Commuters in Flagstaff, AZ and Phoenix, AZ?? Need help?
10-21-08, 11:48 AM
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Commuters in Flagstaff, AZ and Phoenix, AZ?? Need help?
hey there...i'm going to be in Flagstaff, AZ first week of November for a photo shoot and I need to get to Phonenix, AZ.
Can anyone from arizona recommend a good route? Is the highway the only way? How is it riding on it?
Best,
Russ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-82-iF7Lds
Can anyone from arizona recommend a good route? Is the highway the only way? How is it riding on it?
Best,
Russ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-82-iF7Lds
10-21-08, 12:14 PM
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Russ -
I grew up in Tucson, did some of my schooling in Tempe, and spent quite a bit of time in the Flagstaff/Payson areas. Regardless your route (bike or car) you have some great scenery and long hard rides ahead. I have two routes that I would consider.
Route 1 (Most Direct) - I-17
- This is a fairly large interstate (although it doesn't leave the state), 2 lanes each direction and divided. On this route you will pass through Camp Verde (you can bypass some of the highway for a less traveled route to Sedona our of Flagstaff but it will add some distance) about half-way to Phoenix and then start running into the outskirts of Phoenix starting as far north as Black Canyon City. I would not travel any further south on I-17 below Hwy 74 (Carefree Hwy) as traffic gets jammed up even on weekends. Take 74 east to 23rd ave and head south. It will take you to Happy Valley road which your route is pretty open as you are on the north end of Phoenix Metro at that time but still 23 miles from downtown. This ride will have two big downhills and one big uphill. It will be all downhill to Camp Verde... then you climb back up again to the big plateau at the base of the Bradshaw mountains... then back downhill into the Phoenix Valley.
Route 2 (Longer but I would say safer) -
- Head out of Flagstaff on Lake Mary road which will turn into forest service roads (maybe unpaved in places) and head to Hwy 87. You will head southwest on 87 into Strawberry, Pine (small towns), then into Payson. From Payson continue on the 87 which will head southwest into the far east side of Phoenix. You will hit the outskirts at Shea and hwy 87 (also called the Beeline). You can take 87 all the way into Mesa and head south on Country Club road. Then university is a good east/west road that will take you into Tempe then you could head north on Mill to say Buckeye and head west until the south side of downtown.
You will rack up over 100 miles on this ride and see some great country! Good luck.
I grew up in Tucson, did some of my schooling in Tempe, and spent quite a bit of time in the Flagstaff/Payson areas. Regardless your route (bike or car) you have some great scenery and long hard rides ahead. I have two routes that I would consider.
Route 1 (Most Direct) - I-17
- This is a fairly large interstate (although it doesn't leave the state), 2 lanes each direction and divided. On this route you will pass through Camp Verde (you can bypass some of the highway for a less traveled route to Sedona our of Flagstaff but it will add some distance) about half-way to Phoenix and then start running into the outskirts of Phoenix starting as far north as Black Canyon City. I would not travel any further south on I-17 below Hwy 74 (Carefree Hwy) as traffic gets jammed up even on weekends. Take 74 east to 23rd ave and head south. It will take you to Happy Valley road which your route is pretty open as you are on the north end of Phoenix Metro at that time but still 23 miles from downtown. This ride will have two big downhills and one big uphill. It will be all downhill to Camp Verde... then you climb back up again to the big plateau at the base of the Bradshaw mountains... then back downhill into the Phoenix Valley.
Route 2 (Longer but I would say safer) -
- Head out of Flagstaff on Lake Mary road which will turn into forest service roads (maybe unpaved in places) and head to Hwy 87. You will head southwest on 87 into Strawberry, Pine (small towns), then into Payson. From Payson continue on the 87 which will head southwest into the far east side of Phoenix. You will hit the outskirts at Shea and hwy 87 (also called the Beeline). You can take 87 all the way into Mesa and head south on Country Club road. Then university is a good east/west road that will take you into Tempe then you could head north on Mill to say Buckeye and head west until the south side of downtown.
You will rack up over 100 miles on this ride and see some great country! Good luck.
10-21-08, 01:34 PM
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Either route is going to include some super steep grades so make sure your brakes/rims are totally up to snuff. I hope you don't have to ride back up to Flagstaff afterwards - that would be a brutal climb 
.
By car, I like to take 89A through Sedona and stop at the Cowboy Club for lunch/dinner. I don't think I would recommend it by bike though - narrow roads with lots of switchbacks just waiting for an inattentive driver to smear you against a cliff face...
. By car, I like to take 89A through Sedona and stop at the Cowboy Club for lunch/dinner. I don't think I would recommend it by bike though - narrow roads with lots of switchbacks just waiting for an inattentive driver to smear you against a cliff face...
10-21-08, 09:38 PM
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Here you go:
Originally Posted by "ADOT of AZ
It?s really more a question of your comfort level rather than safety. For example, an analysis of bicycle - motor vehicle collisions on controlled access highways in Arizona found that, ?The rate of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes on controlled access highways is less than one per year across the entire state of Arizona for over a decade, clearly implying that there is not a large-scale safety problem associated with the use of these highways by bicyclists (refer to https://members.cox.net/ncutcdbtc/freeway/bkfwcr02.pdf). Should you decide to use the shoulder of I-17 from Flagstaff to the Phoenix metro area, please exit no farther south than Carefree Highway (https://www.azdot.gov/Highways/Traffi...PGP/TM1030.pdf). Refer to the Maricopa Association of Governments bikeways map for routes between Carefree Highway and Tempe (https://www.mag.maricopa.gov/detail.cms?item=8884). Should you decide to use SR 87, note that there are some sections with little to no shoulder (https://www.azbikeped.org/images/map%...0(3-03-06).pdf). Please feel free to contact our bicycle coordinator, Michael Sanders, at 602-712-8141 or MSanders@azdot.gov for more information.
17 has wide shoulder all the way. The other routes Lake Mary/87 lack shoulders on some parts but are likely more quiet.
10-21-08, 11:19 PM
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If you are okay with off-road then there is also the Arizona Trail: https://aztrail.org/
Also you can avoid the switchbacks on 89A to Sedona by doing Old Munds Highway to Schnebly Hill Road (off road again).
Good luck.
Also you can avoid the switchbacks on 89A to Sedona by doing Old Munds Highway to Schnebly Hill Road (off road again).
Good luck.
