😇&😈 – Roundabout Route to Goldwater Lake

Good news! The weather will be starting to warm up this weekend – The temperatures should be in the low 50's at the start of this ride and the upper 50's at the end – with plenty of sunshine, saints be praised!

As indicated, we will start from the parking area next to Mark's Beergarden and head out to ride up Iron Springs Road. We'll turn onto Sierry Peaks, riding through Forest Trails, and over to Thumb Butte Road (via Oregon and Idylwild, with a slight loop around Pine Drive). Then it's up to White Rock to regroup and prepare for the descent.

The next stage will take us down for a quick loop through Geno's neighborhood (Butte Canyon Drive/Forest Meadows Drive/Sherwood) before returning to Thumb Butte Road and continuing to Plaza Drive (by the bowling alley). Then we'll ride up to get to Country Club and make a right turn to go around the circle. We'll make our way over to Copper Basin via Highland Drive – and a detour onto Middlebrook Road/Cypress Drive/Linden Road – then it's up to the four-way stop at Timber Ridge. We'll turn in on Sheriffs Posse Trail to loop through the subdivision and back out on East Timber Ridge Road, then down to Gilligan's.

We'll cycle out Whitespar to Haisley, turn up to get to Senator Highway, then onward to Goldwater Lake Park – Finally! We will cruise down to the upper lake, look around, then return on Senator all the way into town. Turning left onto Goodwin, we'll pass by the courthouse and on to Summit Drive, which we'll take to Gurley. Finally, it's over to Gail Gardner, north to Iron Springs, and back to the beergarden.

It's a fun and interesting route, although the description here may seem a little hard to follow(!) Basically, it's "Mark's-to-White Rock (Thumb Butte Road)-to-Timber Ridge (Copper Basin Road)-to-Goldwater Lake (Senator Highway), with a few extra turns." It is suggested that riders should try to stay within reasonable proximity to the ride leader, if feasible, to aid in staying on-course.

Come out and join us on what promises to be another fine day in Prescott! The total distance is about 32 miles, with approximately 2,500 feet of climbing. As always, helmets are required, lights – both fore and aft – are strongly recommended, and earbuds are discouraged. E-bikes and their riders are welcome.