Day #8 - Cottonwood to Flagstaff, AZ

Jodie
May 12, 2024
3 min read

Cottonwood to Flagstaff, AZ

47 mi, 5,093ft gain, 58-65F/sunny with clouds towards Flag

For today’s ride Jason drove up to Cottonwood to join us for the first 20 miles. He bought a new bike on the drive home from dropping me off last weekend. His old bike frame is damaged from a broken rivet at the seat-stay. So this was the first time I’ve gotten to see it. New bike days are the best!!

The route today was riding 89A from Cottonwood through Sedona and up Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff. It was a fair amount of climbing but was quite enjoyable. We had a coffee stop by Pink Jeep Tours and Java Coffee at the Y in Sedona. This is where Jason turned back to the car and then headed to the cabin, while I continued up to Flagstaff and the tour hotel.

Everyone was all smiles at the SAG stop which was at the top of the harder climb for the day. From there we only had 12.5 miles to the hotel.. but rolling uphills with a few really fun downhills. The kind of downhills you don’t worry about road surface or curves, not too steep. The Goldilocks of downhills. Big storm coulds over Mt. Humphrey’s as we came into town but it only showered after we were inside.

Once checked into the hotel I showered, did bike laundry, and packed up an overnight bag. This is my chance to off load any items I haven’t used or don’t need for the remainder of the trip.

Sending home includes:

my hydration backpack,
extra water bladder,
the laundry washing bag (didn’t care for it, I just use the sink),
mini donkey from Jerome,
my safety vest (we are now through the areas I was most concerned, I will still have the large triangle),
my garmin (bought a shiny new one at REI in Flag bc the battery on my old one couldn’t handle live track+route for the 90+ mile days)

Everyone seemed excited for a day off the bike to catch our breath. It’s been a wild first week. Happy to report my eye is feeling better, the medicated eye drops are speeding up the healing. I’m not having the light sensitivity, it is almost gone and the constant burning/itch feeling is no longer an issue. My finger is almost healed from the tire change cut too. Chafing healed on the first night I used the Aquaphor. Over all our bodies need a rest day before we head into 4 days of I-40 shoulder riding.

Local Bike Infrastructure:

Cottonwood to Sedona was a nice mix of shoulder riding and painted bike lanes. In the town of Sedona be aware of drivers turning, looking around, and not being aware you’re there in the bike lane. The main area in Sedona has bike lanes, but can get congested as the 10am hour comes to bring the crowds.

Riding up Oak Creek Canyon was a large concern of mine, having known someone to be hit by a car while riding up it.. I had to work through some anxiety while riding. There is no shoulder on the two lane road with curves and traffic. I was surprised to find most people paused and passed when clear. Only one rude car, I thought it was going to be much worse. Once you get to the top view turn out / SAG location you have a very large shoulder all the way to 4 miles outside downtown Flag, where it turns to a bike lane shoulder.

Road conditions:

The pavement was quite good. The portion from Cottonwood had the most road debris on our shoulder but as we got to Sedona it cleared. We actually passed a volunteer man cleaning up trash on that section. Thank you!

Plants:

Riding from high desert to the pines is so wonderful. The plant diversity in this day of riding is so lovely. You go from Indian paint brush and agave through Oak groves and up into the Ponderosa forest. Coconino National Forest (where Flag is located) has the largest standing grove of Ponderosa Pines in the world. The smell is addictive. Our cabin sits in this area, so it reminds me of many good times and memories. When Luca met me at the hotel he smelled like pine needles. ❤️🌲

For the day off we have a lot planned. I’ll go into detail tomorrow.