February 2, 2025
Oro Valley
Well, I think we’ll stop here with declaring we’ve had another Adversity-Free Day. With some help with the scientific method and scripts honed on the continuous improvement model, it feels like we’re back to normal again. There will undoubtedly still be the occasional good or bad story to tell and remember but it feels like we’ve reverted to norm again.
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We have a simple script for today: we’re biking together out Oro Valley to the traditional spot where we’ve turned back in the past, just shy of the end of this branch of the loop at Tangerine Road. There’s a picnic table in the shade there where we can look across the wash and admire the rugged north face of the Catalina Range. It’s another of my stretch goals, lengthening out just a bit more the length of ride I feel confident in.
The day’s script has a kicker at the end: another Date Night! We were excited a few days ago to see that one of our favorite musicians we followed in Portland, Jeff Foucault, is performing tonight at the Congress Hotel. So of course we’re going downtown for that.
While we’re settling in at our lunch stop we look up and see a roadrunner just ahead of us and watch as he quickly zips across the path and disappears into the shadows. Rachael gets up and walks off in that direction, and soon falls into an extended conversation with a runner standing there.
And then, while they’re chatting away they’re interrupted by the reemergence of the roadrunners - an entire family of them this time, frisky kids and all. Fortunately Rocky had her phone with her and was quick to get the video on.
One of the family - the adult male, I think - came over to my side and interrupted my conversation with another group of bikers, down from Vermont for the first time and a little disoriented. We set aside the map I was trying to coach them from to observe the roadrunner, an animal they’d never seen before. None of them is a birder themselves, but they did acknowledge recognizing it as a being a bird.
On the way back now, we make another traditional stop in this ride, pulling off to use the facilities at the Steam Pump Ranch.
Things go off the rails a bit when we return to the Loop, because of the confusion from the fact that there are two access ramps back up to it. Somehow we chose differently, and it takes me a minute to realize that I’m not seeing Rachael ahead or behind me. We’re in another round of Who’s in Front, an old favorite we haven’t played in quite awhile. We handle it well though - I simply phone her so we can validate that she’s still behind me waiting for me to show up. A few interesting but pointless exchanges try to assign blame for this one, but soon enough I see her coming around the bend and we’re back on plan.
A little disconcerting for a few minutes, but nothing that rises to the level of an adversity. There’s not even material here for a good story day.
Sound track: The Best is Yet to Come, by Grover Washington, Jr.
The day ends with another successful Date Night, once again facilitated by our well-tuned Business Stop script. We’ve got our flashlights with us for walking home after dark if we decide to return by streetcar, we know the time of our dinner reservation, we know when the doors open for the outdoor music venue, we’ve brought layers.
And it really is great to hear Jeff Foucault again, for at least the fourth time now. Probably the only hitch is that it’s pretty chilly outdoors, but Rachael manages to find us a table below a heater and then talks a staff member into lighting it for us.
When time comes to leave we decide to take Uber, and about three minutes later our ride pulls up and drops us at our gate a few minutes later.
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Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 513 miles (826 km)
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