Mt. Graham and Mt. Lemmon Report
Mesa - Safford - Tucson - Phoenix
September 18 - 19, 2009

Here's my report of an awesome work/cycling weekend with the ambitious goal of cycling Mt. Graham (20 miles @ 5.7%) and Mt. Lemmon (29 miles @ 4.3%) in a 24 hour period....

Background:
My good friend and fellow orthodontist/speaker, Stu Frost invited me out to Phoenix/Mesa to speak at the Arizona Damon Study Club meeting. I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough as I was excited to travel back to the Phoenix area and visit with Stu, not to mention getting paid to teach as an additional bonus.

So I began to think…Mesa is pretty close to Tucson…and Mt. Lemmon is in Tucson. Game on! I got out my trusty book which describes the top 100 bicycle hillclimbs in the US to look up the stats on Mt. Lemmon and what did I find…that Mt. Graham is only two hours away and even harder! I had my travel bike shipped out from SoCal and it would be awaiting me in Mesa.

The Plan:
Arrive in PHX on Thursday. Lecture in Mesa on Friday from 8-12. Drive 130 miles from Mesa to Safford, AZ on Friday afternoon. Ride Mt. Graham. Drive 120 miles to Tucson Friday night. Grab a hotel. Ride Mt. Lemmon Saturday. Drive back to Mesa. Fly out Sunday morning. Ambitious? Probably. Epic? Definitely!

The Story:

Friday, September 18th

At 1:00 in the afternoon, I hop in Stu’s rockin’ GMC Sierra pickup that is totally tricked out. Bike in the back, iPod in the dock and GPS as my copilot, I depart Mesa. I had estimated 2 hrs for the 130 miles from Mesa to Safford.

I had not estimated for single lane highways, elderly tourists driving campers, construction, and stop lights in every small town. Two hours late, I rock up in Safford at 4:45, pick up some cold water and get ready for the ride. I change into my Coach Al kit and am ready to go at 5:00.

Now I’m behind the 8 ball with regard to my logistics. I had calculated the ride to be about 2:00 - 2:15 if I was really working it. The ride down would be about 45 minutes due to the many switchbacks. The sun sets at 6:30. Total darkness would be at 7:00. Now there was no way I could make it to the top of the climb and be back down by darkness. Oh well…you know what they say…JFR baby!

Mt. Graham starts at mile marker 115 on Rte. 366. The Mt. Graham hillclimb race goes 20 miles and finishes at mile marker 135. At an average grade of about 6%, I figured that I could maintain about 9-10 mph on the climb if I was willing to suffer. My Orbea, which has been relegated to “travel bike” status is not outfitted with my normal Power Tap set up so I would have no power to go by for my climbs. Not to mention that I don’t own a bike computer (owing to the fact that all my bikes are PT outfitted) so I’d be riding based on HR and calculating speed by looking at time and mile markers.

I leave mile 115 in 85 degree temperatures and sit right on a HR of 155. When I climb Mt. Washington for the race, my average HR is about 165 for 1:20. A HR of 155 would be about 85% of my max HR and over 90% of my Mt. Washington race pace. I didn’t have a choice to go for less as I had darkness looming.

The first 2-3 miles of Graham are a straight shot heading out of the plains up towards the mountain at about 4%. Down here I am in the desert with sand, dust and scrub brush. At about mile 3 the road begins to rise a bit more and the true nature of Mt. Graham reveals itself; a 5-7% steady climb on a gorgeous two lane road with no traffic. The road winds lazily up through a valley and after mile three I don’t think there’s a stretch of over a quarter mile where the road is straight. By mile 5 I know this is going to be one of my favorite climbs ever. Everything about this climb is perfect (except my dwindling daylight). The incline is ideal for real climbing and at 5-7% you can sit or stand whenever you want. The pavement is perfect. Traffic is non-existent. The air is still, cool and quiet. The road winds up the mountain just like a road should, soft curves and frequent shallow switchbacks. If Mt. Graham were a woman I would definitely have a crush on her.

Through mile 6 I am surprised to find that I am now climbing at 6000 feet – over a mile high. The sun is now solidly down behind the summit of Mt. Graham and the air continues to cool. I have been sitting on a HR of about 155 while maintaining a pace of 6:15 per mile (about 9.5 mph). As I wind through regular switch backs and mountain curves I think about the interesting difference between Mt. Graham and northeast mountains. Most mountains I have climbed start with a forest and end above the tree line, however these desert mountains start with no trees and the tree height grows as you gain altitude. It’s neat to see what your mind does while suffering in solitude as you pedal up the side of a mountain. The other really neat thing is the smell in the air. While I was riding in Cali, I was convinced that I could smell citronella. On Mt. Graham it was the smell of the campfires of the camps scattered along the miles. It was like everyone was burning mesquite and creating just the perfect aroma in the cool, dry air. I wish I could bottle that smell.

