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Ride Across Arizona

By: Ryan Lay

By KAVU

October 15^th, 2024

This trip is a continuation of some past KAVU stories, following my journey as a pro skater diving into thru-hiking, gravel cycling and general outdoor endurance stuff. There’s the question of why, exactly, I’m so interested in long distance endurance stuff–which has not yet completely revealed itself to me but has something to do with: Communion/struggle with nature and a sort of personal test of patience and resilience. It’s not so easy to spend all day with one’s thoughts, turns out. Anyhow, shortly after I got into gravel biking, my buddy Vlad sent me dm to an ig page called @rideacrossaz.

Nothing too shiny; clearly the pet project of some avid (and likely older) adventure cyclists, namely one Craig Swetel (Craig, if you’re reading this, know I mean this in the highest of praise…)

In the world of Tough Mudders, Ragnaroks and Iron Mans, there’s an immediate charm to barely marketed DIY events like this. No entrance fee, no shiny belt buckle, no one to greet you at the finish line (although there is a very cool handmade New Mexico sign at the border). For this event, there's simply a GPX file, a start time, and some unedited photos shot on a small digicam. There weren’t even particularly scenic photos or videos of what I knew (just by the geography of it) had to be a spectacular route.

The skater in me loves this. Throwing a bunch of people into a self-supported ultra-distance event through every kind of climate Arizona has to offer with just the faith in each rider’s ability to deal with the hand they’re dealt. “The main thing is you're outdoors, enjoying the scenery and having fun,” says Craig. I’ve met a lot of people like Craig in my time skating, the guys who spend hours cleaning up the DIY; the thankless shop employee; the people who work overtime to keep a small piece of their scene alive.

Maybe a month before the ride, a post popped up in my feed with a start time: “Meet in the parking lot of Topock, AZ at 6 am on May 6th”. I’d done the labor of getting some bike bags together (I went with a Revelate kit) and just needed a few more pieces of gear and upgrades to my Fairdale Weekender Nomad. I spent the better part of a couple weeks trying to get in some 30-40 mile rides on the canal paths, but aside from that I was going in relatively under-trained, and with a lingering lower back issue from a recent skate trip. Just the day before, I was still on the fence of committing to the four-hour drive to Topock with my wife.

Ride Across Arizona

This masterpiece of a route traverses some 610+ miles as it spans from just north of Lake Havasu City, on the Colorado River, to the New Mexico border. The route is especially appealing as some 80% is comprised of non-technical dirt, gravel or forest service roads. It covers some 66k+ feet of elevation gain and takes you from just below 500 feet to nearly 10,000 feet above sea level–a real stunner in terms of winding through some of the more dynamic parts of the state.

In fact, the excitement of traversing the state West to East (having hiked it on foot in 2021 Northbound) helped me to overlook the nagging back injury. As Craig describes RAAZ:

“I've been exploring the state for 40+ years by 4WD, motorcycle and bicycle. I pretty much knew the general route so it only took a few weeks to actually map it. That makes it very easy to change as I did in 2023 when heavy snow had some of the roads (Mormon Lake, Mogollon Rim areas) closed in May.”

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Day 1

The mood was all nerves, but there was an excitement of a change in pace and scenery from skate trips, domestic life, daily chores, the internet. We slept in the back of the car at Catfish Paradise on the Colorado River, in the small community of Topock, AZ; a somewhat novel experience for me. My wife had to head back to our home in Phoenix for work, so at 5:30, trying to cram down food, coffee and water, we said our goodbyes and that was that.

I departed with some 20+ other riders, a handful of them officially 'racing' it... but the vibe was that most of us were just there to reach New Mexico. “No pressure. Ride it anyway you want, fast or slow but get what you want out of it.” The proverbial ship was moving now, and my only escape would be a pitiful 3+ hour drive to recover me somewhere on the western part of the state.

This was good though.... Occasionally, you need some sort of mechanism in place to help you let go of your own doubts and fears. Many a phone call has been placed to my wife on previous missions to either complain, or beg for rescue.

Ride Across Arizona

The first 150 (or so) miles of RAAZ covers a rugged "desert portion", through barren ghost towns with names like “Signal” and “Nothing”. Anyone who wasn’t a pro seemed to feel like "if we could just make it through this first day, we’d finally get to relax a little bit".

“Half of you won’t make it to the finish” Minnie, Craig’s wife and co-organizer, told us. At risk of being a little too 'on the nose', there’s always something biblical about crossing the sun-scorched desert–sparsely inhabited, stunning vistas looming in the distance, miles between water sources. It took me 30 years of life to really appreciate the beauty an experience like this has to offer.

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Refuge...

