green Valley not looking so green...but still a beautiful little town.


Road to Sonoita

Following the lunch stop, we headed out of Green Valley and on to Sonoita. About 15-20 miles out of town on a long slight climb with rollers, Mike says to take a look behind me. There is Helmet peak off in the distance...shimmering in the heat...looking really long. He said that it is a bit intimidating to see it coming for nearly 20-25 miles after you have practically 280 miles in your legs...foreshadowing...


Yes, this climbed kicked by butt in the extreme...was about 15 miles of climbing with a Grade randomly moving between 3% and 10% at times....definitely harder than any trianing rides I have done. Especially after having put so many miles in prior to it :) I was definitely hurting a bit here! "IT NEVER ALWAYS GETS HARDER! I find that it really is true...and probably convinced myself of it after repeating it 300 times.


A look at part of the climb leading up through the hills to Sonoita.


Grasslands...crested the climb to Sonoita and now heading down into town.

One more climb prior to making it into town...not too bad.

 The Sonoita Inn...we have a room reserved here for a shower and a quick nap on the way back. Would be so great just to check in right now...but we push on to Elign, then the turn around in Tucson...about a 80+ mile round trip.

Elign Arizona...population 10? Susan had a great stop set up here. Cheese sandwiches, soup, cookies and other good stuff. Once again, a Diet Coke with Lime? Man those are good. 

We left Elign pretty quickly and were ready to get the 70 mile roundtrip to Tombstone done. It was now getting dark but we had a slight tailwind and before we knew it we made the right hand turn onto AZ83. It was a pretty fast descent with a few rollers on our way into Tombstone. At this point we did see the lead group heading back to Elign finally...they were probably 3-4 hours ahead of us. It was a little hard to think that they would be done that much sooner than us...but we weren't trying to set any records...just out there to finish all 375 miles and beat the cutoff time of 40 hours.

Sunset heading into Tombstone...was a gorgeous night!

Ahh...scenic Circle K in Tombstone...this was the extent of my first visit to the famous town. Of course, it was dark and getting late...I stole this picture from google maps.

At this point, the temperature had dropped significantly. After riding since 5am, my brain stops firing on all 3 cylinders I think. After eating some warm soup, strawberry milk, snickers bar etc etc...we headed back out into the cold and dark for our return to Elign. About 10 miles out of Tombstone I realize I had forgotten my riding glasses at the gas station! I immediately thought I am not riding back there...a decent little climb back into town and 20 extra miles...forget the glasses! A few minutes after that I stopped some on-coming riders and asked them to look for them...and pick them up if they could. Lucky for me, they were able to find them and get them turned in!!! I didn't get their names but I sure appreciate that!!!

The Super Moon!!! It was incredible! I heard reports that it was more visible than it has been for 18 years! We hardly needed lighting the moon was so bright and clear.

Another picture of it from somewhere on the web.

The temperature at this time continued to go down...by the time we descended back into Elign it was in the high 20's...man that got cold. Once in the stop at Elign we really didn't eat anything...just got our cards signed and headed out for the last 10 miles to the Sonoita Inn...probably some of the longest/coldes miles I have ridden!


We checked into the hotel around 2:00am...they had food out on the table for us along with a little cupbard and refrigerator!!! Ahhh it was great...muffins, crackers, cheese, boiled eggs, juice!!!

Susan had dropped our overnight bags off at the hotel earlier in the day...was great to take a shower, put on clean clothes and get a few hours nap. Not sure when we actually got to bed but the alarm was set for 5:30am...ugghhh....The alarm did go off...but we stayed in bed another 30-40 minutes. Then put on new bike clothes and headed out.

I must say, I was feeling pretty sore and "not-mobile" ... butt was not enjoying getting back on the seat! But after a few miles things started feeling better. Because my sunglasses had not been returned yet, I figured I would take it easy on the huge descent out of Sonoita. After the first hundred yards I couldn't contain myself. I let it go and had a really fun time...despite 40+ mph and lots of tears streaming out of my eyes, Mike and I were making the turn to Green Valley at about the same time.

Heading back to Green Valley....Helmet Peak in the distance? Not sure on this picture.

We stopped at the RoadRunner gas station near Green Valley and had a really good breakfast burrito...eggs, bacon, onions, cheese, potatoes!!! As we approached Helmet peak a pretty good sidewind kicked up. Helmet peak is 2-3% grade for several miles and I was feeling drained but in pretty good shape. I stopped about 1/2 way up for a bio-break...when I got back on my bike and stood up to pedal I had a sharp pain under my left knee cap. It hurt bad enough that I could no longer stand and pedal at all.

