Before the break

January 20, 2024

With three days of intermittent rain due starting tomorrow, Rachael and I plan a last ride before the break for today. First though, here are two shots from my last visit to Sweetwater that I forgot to include in yesterday’s post. I was reminded of them when Rachael was reading someone else’s CB blog last night and saw a photo of a turtle. Ooh, I want to see a turtle, she exclaimed. And so I showed her one.

Obviously a red-eared slider, for a change in a good enough shot to show where its name comes from. Taken from the same spot where I has a roadrunner strolling beneath my feet.

And a better shot of a hooded merganser than I got before, also taken from the same place. In case you’re not that familiar with this bird and are confused btw, this is the same black and white bird we’ve shown in the summer, but wearing his winter outfit this time.

It’s warm and reasonably calm again this morning, although mostly overcast - very nice riding conditions. Rachael is open to reasonable suggestions so she accepts my invitation to bike out to El Rio. It will give us a good chance to check out progress on the bike path west of Cortaro Road, and since this is the weekend it’s the best time for that because work on the construction project that’s had it torn up for the last year should be down until Monday.

And it is a good time for it. We drop down to the Loop on the first connector off Silverbell Road, the same spot as last time, and find nearly the same situation as before. The route is still aspirational at this point, with the first pavement still another quarter mile to the west. It’s improved since the last time though, with the ground graded and hard-packed and with a few intermittent sections paved. It really looks like it might not be long now until the gap is closed, but it won’t be happening in time to help us this winter. With only about a week left, I’m sure this is our last time out here.

Much better than last time, when this stretch was still rough and sandy.

There are a few short snippets that are paved, and from the look of it very recently. I think these come at spots where a firmer surface is needed - maybe because it’s at a junction point or a low one that might be prone to flooding?

Once you reach it, the new bike path is a delight to ride on. I don’t know what the plan for this whole corridor is though, and maybe eventually there will be new road on the right.

So that’s one reason I’ve steered us out this way today. Another thought is that I’m hoping to see a green-winged teal. They’re pretty common out here, although I didn’t see one last time out. Today though I’m in luck - even though there are fewer waterfowl around, they include a clump of teals snoozing in the reeds.

And as a bonus, the hummingbird that poses herself not far from me proves when I come home and study her to be a Costa’s, another new species. And actually it’s likely that I’ve seen a Costa’s here before but misidentified it as an Anna’s. The females of the two species are quite similar.

The water’s high, but there are fewer birds at El Rio today.

The ride home is a little more of a challenge than on the way out because there’s some headwind to be pushed into; and it feels like the weather is changing and on the edge of breaking out into showers. Rocky and I bike together until we get back to Ina Road, where I stop to look for any waterfowl as she bikes on because she’s in a hurry to get home for lunch; and when I get to Sweetwater I stop there too, in my latest futile attempt to stumble across a night heron before we leave town.

I’m starting to run out of gas by the time I get home, reflecting as I ride on the thought that it wouldn’t have hurt me to pack along even a little bit of food to snack on before we left. Rachael’s right - I really do need a minder to protect me from myself. For all the stalling I do though, Rachael’s not been home long by the time I arrive because she got held up once again by another interminably long stalled freight train on Granada. It’s amazing how often that happens - that’s at least the fourth time this winter.

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Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 1,333 miles (2,145 km)

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Larry MitchellDo you have a map of today’s ride? Currently compiling routes for our trip.
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11 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Larry MitchellAdded. A few comments though:
It’s from our place of course. Assuming you’d drive out here, you’d want to find a parking spot somewhere along the Santa Cruz, maybe near the Saint Mary’s access.

For much of the way on the Santa Cruz there are paths on both sides. In general the west side is better and cleaner. I went on the east side on the way back though to swing by Sweetwater.

Pay attention to the underpass crossing at Ina Road, because it’s different depending on direction.

Everything beyond Cortaro Road is a little hit and miss, depending on what’s happening with the construction project.

The ride south along the Santa Cruz to its end on Valencia Road is very nice also.
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11 months ago

Janice BranhamThanks for the view of the new section. I have been going around it it but am curious to venture down that way.
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11 months ago