Somewhere outside of Signal, AZ, at mile 71, an incredibly charitable 'trail angel' put together for us a literal oasis: an ice-cold water stand. A few of us congregated there, refilled our bottles and continued up to “seventeen-mile road”, which was pitched as one of the more grueling and remote sections of the entire route. It’s difficult on a big multi-day adventure not to fall into the trap of expectation. And by that, I mean our innate human compulsion to manifest worries and desires about the future; the big climb you’re dreading, the campground you can’t wait to get to, the dinner you’re looking forward to eating, to fucking finally get out of the desert and into the pinyons. I wonder if anyone’s ever said anything about our inability to satiate our desires, and just live in the present moment–probably something there.

Going into this, I tried to set an intention to appreciate the process, repeating an admittedly cheesy affirmation that: "Yes, this is what you’re here for.” It goes without saying that walking my bike up (and even sometimes down) 15% grade gravel roads in 90 degree heat is actually what I was out here for! If I wanted to go on a 'cruisy' road tour, I could have done just that.

And, would it also surprise you to know that I've failed spectacularly at achieving such an enlightened state over and over!? Oh, how badly I dreamt of higher elevation, to rim country, to grocery store french fries in the next town.

On the descent out of seventeen-mile road, we were dumped onto highway 93 in the harsh late-day sun. I linked up with two other riders, and we veered off route a few miles toward Burro Creek campground, at around mile 85. It felt odd to finish the day so early, but I was out of water and embraced taking it easy this first day, and welcomed the company of new friends.

Ride Across Arizona

Day 2 (mile 85-210)

We awoke at pre-dawn to get to the small mining town of Bagdad (mile 112) before the warmest part of the day. I left with a new buddy, Evan (who I would end up sharing virtually the entire ride with), and was immediately met with a flat tire and an issue with my derailleur. Having only brought a single allen tool for repairs (I know).... and no cursory knowledge of basic bike mechanics, I was grateful for Evan’s expert help. I quickly realized just how under-prepared I was for this mission and how vital staying near this group of middle-packers would be to my success.

What was also becoming quickly apparent was Evan’s cautious, almost calculated approach, which was in healthy contrast to my “vibes-based” approach. This would turn out to be our biggest effort of the trip (125+ miles, 10.5k feet in vert), pushing all the way to Seligman at mile 210 with the promise of a motel. Seligman (and some might argue Williams) is perhaps best known as the city 'Cars' was modeled after. We trudged through the final 30 miles under a vast horizon of stars on wide open, rolling, dirt roads. Evan threw up the evening’s snacks, my body protested the consumption of new calories, and we arrived to route 66 and the town’s only open motel at around 1 in the morning.

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Day 3 (mile 210-268)

My initial plan to complete this thing in roughly a week was to push an average of 90 miles a day, which got completely thrown off by elevation gain, heat exposure, and ultimately road condition. Much of the charm of RAAZ is the old mining roads which are now used almost exclusively for off-road vehicles, and are embellished by enormous, dried dirt tracks following any big rain. Having pushed so hard the day before, we’d afforded ourselves a recovery day; an easy 60 mile cruise into fellow Route 66 town, Williams. Nothing too eventful.... beautiful open roads in the dry woodlands and chaparral just south of the Grand Canyon. It’s all too easy to convince yourself of “deserving” little treats on a trip like this. And so, Evan and I again decided to split another cheap motel. After an order of spring rolls, a Panang curry, and a pint of vegan Ben N Jerry’s, we crashed out and set the alarm for 5:30 am.

Day 4 (mile 268-340)

The brisk, pre-dawn air, while tough on the bones, gives me a general feeling of 'aliveness'. Layered up in every article of clothing we had, and water bottles filled up with hot gas station coffee, we rode Southeast 44 miles toward Flagstaff and eventually Happy Jack. Having spent a significant amount of time in Flagstaff, I was eager to get to sections of the route more familiar to me (again, an incredibly unhelpful impulse). We were greeted by an absolute slog of what I’ll call “un-cruisable” roads, especially with no suspension on our bikes. When we arrived at the Circle K, just off Lake Mary Road, I warmed up some leftover Thai food in a microwave, which ultimately melted some of the plastic container. I'm only a little ashamed to admit that I still ate the food, knowing the vegan options for real food had been limited. I charged my phone and power-bank behind the ice chest, grabbed some Oreos, and then we started our descent to Mormon Lake. One small tip I’ve learned over the years is to take advantage of random power outlets, especially if you’re chilling somewhere for more than 15 minutes.

