Glendale Community College to White Tank Mountain Park
Date: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Time: 11:30-2:30 pm
Route: Olive Avenue, Westbound from Glendale Community College to White Tank Mountain Park Entrance.
Weather: Sunny, mid-70s, very gusty winds, 25 mph +
Riding Surface: Street, little to no shoulders, so you're in there among traffic, which is heavy to light, getting lighter as you go further west. If you are skiddish about riding close to cars, this is probably not a great route for you. But there are some good payoffs.
Duration: 2 hours, 50 minutes (two hours into the wind going, less than an hour returning. Gotta love the wind at your back!)
Miles: 18.7 miles one way, 37.3 miles round trip.
My speeds: Average = 13.1. Max = 30.0. (Westbound averaged around 9 mph, coming back was cruising between 20-30 mph most of the time.)
The Story:
Call me crazy. Ok, I heard that. Not sure what the winds were gusting to today, but the steady wind, according to my computer, was 21 mph. That made the first 18 miles seems like I was pedaling uphill. Not to worry. It wasn't too hot, and I got to dodge tumbleweeds coming right at me and cardboard signs that had become airborne and were aiming for my head. No blood, no foul. :)
The ride splits almost equally in half between city and country riding. Starting at Glendale Community College, it's all city and traffic until you get to El Mirage Rd. By the way, there is a new Burger King there on the corner of Olive and El Mirage, and it is the LAST pitstop going west. I stopped there on my return for a little refreshment. In other words, make sure you take water/gatorade and PowerBars (or your fuel of choice) on the ride.
Starting about El Mirage Rd., perhaps a bit before, the West Valley agricultural land appears. I was riding parallel to train tracks for some of the ride. Cotton and flowers were blooming. Today, however, with the wind gusts, it made the ride quite interesting. Rode through a couple of "dust devils" and hung on for my life! I'm sure people in the passing cars were laughing their heads off at me. Glad I could provide them with some entertainment. Nevertheless, I really got the feel that I was out of the city, and it didn't take that long to get there. There are a few new housing developments near the western end of the route, with a few stretches of "official" bike lanes paralleling them--but they don't last long. About that time the terrain starts gently sloping up toward the White Tank Mountains, and the saguaro cactus form a not too dense forest. I got the sense that I was entering the set of a B-rated Western film. (The scenery was always the best parts of those movies!).
Needless to say, when I got to the gatehouse of the park, I was pretty tuckered and ready for a rest. They are building a new library and desert education center right there by the park entrance. Construction is well under way and the sign says they expect to have it open this summer. That may be a bit optimistic. My guess is when they get it done there will some refreshment (and air conditioning) available at the far end of this route, making the end point more pleasant to anticipate.
The ride home was exhilirating! There are some small rollers between Perryville Rd. and the Park. Although they are very small, they felt torturous today on the way out. But on the way back, they were fun, fun, fun! A small canal ran at my feet for quite a few miles. The fast running water added to my sense of speed. It seemed like most of the way I was clipping along at between 24 and 30 mph, the payoff for all the dust, sweat and watering eyes (something short of blood, sweat and tears :) for the trek out there.
I don't know if I'd do this route often, just because of the traffic. But I'm glad I did it today. (I'd attempted to do this a few years ago in the summer heat on my Trek--now THAT was a dumb idea! There is absolutely NO SHADE on this route.) This could be a pleasant ride if done midweek during the late morning or early afternoon, but not between June and September. I do have plans to actually ride in the park, but I'll probably drive to the park and ride once I get there.
Time: 11:30-2:30 pm
Route: Olive Avenue, Westbound from Glendale Community College to White Tank Mountain Park Entrance.
Weather: Sunny, mid-70s, very gusty winds, 25 mph +
Riding Surface: Street, little to no shoulders, so you're in there among traffic, which is heavy to light, getting lighter as you go further west. If you are skiddish about riding close to cars, this is probably not a great route for you. But there are some good payoffs.
Duration: 2 hours, 50 minutes (two hours into the wind going, less than an hour returning. Gotta love the wind at your back!)
Miles: 18.7 miles one way, 37.3 miles round trip.
My speeds: Average = 13.1. Max = 30.0. (Westbound averaged around 9 mph, coming back was cruising between 20-30 mph most of the time.)
The Story:
Call me crazy. Ok, I heard that. Not sure what the winds were gusting to today, but the steady wind, according to my computer, was 21 mph. That made the first 18 miles seems like I was pedaling uphill. Not to worry. It wasn't too hot, and I got to dodge tumbleweeds coming right at me and cardboard signs that had become airborne and were aiming for my head. No blood, no foul. :)
The ride splits almost equally in half between city and country riding. Starting at Glendale Community College, it's all city and traffic until you get to El Mirage Rd. By the way, there is a new Burger King there on the corner of Olive and El Mirage, and it is the LAST pitstop going west. I stopped there on my return for a little refreshment. In other words, make sure you take water/gatorade and PowerBars (or your fuel of choice) on the ride.
Starting about El Mirage Rd., perhaps a bit before, the West Valley agricultural land appears. I was riding parallel to train tracks for some of the ride. Cotton and flowers were blooming. Today, however, with the wind gusts, it made the ride quite interesting. Rode through a couple of "dust devils" and hung on for my life! I'm sure people in the passing cars were laughing their heads off at me. Glad I could provide them with some entertainment. Nevertheless, I really got the feel that I was out of the city, and it didn't take that long to get there. There are a few new housing developments near the western end of the route, with a few stretches of "official" bike lanes paralleling them--but they don't last long. About that time the terrain starts gently sloping up toward the White Tank Mountains, and the saguaro cactus form a not too dense forest. I got the sense that I was entering the set of a B-rated Western film. (The scenery was always the best parts of those movies!).
Needless to say, when I got to the gatehouse of the park, I was pretty tuckered and ready for a rest. They are building a new library and desert education center right there by the park entrance. Construction is well under way and the sign says they expect to have it open this summer. That may be a bit optimistic. My guess is when they get it done there will some refreshment (and air conditioning) available at the far end of this route, making the end point more pleasant to anticipate.
The ride home was exhilirating! There are some small rollers between Perryville Rd. and the Park. Although they are very small, they felt torturous today on the way out. But on the way back, they were fun, fun, fun! A small canal ran at my feet for quite a few miles. The fast running water added to my sense of speed. It seemed like most of the way I was clipping along at between 24 and 30 mph, the payoff for all the dust, sweat and watering eyes (something short of blood, sweat and tears :) for the trek out there.
I don't know if I'd do this route often, just because of the traffic. But I'm glad I did it today. (I'd attempted to do this a few years ago in the summer heat on my Trek--now THAT was a dumb idea! There is absolutely NO SHADE on this route.) This could be a pleasant ride if done midweek during the late morning or early afternoon, but not between June and September. I do have plans to actually ride in the park, but I'll probably drive to the park and ride once I get there.
Welcome to the world of blogging. My bicycle, an antiquated Trek "mountain" bike is currently in my office storage closet ready to be dusted off and taken out for a ride. I haven't gone riding since an ill-fated rainy ride along the Peavine trail...
ReplyDeleteNice writing - you sound like a pro. Love to see photos of these routes.
ReplyDeleteI just got my son a Trek 7100 hybrid for his daily treks. I've had 3 bikes stolen in this town, but not from the house -yet!