First ride of this route. Parked in suggested place at control 1, under the red sign of Tempe Markeplace. As is my usual MO I follow the original route the first time I ride a route. That proved a bit of challenge here as at 1.3 miles the east side of Indian Ben d wash was closed off with a real fence. Had to back-track a 0.1 mile and go to west side of the wash and use that bike-path until 1 mile later at McKellps where the east and west side came together. Up around mile 20 I saw a female cardinal! Been a while to see one of those, Then a bit later a road runner! Awesome. The highlight though was seeing the horses at the Salt River right at the bridge, along with people on SUP and canoes. Heading up Usery, there was a faster rider that passed me. I decided to mark him and lasted for about 1.5 miles. I was initially going about 8 mph but his pace was 10.5. Then after getting back down to McDowell, I decided to detour south to met David and Evelyn. That was a nice visit. David is continuing to have challenges. After about 30 minutes I pushed on. Up to that point the road surfaces were great! It was the last part of McDowell and the rest of that route down to Bass Pro Trail that I would want to avoid in the future,. Will have to look for a different way, Too many tall freeze-cracks.