A mass of smoke from what appeared to be a wildfire halted us in our tracks on the open expanse of Lake Mary Road. After some light research and hesitation on whether to stay in Flagstaff a day or two, I persuaded Evan to push through. Given my relatively short window of one week, I was worried that getting off schedule would completely derail my now fading motivation. The fifteen (or so) miles down to Lake Mormon was almost apocalyptic. Flames ran through the forest just a few yards from our bikes. Four story dust devils, combined with smoke, taunted us as we cruised past. It was at once awesome and asthma-inducing. With the smoke at our backs, we pushed on towards Happy Jack, riding what for me were some of the most memorable climbs and hill bombs of the trip; late-day light shimmering through the pines, long, fast descents on forest roads connecting tiny little cabin communities. Though I wanted to continue through the setting sun, I obliged when Evan found a nice little campsite next to a stream. We did some creek laundry, took a birdbath, cooked some re-fried beans, and crashed out before 8 pm.

I slept nearly 11 hours.

Ride Across Arizona

Day 5 (mile 340-420)

Rim Country was finally upon us. The Mogollon Rim extends some 200 miles across the northern portion of the state, and also happens to be the site of nearly every summer vacation of my childhood. The pull at this point to bail was unfortunately stronger than I’d like to admit. And in my experience, always hits the hardest on 'day four'. There’s something about the ache of your body adjusting, and the real distance of the trip that starts to set in.

We were just over halfway but also so close to home, and I was grateful to have Evan there, a non-local, whose only ride home would be at the New Mexico border. At this point my lowest gear was fully out of commission and I spent most of the day catching up to him at rest stops. My uncle, who lives in the nearby town of Star Valley, offered to provide support along the route. A warm meal was the only thing we craved, and so I called in a couple orders of Thai food.

Ride Across Arizona

Day 7 (mile 420-486) Forest Lakes General Store

We left our campground at sunrise with hopes of making it to the Forest Lakes General Store right when they opened. We shared a breakfast of bagels with a couple of old geezers who lamented the imported coffee: “there’s something about going to college and drinking designer coffee.”

Ride Across Arizona

Our trip across Old Rim Trail Road would take us some 60-ish miles to the town of Show Low. I spent most of the day in solitude, microdosing some mushrooms and enjoying a relaxing day filled with hiking and cautious descents. The absolute legends at Cycle Mania, Mike and Carol, offered free maintenance to all RAAZ participants. I finally got my derailleur fixed, a much-needed tune-up, and some pizza down the road. Evan was able to score a complimentary hotel from his aunt. We washed our clothes in the sink and called it early.

Ride Across Arizona

Day 8 (mile 486-560)

We hit the Dollar General on the way out of town, loaded up on Laffy Taffys and more Nutter Butters, and made our way towards the White Mountains, cresting the highest elevation (and biggest climb of the trip) at 9579 feet. This part of Arizona is a hidden gem: An abundance of high altitude lakes, winding rivers, sweeping meadows and mountain flora.

On the rocky descent into Big Lake, our intended camp for the night, Evan’s bike 'flatted'. Many people in off-road cycling use tubeless tires (imagine the tire taped to the rim), with a sealant that will clog up a puncture in the event of a minor flat. But unfortunately, we quickly discovered that Evan’s rim was bent. We did our best to repair it, but his tire only seemed to stay inflated for about 30 minutes. He trudged on to Big Lake, and we arrived just as the last warmth of the sun was falling beyond the mountains.

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Day 9 (mile 560-610)

We woke up to ice on our sleeping bags.

After an hour or so of fiddling with Evan’s rim, we both realized I’d have to finish the ride solo, a bittersweet moment after almost a week of riding together. I may have been able to finish RAAZ without Evan as an anchor.... but no doubt it would have been a hell of a lot more arduous.

The last day of these kinds of experiences can feel grueling; the unnecessary anticipation of “being done” while still having a half day of riding still to do. You sort of 'speed-run' through all the emotions; the thrill of completing the thing, the reluctance of getting off trail, the food you’ll eat, the embrace of a loving partner–and you still have time left to just sit with those thoughts for another five hours. I put on some music (Third Eye Blind self-titled album.... a throwback favorite on this trip) to drown out the noise.

After finishing with a truly epic 10+ mile descent, suddenly the geography seemed to be hitting me over the head: NEW MEXICO! Stunning figurines of red rocks loomed high above, and the winding Blue River demarcated the border. I arrived at the hand-painted New Mexico around 1:30 PM, greeted by both my mom and dad.

The last thing I’ll add: this was a solidarity ride for the Gaza Sunbirds, a paracycling team who has diverted all its resources to providing community-led aid to the people in Gaza. They’re people I know.... great people.... and it's a cause worthy of your support.

You can donate here: gazasunbirds.org

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Ride Across Arizona

Below is a fun KAVU vid I made to help bring you all along on this memorable experience:

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