90.87 mi / 6:39:22 time / 13.6 mph avg. / 39.0 mph max. / 3403 ft. climbing
Staying at Windy Hill Point National Forest Campground

I awoke at dawn, though there wasn’t much dawn to see, since the skies were still completely overcast. It hadn’t rained at all through the night, but the morning clouds were looking pretty ominous, so I hurried to pack up the tent and get on the road. Regardless of the condition of the gravel road, I definitely didn’t want to be riding it while it was actively raining.

Luckily, the road was in pretty good shape. I think I was even moving along a little quicker, maybe because the rain had smoothed things out, or because I was building on yesterday’s experience, or, because there was a grader out there actively smoothing the surface! So I covered the seven miles in seventy minutes, without getting a drop of rain. Phew, disaster averted.

Then it was time to descend the big hill off the Mogollon Rim. The layers of hills made it feel a lot like descending in the Appalachians. Halfway down was Payson, a town so big (Home Depot! Chili’s!) that it would have made my head spin, had my head not already been unscrewed right off my neck by Flagstaff. I stopped at the Knotty Pine Cafe for yet another 3rd-breakfast and did a bunch of Internet stuff. I checked the radar and saw a squall heading southwest, so I hurried on out of there, hoping to beat the rain down the hill.

And I did beat it, with only a light drizzle getting me slightly wet. But then, another cell came through an absolutely nailed me. A complete downpour, perhaps even with small bits of face-stinging hail. It was nearly impossible to ride in, and luckily a highway rest area appeared at the junction of AZ-87 and AZ-188. For some stupid reason it was closed, but I could see just well enough to skirt past the gates and take shelter. There I waited out the storm for about half an hour, and read all the educational signs. I learned that this elevation (the Upper Sonoran Desert) receives 10-15 inches of rain per year; I think I just had 1 of them dumped on me.

Once it lightened up to a mild drizzle, I headed out again down the much more rideable AZ-188 to Roosevelt Lake (AZ-87 had turned into a divided superhighway, not a lot of fun to ride in the best conditions, much less a rainstorm). I had dropped 5000 ft. from my morning start, which would normally mean it would be about 20 degrees warmer. Instead, the temperature was exactly the same: 65 degrees. So there I am, wearing three layers, including a long-sleeved turtleneck and a jacket, riding in the rain. I pass my first giant Saguaro cactus, symbol of the Arizona desert, and I’m shivering. Insanity.

For the entire afternoon, the rain continued. Never again heavy, but always there. I was dreading camp (setting up a slightly wet tent, in the rain, when my clothes are wet) until I remembered that this was technically the desert, and all campsites should have canopies for sun protection. Ha, I bet they never thought they’d be used for rain protection! The ranger at the Tonto Basin station confirmed this, and that the campground was only 3 miles farther. When I inquired about groceries, she said the next store was 8 miles on, adding in a patronizing tone “You’re in a very remote area here.” Ha. I just passed three towns in the last 30 miles, lady. I’ve been in far more remote areas than this. Still, I had been expecting to be able to stock up on groceries before camp, so maybe she was right. Actually it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it forced me to eat all the various odds and ends that I would be needing to get rid of soon anyway.

The campground is pretty nice, or as nice as a campground with a ridiculous 346 sites can be. They have an odd payment system here, where you have to buy a “Tonto Pass” at various stores or the ranger station in order to camp, but there is no specific campsite registration. The ranger told me that since I don’t have a vehicle, I don’t have to pay at all. Sweet. They even have free showers, but I think I got enough of a shower today already.

I did dry off and change into some dry clothes, at which point the drizzle finally stopped. That gave me a chance to actually look around and see that the whole area is really quite beautiful. The lake is very large, and again, there are layers of hills and mountains on either side of it. There is a lot of vegetation, and quite a variety of it (including those Saguaros), and something flowering here gives off a really pleasant smell. Across the lake there are low clouds or fog hanging between the mountains, and the skies are still heavy with clouds.

Is this really Arizona? The entire day has felt more like Portland, and a pretty nasty day in Portland at that. Did I make a wrong turn somewhere? I have to laugh at all the concern (from myself, my mom, everyone I talked to on the road) about how I would handle the heat and dryness once I descended to the desert. Instead, it was one of the coldest days of the trip, with the temperature never getting about 65, and easily the wettest. It just goes to show that whenever I think I have this bike touring thing totally mastered, Mother Nature can humble me with a flick of her wrist. Which is probably a good thing.

I just hope this system moves on out of here before Sunday. I’m built to handle this sort of junk out on the road, but Stephanie and Ryan would surely prefer to have some sunlight at their wedding, and maybe even temperatures that reach 70 degrees!

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 1:51 pm and is filed under 2009 Bike Tour, bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.