Hi,
Just finished the western part of Southern Tier and here are some other options.
1. Basically I followed the ridewithgps option posted in the Addendums (option between Yuma and Phoneix) thereby staying away from Blythe etc.
2. From Ocotillo take HWY98 and stay away from the old road N of I8. Locals say that road is the worst in the whole state of CA.
3. In Calexico I stayed on 98 and went straight E to join the I8. 98 is a good road with wide shoulders and not too much traffic. At the I8 jct take the frontage road on the north side of I8 for a few miles and then fully join I8 at the next jct.
4. I8 is a calm with lots of traffic but the shoulder is wide and it feels safe.
5. At Ogilby Rd you HAVE to leave the I8 and take the frontage road on the North side of I8 for some miles. The worst piece of shit road in my life. Could only ride 8 mph even with a tail wind ... everything cracked up.
6. At the next jct you are allowed to join I8 again. There is a gas station incl grocery store (Chevron) right here.
7. At Araz Rd you HAVE to leave I8 again and stay N of the I8. Basically just follow the ridewithgps option posted.
8. Now ridewithgps suggests going N and make a big loop rejoining at Ligurta.
9. I slept in a motel in Yuma and rode E on 95 and rejoined I8 at Fortuna Rd.
10. I noticed that in AZ on I8 it only says pedestrians not allowed on the I8 ... bicycles accepted.
11. Now going E on I8 climbing the foothills and rejoining the original ridewithgps in Ligurta. There was a border patrol inspection on that section but they did not bother about cycles.
12. Basically, unlike CA, bicycles are allowed all the way from Yuma to at least Gila Bend. There is no need to take the frontage roads suggested by ridewithgps. The I8 is big and safe and often has a better road surface than the crappy frontage roads.
13. There are gas stations incl groceries in Wellton, Tacna, Dateland and Sentinel (google maps says Sentinel is closed which is a lie) before Gila Bend.
14. E of Gila bend I took 238 to Maricopa leaving the ridewithgps suggestion. The first part was nice with a wide shoulder and low traffic. But somewhere in the middle on 238 there is a landfill and suddenly I was surrounded by semis and NO shoulder and the road turned into a VERY dangerous road. There was a big semi every minute on that rather narrow road ... many times I had to pull into the ditch.
15. In Maricopa I took the 347 going N. Heavy traffic, wide but rather bumpy shoulder. But safe riding again.
I did the stretch in August 2023 when it was around 115 degF in the afternoon.
Lucas