Just after this Susan pulled along side us and delivered my sunglasses and refilled out water bottles. Perfect timing!

Alright...80 miles to go and I can't stand up to pedal. This makes it really difficult because I had to stay seated much more than I wanted to. It did get so bad for a while that I thought I may have to quit...but then, as soon as that thought started creeping in...many other thought's pushed it out :) I believed I wasn't doing any permanent damage to my knee so I figured even at my much slower pace I could still finish before the 40 hour cutoff. I gutted it out back to Marana and with 40 miles left my knee did recover quite a bit. We, once again, rode down the never ending, brain numbing, I-10 frontage road to Eloy...made one final stop for drinks and pushed hard into Casa Grande...We finished at 7:02pm, 38 hours after starting the previous day at 5am. Definitely the biggest physical challenge I have ever had and was a great adventure. I loved seeing all that country from my bike and accomplishing something that I have thought about for years. Good times with a good friend!


A picture from our 200km finish...for some reason we didn't really take any at this finish...just got our stuff, turned in our cards and headed to the Cracker Barrel for another Big Boy Country Breakfast!!!

Brevet Lesson's Learned?

- Coconut milk has lots of potassium and electrolytes...but is also a natural laxative :) Mike had to use his "emergency toilet paper" that he had been carrying for 6+ years of long distance riding...and there are not a lot of convenient places to have a "natural" break in Saguaro Park ... LOL.
- Water bottles are important to have when beginning a 380 mile ride! Double/Triple check you have everything before you start.
- Even though it is dark and you have clear lenses in your sunglasses...don't ever set them down...I didn't realize I had forgotten them for at least 10 miles... :(
- There is a battery in my heart rate monitor and cadence sensor :) They don't last forever :) Both died on my during this ride...should have replaced them.

Salt River Century - Brevet Training

What: 101 miles...favorite local ride
Where: Salt River Area near Saguaro Lake
When: March 12, 2011
Who: Solo
Description: Needed to get in a long training ride for the upcoming 600km Tombstone Brevet March 19...decided to get up real early, gear up, and get a good long ride in.

Following the 400km Arivaca Brevet, I felt the need to ensure I kept training...and got in a hard ride or 2 prior to the final in the Series...the Tombstone 600km (380 miles.) There are some people that talk negatively about East Mesa...but most of them aren't cyclists :) We have some great rides that are all accessible from my front door. This is another one of my favorites...typically I have 3-4 local rides that I do on a regular basis, this is a combination of all of them.


101 Miles...combining "Usery Loop," Bush Hwy and B-Line Hwy, Ellsworth Road to the Mesa Gateway Airport, and "Tour de Smell (Apache Junction loop.) "

My fastest century so far...ride time under 6 and 1/2 hours...about 45 minutes of stops...always surprises me when I see how much time I spend on breaks...never seems that long when I am out riding.

Definitely some climbing on this ride...out to Bush Hwy and then a few miles on the B-Line...about double Usery and some quite a bit steeper.

Once again I underestimated how cold it could get down by the Salt River...I left my house at 4:45am and temp was 58...2 hours later it was 37 degrees...definitely could have dressed warmer :)

Quiet mornings, lonely roads, AZ sunrise, small breeze...reminds me why I love cycling!!

Cruising along early in the morning...bento box with food, Garmin, aero bars...this setup is superb for my long rides.

Crossing the bridge near a popular fishing/tubing area along bush hwy...

Bull Dog cliffs along the Salt River...this is the turnaround/parking area used by the Salt River Tubers during the summer. Good little stop with restrooms.

Google Earth of the Parking Area.

Much better picture of the Bulldog's pulled off the web...I have watched base jumpers launch of these before...very cool.

Passing by Saguaro Lake...some really steep but short climbs right here...

More of Saguaro Lake

Looking back down Bush Highway from the intersection of B-Line Hwy. I had forgotten how much climbing it took to make it out to this point...definitely worked hard and was feeling it. Took some time to change lenses on my sunglasses, eat some food, and turn on Pandora...some Techno to set the Tempo for the next couple of hours...yes, the iPhone and 3G worked great out here...very surprising.

Heading towards Payson on the Bline Hwy...huge pull off that is nice to ride on. Have to keep a close eye out for glass and areas where cars have "burned"... makes for some weird pot holes and places for debris to collect.

Desert is starting to bloom...lots of grass and some spots with wild flowers.

Heading out further on the Bline...this hill is about 2-3 miles of 5-6% grade...good fun on the way down. Seem to be hitting 40+ mph on just about every ride now :)

Almost to my 50 mile turnaround spot...this is a wash beside the road...I believe it is Sycamore Creek.