Up towards the summit I could see a fairly large bank of clouds forming. As I passed through mile 10 in just over an hour I heard thunder off in the distance. It sounded to be on the other side of the mountain range so I decided to keep climbing. I was running out of daylight and knew that I wouldn’t make the summit this day. Nevertheless, I decided to keep up my punishing pace of nearly 10 mph and my HR up in the high 150’s to make the most of the time I did have on the slopes of Mt. Graham.

I was now in a tall pine forest, pedaling through switch back after switch back. Convinced that Mt. Graham was the nicest climb I have ever done I smiled wide and took in every pedal stroke. As I passed through mile 13 I heard thunder again. It was loud enough and close enough that it caused me to stop and look around. Through the tall pines I could see thunderheads above me towards the summit and then I saw the lightening. 13 miles in 1:22 at a HR of 155 and I would be turning around to head down. It was now 6:22 anyways and the sun would set in less than 10 minutes. I put on my arm warmers and wind breaker as the temperature was now down in the 60’s so the ride down would be a cool one.

The initial part of the descent was slow. The frequent curves and switch backs made for a challenging descent. Add to that the loss of light and the tall pine trees and it was some work to pick my way down from mile 13 through mile 6. All the while the thunderclouds were building off to my left and working their way over the summit. I could see the rain coming from the clouds with the orange glow from a setting sun like a warning beacon off in the distance. As the road began to open up a bit I let the bike take off. I could barely see the fine details of the road so picking up small rocks at 35 mph in the dark would be tough. I decided to go right down the middle of the road (with my flashing light on my seat stay to let any traffic know I was there!)

I was caught on the descent by two motorcycles that looked like they were also hustling it off the mountain before the rain. They had been a switch back or two behind me since mile 10 and at about mile 6 they came past me. My goal was to keep them in sight and use their headlights to help me see the road ahead. For 6 miles I did not so much as feather my brakes. I am normally more cautious on the descent, but at this point in time I was more worried about the darkness and the thunderstorms than the speed. I made it back to Stu’s truck only a quarter of a mile behind the motorcycles and as I pulled into the parking lot the skies opened. I threw the bike in the back and hopped in to change. The temperature was now down to 69 degrees as the skies let out their aquatic fury.

It was 7:00 pm. I awoke this morning at 5:00 am, worked on my presentation, spoke to the Arizona Damon Study Club from 8-12, drove for nearly 4 hours, rode 1:22 up Mt. Graham at 155 bpm with no warm-up, descended furiously for 30 minutes in decreasing daylight for a cool down, changed in the car, and now I had a 2:30 drive to Tucson to look forward to. Oddly enough I wasn’t tired. I was excited from the day’s ride on Mt. Graham and the prospect of riding Mt. Lemmon in the cool Tucson morning air. I would have liked to make the summit of Mt. Graham, but it wasn’t to be. I had a really strong feeling that I’d be seeing this mountain again.

I hit Tucson at 9:30 after an uneventful drive. Having programmed my GPS for one of my favorite Arizona restaurants - RA Sushi - I had something to look forward to the entire drive. I changed in the parking lot then grabbed a seat at the outside dining bar for some dinner. What a perfect end to a great day – sushi, Sapporo and ESPN – while sitting in the warm, dry, night air of Tucson, AZ. Tomorrow would prove to be another epic day, of that I was sure.

Saturday, September 19th

I awake for the day at 5:30 am and still being on East Coast time I feel like I’ve had a great night’s sleep. My legs are a bit stiff, but feel quite good considering the previous day’s events – 4 hours of work, 2 hours of riding and more than 6 hours in the car! After a light stretch and a cup of coffee I get ready for the day’s ride. It’s summer in Tucson so I lather up with SPF 50 and get into my kit. Today I’d be sporting my Blackhills Domestiques Jersey thanks to my good friend and Rapid City, SD native Chad Meyer.

I’m on my bike and out the door at 6:15 for the 7 mile warm-up ride to the base of Mt. Lemmon. You’ve gotta love Tucson as I see over 60 cyclists in the 30 minutes it takes me to ride to Mt. Lemmon. The cool, dry desert air felt great to start the ride and I knew it wouldn’t be long before the temperature topped 100 degrees! The approach to the start of the climb is a straight, slow rise of about 1-2% with spectacular views of the mountain range looming up ahead.

