February 17, 2024
Ride 11 - Rio Salado Pathway
The time had come to wander once again … the 10 days we spent in Tucson were the longest we have ever stayed in one place in the last 25 years of cycling. We weren’t really sure how we would like it but did find it quite nice. But the AirBnB said it was time to move so after a lot of discussion about go west, go east, go south, we decided to head north with the hope of cycling the Grand Canyon.
But first … Phoenix was on the way and we simply have to ride every day.
Today’s choice after much poking around the TrailLink app and RidewithGPS was the Rio Salado Pathway that runs along the Salt River.
We started at the eastern end mainly because I didn’t want to drive into Phoenix proper but hopefully edge around it. Turned out fairly well with a steady flow of traffic if 6 lanes in one direction is a steady flow.
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The pathway was either paved or cement for the entirety of our travels and was an easy ride if you don’t count in the myriad of other trail users on a Saturday afternoon. We did see 1 recumbent trike, dozens of road bikes, and lots and lots of scooters, small e-bikes, one wheels, people and dogs. The busiest section was on the waterfront by the Performing Arts Center but we eased our way through and soon found ourselves free and clear to proceed.
After that we found ourselves along the flight path to Sky Harbor Airport and were a bit amazed at the constant steady flow of aircraft coming and going. Almost to the minute it seemed at times.
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We even got buzzed by a C-130, guessing an Air National Guard plane. A few memories came back at that point as I have flown on those plans many times, but I’ve never landed in one. Folks on board kept pushing me out the doorway to take a slow descent following by a hard landing in the dirt.
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Eventually the time to turn around arrived although it looked like the path continued for a distance after that. As we didn’t have any remaining water, back east we went to travel through the same urban landscape for a good day of cycling.
Back at the van, we looked and looked for a room for the night, but this part of Phoenix was simply overpriced. So … drive north … and we did ending up in Prescott Valley which will shorten our continued journey north.
Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 1,445 miles (2,326 km)
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