Not a very romantic area to enjoy an apple and some coconut milk...turned around here...mile 50.

Beautiful views of 4 peaks all along Bush and BLine Hwy's...Have hiked/climbed it a few times but need to do the "Traverse." All 4 peaks in a day...about 3 miles of Scrambling...

Yes, everything came out ok :) Bathroom pit stop at Salt river tubing area on the route back home.

Getting a little sun...added a new light to my helmet...very handy for reading directions at night or clipping into pedals when it is really dark.

Blurry picture of Red Mountain North of the Salt River. Definitely a prominent feature on the ride...gorgeous red rock...best view is at the bottom of Power road as it turns West and becomes Bush Hwy.

Summary: Great solo ride with good views and some decent climbs. I felt really strong on this one and have really noticed the changes in my legs from the Brevet's. Felt good all day and pretty much fully recovered in 2-3 days. I have hit 1200+ miles of riding since January 1st...a record for me and I can really feel the difference with all that saddle time. Looking forward to completing the AZ Brevet Series and "officially" qualifying for the Paris Breast Paris. Definitely praying for good weather and safety this weekend for the 600km! ...then, Whats Next?

400km - Arivaca Epic Brevet

What: 400km Arivaca Brevet "Titanic"
Where: Casa Grande Arizona - Arivaca Loop
When: Feb 26, 2011
Description: 257 mile Brevet Arizona...Susan, Brevet administrator Extraordinaire was asked "How do you do it?"meaning, "how do I always manage to schedule the Arivaca brevet during a perfect storm of sand, wind, rain, and snow...I obviously have a talent for it; if only it were useful."

45 Cyclists signed up for this ride, 7 didn't show, 12 didn't finish, 10 pre-rode the course the week before, and 16 finished this crazy day (could have mis-calculated this.) Everyone suffered on this ride...some of us were able to pull it off for a lonely cold wet celebration at the Round Trip Bike shop. This ride tested me thoroughly... more than a physical challenge, but mental and spiritually. I think some times when you put yourself out there like this, dreaming big and riding out past the nervousness and fear, you really have some time to see who you really are. I have been really impressed with the quality of human beings out here on these rides...the challenge can be extremely tough...some make it and some don't...but are better for having tried I think.


Man this is a long ride :) Once again, the longest I have gone on a bike ever...257 miles in 21 hours 45 minutes

 Overall Ride Stats...17 hours riding, 4 hours of stoppage...45 minutes helping a fellow rider get an ambulance!

 Elevation Profile and speed over time...notice at about hour 11...nothing like a -2% grade and a 30 mph tail wind!!!!

Crazy temperature changes on this ride...had to be ready for aprox. 80 degrees down to nearly freezing with wind and rain...skimping on gear for this ride could put you in serious trouble.

 Mike booked a room at Motel 8 to save us an hour of travel before the ride began at 5am. Up at 4am and ready to roll.

Yes, I brought my own toaster :) Mike lauged at me for this one...but 2 pieces of wheat toast with peanut butter and honey are mandatory to start an Epic ride like this one...just can't cut corners...lol.

We started off with much smaller numbers than the previous 2 brevets. The weather forecast for this weekend had been all over the map...predictions changing by the hour it seemed. Borrowing a "neck warmer" from Mike and Loree strongly encouraging me to bring my gortex rain shell made the difference in actually finishing this ride...I have no doubt!

Mike and I road with the main group to approximately Picacho Peak area...then dropped off and settled into my "go all day" pace. We made great time up to that point and a little before 8am we were in Marana. The glorious I-10 frontage road and a 10-15 mph head wind had me complaining a bit. I mentioned to Mike Sturgill (brevet legend :) assisting at the check points...that the wind was a bit annoying...he answered me saying "you think this is wind? this ain't wind." If this ride were a movie...the lightening and thunder would have sounded with premonition... 

Plowed fields heading out of Marana...wind is beginning to pick up. (This pic pulled from the web.)

Once again we make the climb through Saguaro regional park...pull through the rollers (one with a short 17% grade...phreaking steep)

Cool picture of S. Kinney road heading out of South Tucson...

Topolino's and Toilet Paper? Mike was generous enough to point it out after a bathroom break...could have ridden with this on my heel for quite a few miles...good times!

A stop along a tough stretch on Mission Road..."real wind" is now hitting us hard 20-35+ mph...match that with a slight 1-3% grade sustained climbing and it got tough mentally/physically for me. 

 Gorgeous Southern AZ...yes, there are prettier places on this planet..

 Coming up on the Gigantic open Pit Mines

SAN Xavier Mission...gorgeous Catholic mission in the middle of no where...really!