Mile 0 – the climb to the summit of Mt. Lemmon begins and the road rises to a 4-5% incline immediately. Up the road along the first canyon I can see cyclists stretched out for nearly two miles. It would add a nice incentive for the ride to see how many cyclists I could pass during the next 29 miles. I decided that a HR of 145 would be a good average to aim for as the climb would take nearly 3 hours. It’s a climb like this where my steady-state Ironman background really helps me decide on pacing strategy. Even though this is ranked as a top 20 most difficult climb in the US, it’s really no different than the bike leg of a Half IM – only slower and with no aero bars. The first 3-4 miles of the climb work their way up a canyon filled with Saguaro cactus and desert scrub brush. I am sitting on a 10-11 mph average as each mile passes in just under 6 minutes. Around nearly every curve in the road I have another cyclist up ahead to set as my target for the next stretch of the climb. I focus on maintaining a consistent HR of 145 -148 and reel in as many people as I can.

Through Mile 5 in under 50 minutes and I’m feeling great! The minor fatigue in my legs from yesterday’s ride is still there, but I’m really beginning to get into the climb. I try to stand when I can to stretch out the back, but standing is a bit more awkward as the incline of Mt. Lemmon is more conducive to a TT type effort than it is to an actual Hillclimb. I continue to be amazed by the sheer number of cyclists on the road as I have passed over 30 other riders by this point in time. I can feel the temperature rising and now it’s in the mid to high 80’s. I had decided to bring only two bottles of water and would need to conserve them until a point when I could get more. I had read reports of water at Mile 20, but was unsure of exactly where, so I decided to ration my water to one bottle over the first 12 miles.

Mile 8 and I pass through the Seven Cataracts Vista as the road hugs the side of the canyon. Just up ahead from Mile 9-10 are the bridges that are shown in every photo of Mt. Lemmon. The terrain is now changing from desert scrub to more rocky outcroppings and the views are quite amazing. While I am enjoying the climb up Mt. Lemmon, I am still lusting for the lush forests and curvaceous switchbacks of Mt. Graham. (Yes, I am enamored enough with bicycle hill climbing that I long for one climb while suffering through another!)

Mt. Lemmon continues to rise for the next 10 miles and I continue to grind out the climb at 145 bpm while ticking off miles at a 6 minute pace. At 10 miles an hour I am picking up just enough moving air to keep the ride comfortable. It seems as if I am staying just ahead of the rising desert heat building back down in Tucson and while it is hot by Northeast standards, it is really quite enjoyable.

Mile 20 marks a false summit of the mountain. The next three miles surprise me with some descents and flats. I pick up some time on my 6 minute per mile pace and hit speeds of 25 mph in some areas. I can feel the change in cadence as it causes quite a burn in the quads! I pass Mile 23 the road begins to climb again heading towards my final destination – the ski lifts. At mile 25 the sign reads “2 miles to Ski Summit”. Yeah baby! Two miles to go!

OK, it’s time to admit it…at this point in time I’m getting quite fatigued. I’ve burned through over 1000 calories and I’m nearly out of water. The salt stains on my shoulders and thighs are a testament to the amount of sweat I’ve lost over the past 2+ hours. My legs are tired and now the road decides to spike up to 5-6%. Normally this would feel quite easy, but for some reason it is really beginning to feel like a bit of a death march to the summit. At over 8000 feet I’m now seeing shooters from the lack of oxygen and I can feel my borderline dehydration setting in. Sit and spin – in my 30 x 25 – I keep chugging along towards the summit and at 2:30 of ride time I reach the Ski Lifts. I wearily climb off my bike and shoot a quick video. It goes something like this,

“Whew, OK, ummm, well, I’ve reached the summit of Mt. Lemmon in 2:30 at an average HR of 145, uhhhh, I guess that’s something like 10 mph, ummm, and I’m tired and could use some water, so, well, ummm, that’s Mt. Lemmon, check, another top US hillclimb off the list.”

I sit down on a stone wall and drink the last little bit of water out of each water bottle. You all know what I’m talking about when I say last little bit – I mean that water that you couldn’t get out when riding – and it’s now all warm and nasty. Yep, that water.

Another cyclist makes the summit wearing a U of A kit and looking to be a local I ask him if there is anywhere to get water here at the summit. He tells me that there is no water here at the ski lifts, and then leans in close and tells me,