On September 24, 2015, Arizona became part of the United States Cycling Route System, an interstate network of designated cycling routes spanning 11,424 miles of roadway in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

It’s a special kind of person who considers several days of long-distance bicycling a vacation. So, the Arizona Department of Transportation designated a cross-state bicycle route that would make the vacations for special people, like Heitz and her friends, much more enjoyable.