Another glorious years day on the rim with our Rad bikes

 

We had another glorious ride on the Mogollon Rim with our new Rad Rover electric-assist bikes.  

We found a series of roads (actually Vicky found them, as she is our navigator/leader/hike planner/map chick).

They were dirt roads with a lot of large rocks in places and with major puddles to ride around and with some areas that were straight shots where we could actually get up to......10 MPH!  (see photos above)

And some beautiful grass meadows in the forests.  Vicky (navigator/leader/hike planner/map chick) says we will be back to the area in the spring because those meadows will be filled with flowers.

Another draw to the area:  We saw no one else on any of the roads we traveled.  It's like we owned this world.  

Using the Rads is a physical workout.  For one thing, we have to load and unload them four times, and they are heavy.

And cycling on them is a workout.  One is not only pedaling, but also you have to keep a tight grip to be able to maneuver around the rocks in the road.  Using the electric assist is a learning experience because you don't want too much or too little.  You want to be pedaling most of the time, and using the assist to go fast enough to go over rocks safely.  If you are going too slow over and around the rocks then your front wheel can get moved sideways very quickly and you can lose control.  You have to be alert at all times, taking only quick glances at the scenery. 

It is more of an upper body workout than road cycling. 

It's so fun.  And it gives us much-needed variety in our days.  

Here is Vicky cycling on a relatively calm section (remember, she's 71 years old and doing this!):

 ...at the start of the video you can see her maneuvering around large rocks in the road

And here is my sweetheart, Dan, (remember he is almost 74 years old and doing this!):