We had a lazy morning recovering from our uphill adventures yesterday. (I woke up and my legs protested even the smallest movement). We also had to decide where to go next. Should we go to Sedona and then the Grand Canyon, or just go right to the Grand Canyon? 89A would take us to Sedona, but the road looked steep and narrow, and we didn't know what the traffic would be like. We called the sheriff to ask about road conditions, he said it was tight and winding, but that people bicycled on it, with intermittent traffic. We thought we could survive that, but thought we should ask some of the locals as well.
They had a different opinion. "You want to go up 89A? You're crazy!" We soon found out that not only was Sedona in a nice low valley with a big mountain on one side, but that it also had another large mountain on the other side, both with steep, windy roads and fair amounts of traffic. Not very bicycle friendly. After much discussion, and many opinions and stories, we headed out towards the grand Canyon on 89.
We were quickly very happy with our choice. Rolling hills and a beautiful day took us flying through our first ten miles at about 25 mph. The landscape has been different everyday; I think at bicycle speed we really get to appreciate the changes.
As we traveled North on 89, we could see the red sandstone rocks formations that Sedona is famous for:
We stopped to fill up our water bottles at a gas station in Pauldren. It might have been the only store in the sprawling town. Sitting outside eating lunch was a group of children. They were full of questions as to where we had come from, where were we going, and how we lived. It was as if we had just stepped off of a spaceship rather than a bike. As we headed off again they yelled their goodbyes and wished us luck.
Our landscape changed again as we entered into different parts of the Prescott National Forest, and then the Kaibab National Forest. Alternatingly steep and gentle rolling hills, with light traffic and wide shoulders. We were in for a shock when we suddenly traversed Hell Canyon. We passed over it so quickly we had to stop and walk back for a better look.
Hell Canyon looking East:
Hell Canyon looking West:
Our rolling forest hills lead us to Ash Fork where, after looking at the steep climb ahead of us, we decided to stay for the night. Tomorrow morning we will start our climb up Highway 40 East up to Williams, before going North on 64 to the Grand Canyon. If the riding goes well, we could make it to the Canyon by evening.
Location:Prescott, AZ to Ashfork, AZ
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