Tomorrow morning I head out on my first bike tour of the year. I have my bike (mostly) loaded up and it's going to be like hauling a tank around southern Arizona. It's supposed to be windy tomorrow and I'm a bit concerned about that. It's bad enough that my first day is almost all uphill, but to be grinding uphill with a fully loaded touring bike against a heavy wind? That's going to take some of the fun out of the whole thing. Here's my proposed itinerary:
Day 1: I'm driving to my friend Bob's house and leaving my car there. That cuts about 35 miles off my first and last days, which is good, because otherwise those days would be over a hundred miles! As it is, the first day will be about 65 miles. I will head south on Houghton Road, turn left on Mary Ann Cleveland Way, and take that out to Colossal Cave Road. Heading south, Colossal Cave turns into Wentworth south of the I-10 Freeway. I'll take that down to Sahuarita Rd, turn east, and hook up to AZ-83. I'll take 83 south to Sonoit where 83 meets 82. Taking 82 to the southwest, I'll head toward Patagonia and to the Patagonia State Park where I will camp for the first night.
Day 2: I'll more or less reverse directions back to Sonoita, continuing on 82 to the east so that I can visit the historic ghost town of Fairbank, AZ. There is also a Presidio in the area that I am playing by ear--if the road is gravel, etc., I will probably pass on that side trip and stick with visiting Fairbank. From Fairbank I continue on to Tombstone with a night at the Stampede RV park.
Day 3: I plan on kicking around Tombstone a bit in the morning. Once I'm back on the road it is up highway 80 to the thriving metropolis of Benson, AZ. Dinner at Ruiz Mexican Restaurant and a night at the Benson KOA.
Day 4: The upside is I only have about 30 miles to ride today. The downside is that most of it is going to be along I-10! I'm not looking forward to that. I should be able to get onto the frontage road at the junction of 83, but until then I know of no route but the highway. Cross your fingers! Back to Bob's and loading it all back into the car and heading home.
Look for an update with some photos when I get home!
No comments:
Post a Comment