Finally made it into Green Valley at about 105 miles of riding. We took almost an hour here to have a breakfast omelet, hash browns, and a bowl of fruit. It is crazy how great food tastes after 100 miles of riding.

 Turning onto Arivaca road...the wind is now reached "ludicrous" speed...stupid! If I wouldn't have had an omelet recently...might have tried this place for a steak...strange.

 Arivaca road...Mike must have seen I was struggling here...becoming a long day and really wanting to make it to the Arivaca checkpoint! He must have lied to be 10 times about "this is the last hill"...we are just around this corner and we have it...uh huh Mike...I use that on my kids too :) Glad I had a good buddy to ride with! Would have been much slower and more crazy solo. I must have repeated a quote I had heard somewhere a hundred times..."It Never Always Gets Harder." There are low points and high points to every ride...on these it seems to happen multiple times...just got to push through the low ones...a better one is on the way.

 Ahhhhh....Arivaca stop...cookies, turkey wraps, soda's, and chips! Thanks for being out here Sturgill!!!

 Great time for a stop.


Leaving the stop in Arivaca, we had 12 miles of rollers with a side/tail wind. Wasn't as bad as I had expected...or maybe it was the crazy head wind most of the day that made this seem like a piece o cake!


Great views of Baboquivari Peak along this small stretch...looks like a great rock climb...another box to check on the life list!

Making the turn onto SR-286 just as it was getting dark...as promised by Susan...we had a killer tail wind. Match that with 1-3% descent and we were flying! 30+ mph for quite some time...got dark on us at this point and was glad to have Mike's generator hub light blazing the way.

 Only traffic on this road were AZ border Patrol...guess it is a hot spot for illegals coming across the border.

 Stopped for 30/40 minutes at 3 Points Robles Junction...wow...best Campbell's Chicken and Stars I have ever had...mmmmm mmmmm gooood!!!

At this point, the stars a gorgeous...can't really see any clouds and the wind really pushes us up into Saguaro Park and down into Marana. We stop for more soup and food...then off to the great old Frontage Road back to Eloy. This road really tries your mind...if you done it...you understand!

Finally pull into Eloy and am really needing a break. I can see the stars are gone but there is no rain. We take our time recovering and getting some hydration and food in us...then as we are about to head out the rain hits! It is 37 degrees and is making for a punishing 17 miles back to the finish in Casa Grande. We get out our warmer gear and rain jacket...then make several attempts at getting out of the Circle K before we actually make it.

 At this point, I know that we are going to make it...but start to really worry about others who might not have been as prepared. I said several prayers asking God to keep us all safe out there and get us safely through this. At about the finish of one of these I looked over to see a blinking red bike light and a rider waving his arms near a closed down hotel...I then hear him yelling for help. I signal to Mike and we turned around and headed over to see what we could do. The situation ended up being much more serious than I had thought. As we pulled up to him, he literally could not control his body and collapsed on a bench under a small roof. He had made a wrong turn before Eloy, didn't have warm enough clothes and no cell phone...he was in seriously bad condition! This poor guy was into the late stages of hypothermia, shivering un-controllably and unable to communicate. We made several calls and got an ambulance on the way. Mike had a space blanket and we wrapped him up with that...we both sat on both sides of him trying to hold him and warm him up. The Casa Grande ambulance took their sweet time...taking over 30 minutes to finally arrive...luckily I had a friend that had come out to meet us at the finish. I was able to call him and we loaded our rider into the car and got the heater going good. Once the ambulance arrived and took over, we headed out to finish the last 5 miles.

Another Brevet lesson learned...these rides can kill you if you are not well prepared and the conditions are right...another prayer thanking God that we came across him at the exact right moment and were able to find and help him.

 Ambulance has taken our friend to the hospital...reporting that his body temp was 93 and dehydration/protiens in his blood were shutting down his kidneys. I got a call from him Monday morning that he was doing well and will live to ride another day!!!

 Signing our Brevet Cards at the Round Trip Bike Shop! 257 miles completed...Epic Conditions...Great Times!!!

IHOP at 3:30am...definitely had no problem getting all this down! Wasn't quite a "Big Boy Country Breakfast" at Cracker Barrel...but it did the job. Back to Mesa by 5:00am, dropped off Mike, made it home, took a shower and in bed by 6am...ouch.

Ride Summary: Despite Epic Conditions...warranting the label of a "cursed" ride and a possible renaming to the "Titanic" 400km...I did have a good time. Pushed my limits further than I ever have, tested my determination/dedication/preparedness...etc.etc...Had a definite adventure with a good friend! Good Times!!!

3 weeks till the Tombstone 600km!