Seg # 53 Phoenix Trails (Canal Service,Sun Circle, Heritage, Chandler Paseo,Consolidated) 4_29_15

Start	Canal Service Rd at Sheephearders Pk	N 33.46693, W 111.77824	N-S mi 18,2
End	Hunt Hwy	N 33.46693. W 111.84051	TrlLgth 22,4 Ride 25.7

Ride hr    4:12     AVS  6 mph          MXS 15 mph         DST  25.7       TMP 70-85        KCal 1140

Comparable to Albuquerque, canals transect Phoenix nearly straight north to south. Canal trails are Rail-Trail-like in that elevation change is gradual, therefore tolerable by a 70 year old retired periodontist.  Because Albuquerque and Phoenix trails ran almost straight north- south, nearly every mile ridden added to latitude values.   

The mega grapefruit in Carol's right hand measures nearly 

6 inches in  diameter and over 18 inches in circumference! 

My long drive on day one, allowed me to be ahead of schedule. Not a very common thing for Glenn Maze. So I rolled into brother Richard's (#7 of eight boys) and sister-in-law Carol's home in the early afternoon of the second day.. They were perfect hosts, feeding me some of Carol"s fine cooking and bedding me down two nights in the same room Connie and I stayed thirty years ago. After a tour of Richard's garden with numerous interesting plants, we picked some huge grapefruits from the tree in their front yard. Wow were they good tasting too!

Spring is a pretty time for Arizona, especially this year. There was lots of
yellow bushes like this one blooming when I drove to the Sun Circle Trail.

The next morning I drove thirty some miles to the north trailhead at Sheepherders Park. I barely started riding the South Canal Service Road when I met up with a walker that had just moved to the Phoenix from Washington state. He was intrigued with my cross country trail ride, so I gave him a TAvRTO business card. "Hello Dennis" just in case you are following up on your promise to read my blog. A few miles down the road I merged with the Sun Circle Trail followed by the Heritage, Chandler Paseo and the Consolidated trails. The further south I pedaled, residential properties abutting the trail became more stately. The last few miles were industrial in nature. In fact, the last bit of the trail was overtaken by a junk dealer that had all kinds of vehicles, appliances and downright crap over the trail. I had to do a counterintelligence move and some nifty bike maneuvers to avoid getting hit by a pipe dangling from a crane. The gentlemen (more like the thugs) operating the equipment acted as if I was the one that needed to get out of their way. I am just guessing, but I think they were were illegal squatters making the bike trail their storage lot.  Once I negotiated this blockade, bother Richard showed up when and where we drew it up the day before.

Selfie of R7 (Richard the Lion Hearted - back) and G8

(me-front) after loading the bike. I'm ready for beer!

We loaded the bike in the back of  R7's classic 70"s Toyota SUV and headed back to my car at Sheepherders Park. It was after 1 p.m. so we were ready for some cold beers and pizza. The thirst for beer reminded me of the time brother Richard took a couple of college buddies and myself to White Sands National Monument near Las Cruses where R7 was attending New Mexico State University working on his Ph.D. The sand dunes were incredibly beautiful and loads of fun sliding hundreds of feet down their slippery slopes. Besides sliding races, we were focused on drinking beer. Unfortunately the beer cooler got dumped and the ice was lost. "Warm beer?" "Ick". My brother being creative cuss, said, "no problem mates---we will just bury the beer". We all dug it into the sand with bare hands a flying. After the first foot or so, the sand got cooler. We dug until we were three feet deep and the sand felt almost cold. Probably it was sixty-five or so but it felt colder, most likely it felt that way because in the sun the temperature was a minimum of  99 degrees.Anyway we buried the beer in Mother Nature's dessert cooler and later enjoyed some brewskies. The beers at Vito's were just as tasty. Perhaps tasted better because back in the 60's most beer I drank was of the Grain Belt quality. Cheap and unsavory  stuff!

While in Phoenix I made certain to visit with one of the best periodontal residents I have trained as a program director. "Shahin the Machine" as I called Dr. Madi. He is a smart, hard working, friendly, compassionate periodontist. Shahin invited me for dinner at his beautiful huge home . And I mean huge. To add to the beautiful layout, he has a guest house on the property that is as big or bigger than my home. I knew "The Machine" would be successful. Successful is an understatement. With a wonderful wife and two smart and polite he got it made. "Way to go Shahin."

After a good night's sleep, I headed out of Phoenix for Geoff's house in Long Beach, California. Four hundred miles later I was pulling into Geoff's driveway just in time for another excellent meal by Kayoko. What cook, mom, housewife and hundreds of other positive adjectives!