45 miles, 3800 ft, 4 hours

Going south from Prescott the rider has two choices.  One option is to take 89A; the other is to take Iron Springs Road.

89A to Wilhoit has more ups and downs and turns.  The rider does have to deal with 6-8% grades but rarely for more than half a mile before there is a `false flat' offering a short respite. 

Iron Springs to Skull Valley and back is a course that is dramatically different.  Briefly out of town one hits the top of a hill (6,014 ft elevation). From there it is 12 miles of almost full-time decline to Skull Valley.  And the rider has to `pay for it' on the return.

The route south to Skull Valley took about 1:25:00.  The return took almost twice as long (2:30:00).  No false flats.  Common inclines of 4-8%, reaching 9-11% briefly.  When I am riding a 2% incline I have the sensation that it is `flat' and that I can stop pedaling now.

The reward for getting back to the top of Iron Springs road from SV is an almost 1.5 mile series of declines to the more populated Prescott area ranging from 4-9%. 

Today, on the descent I reached 48.2 mph into a headwind.

Heart and lungs doing well.  So are the legs.

Here is the Garmin data from today's training ride.

Skull Valley via Iron Spring Road