What an awesome route to ride and with the master Mike himself! We got the usual early start at 6 just a few minutes before dawn, which we could see as we rode up Cave Creek Rd. Traffic was a bit heavier than I like, but soon we were turning onto Jomax and settling on quieter roads, heading to the Carefree Highlands area, which I really enjoy. We shared great conversation in typical Rando style as we had not seen each other in a while. Mike started asking about plans for next year. Jeepers, I have not given a thought to next year let along the rest of this year! That is one of the great things of being around Mike. I always receive some motivation, somehow. Once up in Carefree area, it seemed like I was really interested in looking at the houses and how huge they were. Anyway somewhere along our route we did see a road runner, 2 different coyote sightings, lots of rabbits, quail, and other cyclists. I would estimate we saw at least 10 different packs of cyclists. We never stopped for water or bathrooms. COming back just south of Cave Creek a gal on a time-trial sort of bike passed us. At first I did not think we could keep up. Then later I started chasing her and we got very close as we rolled south on Cave Creek Road and then turned west on Carefree Hwy. At that point I wished I would have started the chase as soon as she passed us. Anyway that was fun, but we turned N off of Carefree Hwy and left her. Eventually we got over near I-17 and started heading south toward Sonoran Desert Pkwy. Soon after we got onto the Pkwy we saw the tri gal. We talked about his plans for a tour from Boise up into Idaho and Hell's Canyon. That brought pack memories of the hikes I did in that area in grad school. Great day