Recently we bicycled from Zion National Park, Utah to Mesa, Arizona. The route started in Zion National Park, went around the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, through the South Rim, south to Williams, through Prescott, into the flat lands of Wickenburg, and ended in Mesa. This route has very few towns or resources for much of the way. We were prepared for all weather conditions. Luckily, we did not need our rain gear but there were a couple of mornings that the temperatures were in the upper 30’s. We rode to Jacob Lake, which is the turn-off to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was quite a climb to Jacob Lake which is at 7900 feet of elevation. After leaving the mountains and forested area we descended into the desert. The open road had low traffic as we rode passed the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. The stunning red cliffs and open desert were breath taking. We encountered strong headwinds for much of the trip. Part of the tour was through the Navajo Indian Reservation. The Navajo live simply and are very kind people. It was awe inspiring to ride our bikes up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. From there, it is a straight 60 miles to Williams, Arizona. Williams is part of Historic Route 66 and also had the first traffic light we had seen in 270 miles. As we rode south through the town of Prescott we had one more mountainous pass to traverse. It was a long, winding road that eventually got us to the small town of Yarnell. The next morning we had a fast 7 mile downhill, which was one of the most exciting descents we have experienced in quite a while. The rest of our journey was totally flat through Wickenburg, Peoria, Tempe, and ending in Mesa. As expected, the temperatures warmed up into the 90’s on the last couple of days. We did see a dozen other bicycle tourists along the route and enjoyed conversions with several of them. It was fantastic bicycling through National Parks, National Monuments, open roads, low traffic, and beautiful scenery. This trip helped quench our sense of adventure. Until next time.....
