What a great route! Mike is amazing at creating these routes. I started at mile 149 of the original route since it was close to home. Of course it was still dark when started yet there was a hint of sunrise coming. It was a fantastic sunrise! The ride down Avondale Blvd was awesome! Pavement is smooth, nice bike lane, new developments. I need to create a perm that uses this Avondale Blvd. Of course there were a couple sets of reservation dogs down by Tres Rios area. I set did not come out to the road. Then a couple miles later, I was riding along enjoying the sunrise on my left, and all of a sudden there 3 dogs on my right that I only noticed because the lead dog barked. Those dogs were just out to run, so that was not a challenge. As usual the AZ 347 is still full of cracks that are overfilled and therefore very bumpy. Thank heavens it was only about 2 miles. The rest of the route to that point was good roads. I like how Mike has us go from the I-10 crossing up to Chandler Blvd. Awesome road. Now for Chandler Blvd, it was a bit dirty and some spots that were not the best, yet never really bad. Finally over to Chandler Fashion Square Panera Bread where I met Paul F. He was doing a 200k perm. The over to the first control at Riggs/Ellsworth was uneventful. A stop to take off some layers ( it was 43 at my start and it dropped to 34F in the reservation area) and when we go onto Riggs and about half-way across it was above 60. I was wearing the orange wind breaker and PBP vest, blue arm warmers, and light gloves. Just prior to Ellsworth I asked Paul if we could stop at the Pecan Lake Entertainment to see what that was about! Amazing! Just adjacent to Pecan Lake is the Horseshow Park & Equestrian Centre where there is a huge covered arena that I in previous trips by thought was something else due to the sponsorship signs of Chapman Automotive! There were a ton of horses on the 3 outdoor arenas, a riding-fake shooting show ( https://cmsaevents.com/about/ where the CMS was holding their Southwest Spectacular annual event ), that we could hear. The Pecan Lake has go-karts, lots of indoor events, etc. We did not go into either but talked to a family that was entering Pecan Lake. Then Ike's Love sandwiches at Ellsworth/Riggs. Yum. I had the #65 Jim Rome something, on Ike's bread. Yummy! Then on up to Usery Pass. As we got closer, a SAG truck passed by and over their loud speaker asked if we were "part of the ride". It was with Phoenix Metro Bike Club (PMBC) which was putting on the San Tan Century https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48774980 & metric century https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48702040 & 34 mile https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48702040 They take a slightly different route in the Queen Creek area, passing on the west of Williams Gateway airport. We met 3 riders of the event, chatted a bit, turns out 1 guy was from CO and had done the Double Triple Bypass. On we went up to Usery Pass and the Usery Mt Regional Park where I showed Paul the visitor center, as we got water and bathroom. Then the ascent descent into the Salt River Canyon and the climb out! Gorgeous time to be in the canyon as there were some people fishing, not too many cars, and the temp was nice. Then over to Fountain Hills and the Burger King. The construction was there there just before the control but nobody was working since a Sunday so rode in the construction lane. Oh the nice climb out of Fountain Hills and descent and Via Linda return! Always great views. A stop at Aztec Park for water just before crossing FLWright! Then on up to Pima. Paul dropped off as we started on Thompson Peak. I was slow on the climb of Pima. It was getting close to sunset and I just hoped to make it to Cave Creek before fully dark. Got close! I was at the control on Carefree / Lone Mtn, when I donned the night gear and some warmer clothes. The ride down Carefree Hwy into town was gorgeous as the city lights were on! Amazing. Then the ride through town was a bit dicey as there were 4 separate instances were vehicles were parked in the bike lane! But the stop at Dairy Queen for water and a bathroom was a needed stoP! Finally the last stretches! They went pretty well. Until crossing the I-17 that is where the detour of I-17 South was put onto my route ! Ugh was my first thought, yet t was not too bad. Actually I could mentally begin to appreciate the cars as their lights shown more of the road surface up ahead allowing me to see if any big obstacles ahead while focusing on the silly crack humps. Finally over to Lake Pleasant Pkwy and the home stretch. Great roads and then over to New River Trail. On New River Trail down by Rio Vista park a couple rabbits and either a large porcupine or baby javelina crossed my path. That was a first to see that kind of critter on this trail. It says I had stopped time of 2 hrs 23 min but I find it hard to believe! In adding up the purposeful stops I see about 2 hours. I guess the rest are stop lights. Nice.