Prescott Valley Outer Loop
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Route: NAU-Yavapai Campus (Prescott Valley Library) at Lakeshore Drive and Glassford Hill Road, north on Glassford Hill, west on Highway 89A and Fain Road to Highway 69, then east on Highway 69. Right on Navajo Drive to Lakeshore Drive back to start.
Weather: Light to moderate wind, mid-80s.
Riding Surface: Repaving happening on Glassford Hill Road, nice shoulder on Highway 89A and Fain Road; absolutely awful 'non-shoulder' on Highway 69 (ugh!), bike lane on Navajo; shoulder varies on Lakeshore Drive (but traffic was light).
Miles: 19.7 miles.
Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
My speeds: Average 14.7 mph, maximum 32.2 mph.
The Story:
This route takes me around most of Prescott Valley, a burgeoning town (that's what they call themselves) that 40 years ago had only 700 people. Now the population is pushing 40,000. It is also the home of the new Northern Arizona University-Yavapai campus, where I currently work. I start out in the parking lot that we share with Prescott Valley Library.
Turning up Glassford Hill Road, the traffic is pretty heavy, and I was oblivious to the fact that this stretch of road is being repaved. (Guess I had ignored all the signs along the road!) The new tar is wet and oily, and the two lanes with a decent shoulder has been reduced to one narrow lane, now being shared with bicycle. This doesn't feel real comfortable.
Once past the construction, the ride becomes enjoyable. I pick up a little speed down the decline to the intersection of Highway 89A, where I turn right. In just a few miles the road travels through the high plateau grasslands of what used to be called "Lonesome Valley" (which was Jackass Flats before that, and is now the more 'respectable' Prescott Valley). But the "Lonesome Valley" moniker sticks with me right now. To the left is the steeply rising Mingus mountain range, to the right I can see housing developments in the distance. There is still a lot of room to develop before civilization comes right up to this road. But right at this point, I'm in the middle of the prarie. Traffic is light, and I can envision myself riding this place on horseback 75 or 100 years ago, when this was one huge ranch owned and operated by the Fain family (who still controls much of the land around PV). About 8 miles out, I cross Coyote Wash. On top of the sign marking this dry creek sits a large raven. As I whir by, the black avian doesn't even flinch or look my way. He is clearly in his (or her) element!
The terrain is fairly flat, with a few innocuous rollers. Just past mile 11, I cross the Agua Fria river. It's not real wide here, but it weaves around through this highland country and eventually ends us with a wide berth through the west Valley of the Sun (Peoria/Sun City area). I notice it still has some water in it, which seems a bit unusual for this time of year. It has been a pretty wet winter and spring.
Where Fain Road ends at Highway 69, I break to gulp down some Gatorade before heading uphill for the next four miles. My "fun" is ending, for two reasons. First, the sun is low in the sky and aims right into my eyes. Despite my sunshades, it is difficult to look straight ahead, so I focus down. That's a good thing, too. As I navigate this roadway, it looks like the shoulder is fairly wide. But on the bike, I realize that the side of the road is occupied by a wide "rumble strip" after which the shoulder drops down off the edge and is populated with loose gravel, leaving a strip only about a foot or so wide to ride along, requiring more than normal concentration on my part. The high speed traffic is also distracting. The sun, shoulder and traffic make these next few miles the antithesis of the 10 or so miles along Fain road. My speed slows as I trek uphill and grumble inside, struggling to see and stay on the narrow path dealt to me.
At the top of the hill I turn at the first opportunity to get off the highway (Truwood Drive). I parallel the highway for about a half mile on the service road, revelling in the freedom I find riding off the forsaken highway! I turn north on Navajo to be greeted by a bike lane, in which I can take full advantage of the downard sloping drive. I'm feeling revived and reconsider that maybe this ride IS worth it!
Turning left on Lakeshore Drive onto the final stretch, the sun is slowly setting. The glare is gone, and I'm enjoying watching the beaming yellow disk duck toward the horizon. I pass two large ponds with large fountains in the middle of each, with wide walkways encircling each body of water. I guess this is the "lake" on this "Lakeshore Drive" (although it is certainly a poor representation of its namesake in Chicago, along which I used to ride my bike years ago).
It's near the end of my route, and I see the unusual architecture of the new Prescott Valley Library/NAU-Yavapai campus, which was conceived as a reflection of Glassford Hill--now a rounded top, grass-covered defunct volcano. The exterior and interior of this new facility sports blacks, silvers. grays, and unusually placed wood strips which sometime cover both walls and ceilings. Shiny light fixtures in places simulate signalling mirrors once used by the calvary on the top of the Hill. (I describe the location of my office as "at the end of the lava flow"!) Certainly unconvential in design, this structure is becoming a unique landmark in the area.
As I pull into the parking lot, the sun is barely sinking below the earth's edge through scattered thin, horizontal clouds lit up in red-orange. In combination with pale and deep blues, turquoise-like greens, pinks and purples, I have difficulty taking my eyes off it. This is Arizona at its best!
Honestly, I enjoyed about 75 percent of this ride. I can envision a slightly revised route, which I think I'll call the "Inner Loop." Stay tuned.
