Travel

Actually, if you're right in downtown PHX you can hit up the towers at South Mountain pretty easily. Seventh Street south all the way to Dobbins then a block west to Central and you'll run right into it. You can spin down San Juan and then climb the towers. For a longer ride you could also head down to Broadway, east to South Pointe Parkway and spin through Awahtukee- Ray Rd > Chandler Blvd > Pecos; that's a great loop. The only slightly sketch part is Broadway as it can get pretty busy so get out early. This is all assuming that you're staying right downtown Phoenix too.

Thanks for the advice! I am staying right across the street from the convention center as that is where I will be all week. I only have to be there starting at 11 in the morning until about midnight every night so i have plenty of time in the morning to get out and get a ride in. What exactly are these "towers" that you are talking about? is this just some large hills or are they a bike path? I have to get permission from my boss for safety reasons so that i am able to go out on these routes and that would help a lot! How long of a route is that as well? I would like to be able to get 2-3 hours every morning in followed by a decent run.

the towers are the tv towers at the top of south mountain. from downtown to south mountain park doing san juan road plus the summit road will get you about 40 miles and around 2500ft of elevation gain. the summit is a category 2 climb.

in addition to the options than b mentioned, you might also take washington/jefferson east from downtown phoenix to tempe (appx. 10 miles from downtown), which opens up all kinds of cycling options in tempe, mesa, and scottsdale.

there is endless running downtown, but if you head too far east, west, or south the neighborhoods can get sketchy. i live downtown and mostly run north on central, with detours into the encanto and palmcroft neighborhoods to the west.

enjoy phoenix, and try to stay cool!

Edited by Bunsbert Montcroff 2013-06-19 4:02 PM