In Tucson: the Oro Valley ride

January 24, 2020

Rachael and I are quickly coming around to the opinion that we like Tucson. A lot.

The people are friendly here. We’ve had some fine, random encounters - short conversations with interesting and interested people, good listeners with good stories of their own, that make you feel like you could fit in. As an example, when I stepped out the door to take the bike over to the bike shop two days ago, I was stopped at the curb by a woman biking past on a Brompton. She wanted to ask how I liked my Bike Friday. Five minutes later we were still chatting, sharing bike touring experiences in Japan and Hawaii (places we’ve both toured). I finally cut us off because I needed to get to the bike store before the day got too late, but I’m sure we could have kept going.

I like this neighborhood, which has a funky, casual character. Our landlord Frank (another person I like, who coincidentally is from Eugene) stopped by to check in on us, and gave us a brief history of it. Tucson was formerly a segregated city, he tells us. This was the black neighborhood, which began at the railroad tracks four blocks to the south. He says he found a quaint article from 1930’s at the library that describes the house we’re staying in as ‘an excellent home for a negro’. Good to know.

And, at this time of year we definitely like the weather. Most days are dry and sunny and have a high in the sixties and lows around forty. Also the outdoors, which is definitely appealing - mountains at all four corners, near enough that you can bike to them and back on a day ride.

And, we definitely like The Loop. A lot.

Today we’re on The Loop again, heading north toward the Oro Valley.

Not sure what mountains Rachael is biking toward here, but probably the Tucson Range. I know why she’s pulling up to a stop though.

And, another thing we like about Tucson: it has roadrunners! A lot of them. I’m not going to show you every roadrunner we see here, but they’re still enough of a novelty to us that I’ll show you these two and a short video. I won’t even show you the other two we also saw today - four in one day, all within the space of about a mile, within the city limits.

Sorry the video is so jerky. They’re a hard bird to track - they run fast across an opening a bit, then stop abruptly and set their characteristic pose. Then just as abruptly they dash off again. You’re continually trying to catch up and recenter.

Pretty hard to just bike on by when you see a bird this interesting.

Or this one. I like this pose, with his tail feathers flared out a bit. I didn’t realize there was so much azure in them.

So we get off to a rather slow start, stopping four times for roadrunners and then once again to look up in delight at a tree filled with singing red-winged blackbirds. Finally we start biking in earnest, which is good because we have a reasonably long ride ahead of us.

As we bike, we pass other cyclists. A lot of them. All day long we pass them in singles, in groups, on tandems, on recumbents. Fit people, not so fit people, young, old. We aren’t the only ones that love The Loop. We see easily several hundred of them, looking pretty content biking alongside the wash on a mostly flat trail in perfect weather, untroubled by motor vehicles. I suspect most of them like Tucson a lot too.

Rachael thought these hunks were giving her the eye, but it didn’t appear so to me. Maybe if she’d been flashing her hot new Arizona bike shirt.

We don’t travel far before we come to the first of what will become a common sight on today’s ride: a weathering steel bridge, spanning a wash. There are a lot of these bridges on today’s ride - perhaps twenty of them. They’re colorful, interesting, fun to bike across. They add a nice bit of texture to the ride. And they make you think warm thoughts about a community that thinks it’s worth in investing so much on infrastructure like this.

Video sound track: One More Bridge to Cross, by the Supremes and the Four Tops

Not too much else to say about today’s ride really, other than that it was great the whole way. Once we finally get going we keep up a good pace, riding The Loop along the east bank of the Santa Cruz River/wash for about ten miles and then up the Oro Valley along the Canada Del Oro Wash for another ten. We turn back when the trail finally ends and double back, stopping for lunch at a trail side bench.

On the way home we varied our route a bit, taking a few small detours and riding much of the way back on the west bank of the Santa Cruz this time, which is even better - quieter, further from the highway. We bike steadily the whole way, not even stopping when we pass a tree filled with cedar waxwings, or a bit later when a Mesquite sucks up a flock of redwing blackbirds swooping in, or a bit later when a blood red cardinal flies past.

For dinner we walk the half mile to town for what we expect will be a great Mexican meal at El Charro, but are disappointed when we find there’s a 40 minute wait. We make a reservation for tomorrow and walk two blocks to the next nearest place, La Cocina, an enjoyable place with an eclectic menu that we we’re both happy with. Sharing a Niçoise salad, Rachael has a quinoa bowl with chicken, spinach, and peanut sauce and I have a lemon caper chicken pasta dish. Sitting in a large open-air space under heat lamps, celebrating completion of 2,000 k’s on this tour, listening to a live bluegrass act, sipping a locally brewed craft IPA, we agree that we both like it here. A lot.

Looking east at Mount Lemmon. It has a much different, more rugged look from this direction.

Pretty confident this is a red-tailed hawk.

Mount Lemmon again, from the northern side. When we drove down four days ago there was still a fair amount of snow on this side.

Cute little guy, with a cute little tail. A bit blurry, because they don’t let you get too close before diving for shelter.

More of the same. How does forty miles like this sound to you?

All kidding aside, the Oro Valley is really lovely.

There’s still just a trace of snow up there. Probably the last day for awhile though. Sun is in the forecast for the next two weeks straight. Darn.

Some trailside art, coming and going. A bit of an unusual sight - mostly you’re just biking past mesquite, palo verde, cacti, roadrunners, that sort of thing.

I knew Rachael would slip that hot new Arizona bike shirt in here again. Down, boys.

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Ride stats today: 46 miles, 1,100’; for the tour: 1,246 miles, 64,400’

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 1,246 miles (2,005 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	7

Jacquie GaudetI think I saw quite a few Arizona jerseys in the photos and videos, not just Rachel's. Time to get one for yourself, Scott!
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4 years ago

Jen RahnHmmmn. Sounds like maybe Tucson could be a home base? All you need is one more cool AZ Jersey and some real estate.

We would definitely visit!

Where you stay certainly makes a difference. We stayed in the Garden District (near Pima and Swan) .. and it wasn't a super experience. Looks like your location is great, for the neighborhood itself and the easy access to the Loop.
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetWe like to specialize. I got B.C., she gets Arizona. My turn next.
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnMaybe in the off months. I suspect we’ll make it down again, but maybe in early spring next time. I don’t know about owning property though - we’re already looking at a CycleBlaze timeshare in Malaga, you’ll recall.
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4 years ago

Jen RahnOh, yes. ¡Málaga! I'd love to go back and see the finer sides of Tucson, but Málaga sounds even better!
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4 years ago

Carolyn van HoeveHi Scott & Rachael,
A CycleBlaze timeshare in Málaga sounds like a brilliant plan. Did you post something about that idea?
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4 years ago

Scott AndersonIt does sound brilliant, doesn’t it? You’re the sixth party that’s shown interest. Unfortunately it’s just a pipe dream, born some time back in one of the comments.
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4 years ago