I started out thinking I was going to ride up Freeman Rd and then around Saguaro National Park East and get some good climbing in. I was all outfitted with a good headlight and a good taillight and I was planning to be out after dark. I was looking forward to a good challenging ride. By the time I got to the base of Freeman Rd., I was dragging and was feeling a lack of energy. Was it that I was starting at 5:45 PM instead of in the morning? Was it that I needed to recover from last night's ride in the rain? Was it that it was in the 90's and humid? I couldn't figure it out.
Like I said, I was dragging, but man I LOVE these tires! Speedway east of Tanque Verde Loop is very rough, akin to cobblestone. However, my tires handled it wonderfully giving me good suspension.
As I was riding up Freeman, I decided this was going to be a an enjoy the scenery ride. I looked for some good photo opportunities, but I didn't recognize them until I passed and I said, "There should be another just ahead." I didn't take hardly any photos.
I didn't focus on going fast, only on remaining consistent going up the hill.
I decided that at the top of Freeman, I would just ride past the park and take Escalante over to Houghton and then wind through the neighborhood and eventually end up at my old house we are now renting.
When I got there, Harry, our neighbor, was out in the driveway and I talked to him for several minutes and caught up.
After this, I continued to Harrison and decided to ride up to Speedway and go to Bryan's work at the Circle K.
I did this and filled up my water bottles, all three were about ready to be refilled.
I wasn't ready to go home yet, so I rode south on Houghton up the hill for about three miles to Old Spanish Trail. Then I rode over to Melpomene and back down to home. I don't remember exactly when or where it got dark, but I had my lights going. I switched the headlight from flashing mode to steady mode and kept going.
When I finished and looked at my ride, I was surprised it wasn't but 3 miles longer than had I done the Saguaro National Park Loop. Also, I had done over a 1000 ft of climbing. The GPS said +1010 and -1045, but since I did a loop and ended in the exact place I started, it has to be the same. This highlights the inaccuracies in the elevation data. Not significant, but not precise. My ride data from one of my rides in the past where I did the Freeman SNP loop shows that is +1157 and -1055. Again inaccuracies. So, my ride was, if you average the elevation numbers from each ride, about 78 ft less elevation gain than what I had originally planned. Of course, the gradient is quite a bit different.
Considering that I was dragging when I started out enough to change course, I feel pretty good about my ride tonight.
Now, more on my tires. I am hearing the hum of the tread on the road when I exceed about 15 mph (that speed is a guess). I think it would have been better to get the Schwalbe Big Apple which is the same tire only with a less aggressive tread. So, if one is not going to be doing any off-road riding, I would go with the Big Apple. If one is going to be doing some off-road riding (or snow riding) I would go with the Big Ben.

BTW, the difference in max gradient is 8% vs 6.3%. The Freeman-SNP loop ride was on my Tour Easy (2 wheels instead of three; 53 lbs as set up vs. 73 lbs as set up). That ride can be seen here:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/1487952

I just compared the segment up Freeman Rd from this ride to the fasted time I have climbed it on a trike. I was slower by only 5 seconds. However, I also stopped for 25 seconds to take a picture! So, I was actually 20 seconds faster - and this when feeling like I was dragging. I raced the efforts and of the four segments, this ride was slower on the first segment - though faster until I stopped and took the pictures - then I caught back up and passed the previous effort in the next two segments. Then the final segment that has the really steep kick up the hill, this ride was slower than the previous. So, overall, I did superbly! Is it my tires? Or is it improved fitness in the past 8 days? Likely a combination of both, but I felt like I was dragging today.