The Mission loop

February 4, 2025

One of the rides I’ve wanted to check out is a loop out to San Xavier Mission. It’s a ride that doesn’t interest Rachael because of the unpleasant few miles on Valencia Way and Mission Road. I want to check it out for myself though, partly because I want to sit in the shade admiring the gleaming mission while enjoying a slice of fry bread ; and partly because I expect to pick up two new birds that always seem to be out here: bronze-headed cowbirds and Brewer’s blackbirds. And on the way there I’ll stop by Kennedy Lake to see if there’s anything new there today.

So, a simple script for myself: a bike ride with a birding stop. Rachael plans a walk for herself, which we’ll come back to shortly.

I get off to an early start, but get stalled immediately by an inbound train again. Fortunately this one is better behaved than most and doesn’t come to a halt in the middle of Granada again. It’s a relief when after just a minute or two I see the end coming around the bend.

Again? The city really does need to iinstall an over or underpass here.

An appealing sky today with just enough character to add interest.

In Kennedy Park, looking toward the Tucson Mountains from the high point of the loop.

Looks like an appealing way to spend the morning.

Here’s one of the reasons I come by Kennedy Lake from time to time. It’s one of the few places I can expect to see redheads.

I like this look. He almost looks deflated.

Here’s a confusing little fleet. Note the odd duck out at the back.

Or this pair? There’s consensus among the experts. Merlin and the iPad both think they’re some variety of mallard.

Before leaving the lake, let’s stop for a last look back toward Tumamoc Hill and the Catalinas.

Leaving the park, I stop at this spot again, thinking I hadn’t done my due diligence last time to identify this formation.

Biking out to San Xavier Mission has always been problematic for us on the route we’ve used in the past: we’d follow the loop south up the Santa Cruz to where it terminates at Valencia Road. From there we’d follow Valencia west for about a mile to its junction with Mission Road, which even though there’s an adequate shoulder is a pretty crappy mile - way too much traffic, too many red lights, poor surface, that sort of road. And from there we turned left on Mission Road for four miles until finally coming to the turnoff to the mission itself. These four miles are also crappy, but in a different way - rough surface, zero shoulder, and a somewhat ragged end to rhe asphalt that drops off into the sand. No fun really, and it’s the reason Rachael doesn’t care to repeat this ride.

Today though it’s the best it’s ever been. First, it’s much better to leave the Loop at Star Pass and climb up to Kennedy Lake on Mission Road - a good shoulder, a gradual ascent, safe, much less traffic than Valencia a road. It lets us bypass Valencia Road completely.

And then there’s this: they’re adding a bike lane to Mission Road! The next mile west are perfectly fine now, a big improvement:

Unfortunately the lane so far at least only takes us two miles. There though, there’s a turnoff to Drexel Road and a safe, bike friendly back eoute through Drexel Heighrs that lops off another mile. When it finally drops back to Mission Road again there’s only a mile left, and by now the traffic level is much lower. It really feels like a safe ride now, one I’d come back to repeat.

One disappointment today is that the outdoor fry bread stands are empty. I was looking forward to sitting on a wall looking at the mission while eating my frybread and scoring two new birds: the brewers blackbirds and cowbirds that congregate here collecting scraps from the fry bread eaters.

But the stands are vacant now, and it looks like the action has all been moved inside of a small mall to the rear of here. Rats. No outdoor fry bread, no birds. Major letdown.

It does make a scenic spot, but wouldn’t it look better with some cowbirds in the foreground?

But I’m still hungry so I go inside the complex. Frybread is only served on Wednesday through Friday, so I should be fine because it’s Wednesday today. But no, they aren’t serving today either so I content myself with a bottle of Gator Ade which I quaff in the shade while I look around.

On the way back I make a loop out of the ride, biking east out the backside of the Mission complex, crossing under the freeway and then continuing back to town up the bike path on the east side of the Santa Cruz, the same route I took back to town a few days back. All in all, a very satisypdying loop that I might repeat, maybe by lengthening it with a climb up Mission Road past the mission itself to the high point by Helmet Peak.

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While I’m out, Rachael repeats her walk out to Reid Park, sensibly dropping from it this time the stop by the Safeway to carry a half ton of groceries on her shoulders for the final four miles. Smart, Rocky!

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Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 579 miles (932 km)

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