Start time was 423 am ( RWGPS is 1 hour off). Did this solo and so started from Estrella control (ie Taco Bell). I knew this was going to be a long day, yet I did not want it to be as long as it was! Just got tired at the end. I took my orange wind breaker along but never used it. Just thought it might get chilly on the reservation on farm fields of the west. While the temps dropped to 46F on reservation, it was warm enough. I worked hard to keep my water and food intake going all day! Ultimately I think I fell a bit behind on water since I seemed to get a bit of a headache and now today, the next day, I noticed yellow urine and still a bit groggy. Back to the ride. Baseline Rd was all fixed up! I recall last year that they were still laying pavement in widening it. Then across the reservation where I expected dogs to chase me but there were none! Thankfully. When will I ever learn that on Beltine Rd > Riggs that the longest part if the angled Beltline? LOL. Kept wondering when it would turn due east! There were about 4-5 cop cars that came from the east heading west across Riggs with lights and sirens. The usual horrible bump cracks along Maricopa Hwy are still there! At mile 50.3 I pulled into Panera Bread to a bathroom break and had a cinnamon/raisin bagel with plain cream cheese. Yummy. At about mile 53.7 a younger rider passed me so I chased him and caught up. It was fun to have someone else present for a bit, but he turned into home at mile 55. Dang it. That temp spike at mile 73.5 was my bike in the sun as I stopped for the first time ever at Black Rock Cafe for a breakfast egg, sausage, biscuit per Steve's recommendation of the prior day! Yummy. I should have bought 2 of them. Traffic was much less along Ellsworth on this Sunday ride! The usual stop at mile 89.1 for Usery Pass Visitor center and bathroom/water. Gorgeous time in the desert after the rains! Then the climb out of Salt River and descent to Fountain Hills where today at about mile 110 I could see the fountain! Always a pleasure to see it. As yesterday, I did not stop in Fountain Hills but instead just got right to the climbs! Mile 125.2 was a new stop for me as I wanted something to eat and was a bit warm from the 90's around Fountain Hills. So found a Dairy Queen (Treat) place! I was not a brazier. It had the ice cream stuff which would be ok with me ( a blizzard) yet it had hot dogs too! So got 1 of those and took a little break of 30 minutes! This was my longest stop of the day. Passed by the Florence Ely Nelson park control at mile 136.4 and then on to new ground! At least as far as these 2 pre-rides! The continued drag up to Carefree! I swear I always see a sign that says 6 miles to Carefree but it really is 8! LOL. Gorgeous desert views up that I always enjoy, especially on this loop east on Stagecoach and then north on Lone Mtn with the fancy homes! Finally reached mile 149.1 the highest pt on the ride and began descent! Oh I forgot! As I was on Lone Mtn around mile 146.7 there were 2 coyotes just sauntering NE in the other lane of the divided highway! Cool. The sun was getting low as passed through Carefree and Cave Creek making it a bit of a challenge to see. I was surprised at how many cars were in the bars! Football? Mile 158.5 pulled into McDonalds to get a snack and wait out the sunset as I did not want to fight the sun on Carefree Hwy. Grabbed a cheeseburger, Sprite, and 1 apple pie! Yummy. The goal all day was to eat and eat small portions at a time to not overload the body. By the time I got across I-17 at mile 168.4 it was pretty well dark with just a bit of coloring left! So when the brand new dark pavement right there as start of AZ 74, it made it hard to see the road! The road was smooth for a bit then cracks. Short water/bathroom break at Shell at mile 175 as I begin contemplating that long south and east leg to my end. I opted to not stop at the Circle K control at mile 182.7 as I knew I had enough water to get to the Shell on Sun Valley Pkwy. Right - NOT. Then around mile 185.5 I realized I was passing close to the Halloween House so took a detour over to see it at mile 186.5! It was awesome as he finally had the lights on! I have ridden past that place many times on my perms, in the daylight. In fact I drove up there 1 night with Sonja to show her but no lights were on! So it was a pleasure to see the lights! Now for 18 = 190.9 the roads in Sun City that were being repave/restripped. No traffic at all in Sun City. For the SVP run to the Shell, traffic was a bit heavier than I thought but not bad. As I got up about closer to the Shell Station I could see blue emergency lights! Wasn't sure what it was! Right prior to the turn into the Shell entrance, a gal had hit and killed a steer! The steer was laying in the left lane of the west bound traffic and the gal's car was banged up. I saw the gal there talking to police. Not sure if anyone else was hurt yet maybe there was. I turned into the Shell and it seemed unusually dark. I wanted water. Turns out on Sunday they close at 8pm instead of 10pm! UGH. So I had to make it another 13 miles down to Tartesso park for water! That park never closes! I could have used the park in Festival Ranch, but opted for Tartesso. The ride to Buckeye and beyond was pretty uneventful with the improvements made to the pavement of Beloat Rd. There was a spot right before Beloat ended where I heard coyote yelps, very close to me so was concerned they might dart onto the road. This happened at same time a big semi was coming at me with bright lights! No coyotes were seen. It was great riding the open roads of the west side at night. So many stars.