Middlemarch Pass by Bicycle - Velo

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Middlemarch Pass

This is a pleasant, fairly low dessert gravel pass over the Dragoon Mountains east of Tombstone. It can be part of a great all-surface loop ride that also includes a paved summit with so little traffic, it could be gravel too.

1.START-END EAST:jct Az101 - Pearce Rd
2.Pearce
3.TOP, Middlemarch Pass,5940ft
4.profile turns left onto Az80
5.START-END WEST:low point on Az80, immediately before entering Tombstone

Approaches

From South. Pearce is a couple of fixed up old historic buildings, where two roads happen to cross at 90 degree angles. FR345 heads roughly south of landmark Cochise Peak as straight as an arrow. The pavement disappears as soon as the crossroads named Pearce, disappear from view. The climb is steady and slight, and the wind was a much bigger factor in my case. Before Cochise Peak draws too near, Middlemarch Road takes a signed left fork and winds through the dessert shrubbery towards a gap. Already from far below, one suspects that this would make a nice little gap for a road. The national forest boiundary is not far. But before then you are subjected to a sign that forbids you to loiter, or even stop so keep pedalling. But friendly public land is not far. A discreet little national forest sign looks very welcoming in this situation. The road now becomes steeper, narrower, rougher, curvier, and more obviously more interesting. The switchbacks heighten the vantage point onto Spring Valley and the distant Chiricahua Mountains. The top of the pass cannot be seen until you arrive there. It is actually quite a low gap. Forested rounded peaks ahead, before I arrived there, made me think the summit would be much higher

From North. (described downwards). The bouncing turns and decends from the top are pleasant. But the Dragoon Mountains do not show off their precipitous rocky faces until the road is further down, where it seems to parallel the range for a short distance. After this the route becomes a fast wide super highway, that just happens to be nonpaved. In spite of that - no traffic. The profile ends at a low point just before the junction withh Az80, immediately north of Tombstone

cLiCk on image , arrows , or thumbnails to advance slideshow

Dayride with this point as highest summit:

PARTIALLY PAVED / UNPAVED

( < Massai Point(ow) | Montezuma Pass > )

Middlemarch Pass , Gleeson Rd s(u) : FR345 Middlemarch Rd, NF boundary west of Pearce > FR345 west > Middlemarch Pass > Az80 south > Tombstone > Gleeson Rd east > N Ghost Town Trail[a road] north > S Ghost Town Tral north > Pearce > FR345 back to starting point: 59.3miles with 3790ft of climbing in 5:47 (garmin etrex32x m6:24:11.15).