Time: 6:30-8:00 pm
Route: NAU-Yavapai Campus (Prescott Valley Library) at Lakeshore Drive and Glassford Hill Road, north on Glassford Hill, west on Highway 89A and Fain Road to Highway 69, then east on Highway 69. Right on Navajo Drive to Lakeshore Drive back to start.
Weather: Light to moderate wind, mid-80s.
Riding Surface: Repaving happening on Glassford Hill Road, nice shoulder on Highway 89A and Fain Road; absolutely awful 'non-shoulder' on Highway 69 (ugh!), bike lane on Navajo; shoulder varies on Lakeshore Drive (but traffic was light).
Miles: 19.7 miles.
Duration: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
My speeds: Average 14.7 mph, maximum 32.2 mph.
The Story:
This route takes me around most of Prescott Valley, a burgeoning town (that's what they call themselves) that 40 years ago had only 700 people. Now the population is pushing 40,000. It is also the home of the new Northern Arizona University-Yavapai campus, where I currently work. I start out in the parking lot that we share with Prescott Valley Library.
Turning up Glassford Hill Road, the traffic is pretty heavy, and I was oblivious to the fact that this stretch of road is being repaved. (Guess I had ignored all the signs along the road!) The new tar is wet and oily, and the two lanes with a decent shoulder has been reduced to one narrow lane, now being shared with bicycle. This doesn't feel real comfortable.
Once past the construction, the ride becomes enjoyable. I pick up a little speed down the decline to the intersection of Highway 89A, where I turn right. In just a few miles the road travels through the high plateau grasslands of what used to be called "Lonesome Valley" (which was Jackass Flats before that, and is now the more 'respectable' Prescott Valley). But the "Lonesome Valley" moniker sticks with me right now. To the left is the steeply rising Mingus mountain range, to the right I can see housing developments in the distance. There is still a lot of room to develop before civilization comes right up to this road. But right at this point, I'm in the middle of the prarie. Traffic is light, and I can envision myself riding this place on horseback 75 or 100 years ago, when this was one huge ranch owned and operated by the Fain family (who still controls much of the land around PV). About 8 miles out, I cross Coyote Wash. On top of the sign marking this dry creek sits a large raven. As I whir by, the black avian doesn't even flinch or look my way. He is clearly in his (or her) element!
The terrain is fairly flat, with a few innocuous rollers. Just past mile 11, I cross the Agua Fria river. It's not real wide here, but it weaves around through this highland country and eventually ends us with a wide berth through the west Valley of the Sun (Peoria/Sun City area). I notice it still has some water in it, which seems a bit unusual for this time of year. It has been a pretty wet winter and spring.
Where Fain Road ends at Highway 69, I break to gulp down some Gatorade before heading uphill for the next four miles. My "fun" is ending, for two reasons. First, the sun is low in the sky and aims right into my eyes. Despite my sunshades, it is difficult to look straight ahead, so I focus down. That's a good thing, too. As I navigate this roadway, it looks like the shoulder is fairly wide. But on the bike, I realize that the side of the road is occupied by a wide "rumble strip" after which the shoulder drops down off the edge and is populated with loose gravel, leaving a strip only about a foot or so wide to ride along, requiring more than normal concentration on my part. The high speed traffic is also distracting. The sun, shoulder and traffic make these next few miles the antithesis of the 10 or so miles along Fain road. My speed slows as I trek uphill and grumble inside, struggling to see and stay on the narrow path dealt to me.
At the top of the hill I turn at the first opportunity to get off the highway (Truwood Drive). I parallel the highway for about a half mile on the service road, revelling in the freedom I find riding off the forsaken highway! I turn north on Navajo to be greeted by a bike lane, in which I can take full advantage of the downard sloping drive. I'm feeling revived and reconsider that maybe this ride IS worth it!
Turning left on Lakeshore Drive onto the final stretch, the sun is slowly setting. The glare is gone, and I'm enjoying watching the beaming yellow disk duck toward the horizon. I pass two large ponds with large fountains in the middle of each, with wide walkways encircling each body of water. I guess this is the "lake" on this "Lakeshore Drive" (although it is certainly a poor representation of its namesake in Chicago, along which I used to ride my bike years ago).
It's near the end of my route, and I see the unusual architecture of the new Prescott Valley Library/NAU-Yavapai campus, which was conceived as a reflection of Glassford Hill--now a rounded top, grass-covered defunct volcano. The exterior and interior of this new facility sports blacks, silvers. grays, and unusually placed wood strips which sometime cover both walls and ceilings. Shiny light fixtures in places simulate signalling mirrors once used by the calvary on the top of the Hill. (I describe the location of my office as "at the end of the lava flow"!) Certainly unconvential in design, this structure is becoming a unique landmark in the area.
As I pull into the parking lot, the sun is barely sinking below the earth's edge through scattered thin, horizontal clouds lit up in red-orange. In combination with pale and deep blues, turquoise-like greens, pinks and purples, I have difficulty taking my eyes off it. This is Arizona at its best!
Honestly, I enjoyed about 75 percent of this ride. I can envision a slightly revised route, which I think I'll call the "Inner Loop." Stay tuned.
Keep riding and writing, my dear!
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