Date:  Saturday, August 22, 2026

Distance: 68 miles

Start Time: 7:00 AM
There will be a mass start at 7:00 AM and announcements and time for questions at 6:55.
Start Location: Thorpe Park, Flagstaff (Get directions)

Time Limit: 7 hours

Sunrise:  6:19 a.m.
Sunset:  6:14 p.m

Cost: $10 All riders must pre-register. There is no day-of-event registration.

RUSA sanctioned.

WAIVER NOTE: You will be automatically directed to the online waiver after you submit your PayPal payment. If you are not automatically directed to the online waiver after your pay, you may press the "Return to Merchant" button to sign the waiver. The online waiver may also be found at tinyurl.com/AZBrevetWaiver.

REGISTRATION NOTE: Once you are registered for a ride, you will see your name in the Registered Riders tab. It may take a day or so for it to appear. Registered riders WILL be sent a "Last Minute Notes" email the day after registration closes, normally the Thursday before the ride. If you do not receive it, please let me know. Also, check your spam folder for the email.

RIDE VERIFICATION: All of these events are sanctioned by Randonneurs USA (RUSA). As such, all of them will be verified using approved RUSA methods. Click HERE to see the details of available options for AZ Radonneurs' events.

Description

This route starts in Flagstaff. It visits both Lowell Observatory Telescopes, the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI) and Mormon Lake. Recall that Pluto was discovered at Lowell back on Feb 18, 1930.

This is a really fun ride, and one that I do fairly often when I want to get out of the desert heat! There is a companion 200k ride which will allow you to bring friends who may not want to do this distance.

Terrain: The route mostly rolling. The climbs up to the telescopes are short but steep. You're welcome!

Directions to the start

Location: Thorpe Park, Flagstaff

Address: 29 N Toltec St, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

There is on-street parking on Toltec St, also at Thorpe/Birch intersection.

Google map: Click HERE

Directions:  At the base of Mars Hill (Lowell Observatory) in Flagstaff.

Here is a more detailed map of where riders can park. The map link will take you to the preferred corner of the park, but getting to that location is easy from any parking location.

Details here:

 

 

Route Map

View  RWGPS online map here

Cue sheets may be downloaded and printed by riders if they wish. Cue sheets will NOT be passed out at the start. Make sure you have a cue sheet as a backup in case your GPS fails.

(Excel sheet is not available.)

Download cue sheet (pdf)

Elevation Profile

Total elevation gain for the 110k is ~3,000 feet.

Requirements

Lights: We will start/finish in daylight so lights and reflective vest/ankle bands are not required at the start.

Services

Services will be available at regular intervals. 2 water bottles should be sufficient for this ride.

It is not uncommon to have evening rain. It's usually refreshing, but can be cold at these elevations. Riders should be prepared accordingly.

1 Registered Riders.

Rider Name	RUSA #	City	State/Prov
Mike Sturgill	1847	Phoenix	AZ