Our bikes were unloaded from the truck and we were ready to go shortly after 11 AM:
There were unpaved trails that branched off of the main, paved path all along the way. The bike path was fantastic and was mostly level with occasional rises and falls that followed the desert topography. The nice thing about this path is that it had many areas to stop and rest and take in the views of the desert landscape:
The other big surprise was that Dove Valley Rd now cuts all the way through the Sonoran Desert to connect with Cave Creek Rd in Cave Creek. The path followed the road for exactly 5 miles (10 miles, round trip) before it ended. At this point, you need to ride on the completed portion of Dove Valley Rd which we did not want to do. The ride was beautiful, and these shots give you some idea of the type of landscape we rode through, even though they don't really provide the full appreciation of the beauty of this part of the desert:
The ten mile ride was just enough for us since we haven't been exercising with our bikes for several months. We will definitely be back to do it again.
Following our ride, we took the road to the end at Cave Creek Rd and drove north to the town and also to Carefree to see the changes since our last visit to this area many years ago.
There were many changes, but the two towns - Cave Creek and Carefree - were bustling with visitors and as busy as we remembered. There is one Restaurant - Harold's Corral - where I used to "hang-out" with my friend Joe from the Russ Lyon Real Estate Company where we both started our real estate careers in the year 2000. We spent many evenings following work, sipping a beer at the bar at Harold's which is a Carefree landmark:
We had a great lunch there before heading home.
It was a great ending to the weekend and a reminder that there are good places to ride and hike that aren't too far from us. We may even try one of the hiking trails that are part of this beautiful location in the desert...
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