West Saguaro Park

December 26, 2020

This rock was in the sink of the fancy potty in Marana.

Ignore the background and concentrate on the three tall trees.

This was the airport at Marana. It must have long runways for these big planes. For a moment I thought I was really turned around and was by the Tucson airport.

Typical scenery after I rode out of town.

I don’t know if it’s a public parking lot, but many cyclists start their ride in our motel parking lot.

Heart

Comment

Link

This is a life I could get used to. Sleep in, with a leisurely wake up. Eat breakfast. Go for an all day bike ride. Shower. Eat. Relax. What a life. Jacinto asked yesterday if I was ready for a day off after seven straight days of riding. Usually I would want a day off. I've been riding touring length days every day. But I know my days of riding in the warm sunshine are limited and I want to make them count.

My legs and my mind have been ready to ride every day. I've had extra routes created, it's just a matter of selecting one. Hmmm. I still have to ride the entire loop. But I'd rather do that on a low traffic day because I anticipate navigation issues in the downtown area.

I've been riding some area of The Loop the past few days. How about a little road riding? I pick a route that Steve recommended, up toward Manara. Jacinto's gone this direction a couple of times and was going back again today. It's possible we would see each other.

Off I rode. Within three miles I saw a Velomobile, an underseat steering recumbent, and two trikes. It looks like people are out exercising today, working off the excesses of the holiday. It took a little extra maneuvering to wind around all of the trail users. I was in a good mood. Bicycling in December in the sun will do that for a person. Not getting lost also helps. I've been here long enough now to get the lay of the land. The entire day, I only got turned around once, and I caught myself right away.

I was back in the land of mask wearing path users. It's also the land of the electric bicycle. I've been puzzled several days by electric bikes with giant tires. 4"? 6"? Why ride on the path with such huge tires? Then I decided perhaps they are heading to some off road trails. That was my best thought. Those bikes go really fast. I've seen a man twice with a santa claus beard who rides so fast that his beard is parted in the middle. I think that's too fast for a bike path.

I rode all the way north towards Manara and got off the path at mile 16.5 at a park with a large portable potty. It was handicap accessible. The toilet seat was so tall that even my feet were at least 6 inches off the ground. I had to sort of hop down. It was odd . . . It even had a sink with water! That was just the pit stop I needed. I got my apple out to eat as I bicycled down the road. I wanted to eat it before the climb started. Look at me, getting into the local spirit. I had a 500 foot climb coming up and I needed to eat first!

Jacinto has been talking up this area. It seemed a little high traffic to me. Perhaps because it's the day after Christmas? Spending so many days on car free bike paths could be a contributing factor.

Sanderio Road was newly paved and had a small shoulder heading south. The north bound lane did not have a shoulder.

The town of Picture Rocks seemed to occupy the four corners of the intersection. A little store on one of the corners looked like an interesting spot, but I needed nothing. Today was a busy day, with lots of vehicles coming and going. I hoped for a shoulder as I turned onto Picture Rock. No luck on a shoulder, but the road surface was acceptable. I was now in West Saguaro Park. What little I could see looked amazing. Traffic was practically constant. I needed my full attention to automobiles. I had to use a little more of the lane than I would have because there were raised reflectors ~12" into the every ten feet or so. When I was forced to go over them, it was a noticeable thump, thump. If there's a good/traffic free time to ride this road, I'd like a re-do on the day. It could be spectacular with the right conditions. The climb was gradual except for the last push to the top. It would have been a perfect photo, looking at the curvy road in the distance, but the traffic gave no opportunities for perfect photos. I asked Jacinto and he said he was in the same situation. Maybe Scott will have better luck.

I was ready to finish the downhill and get back on the car free bike path. I'd better not get used to this, I'm back to real life in only a week. I navigated happily back to the bike path. I had 12 familiar miles back to the motel. Yay! I'm good with familiar. The people watching keeps things fresh. Speaking of fresh, I was feeling good and bypassed the motel by a mile to get a little more mileage in the bank.

We have been talking about our return home. I have spoken to my boss about either retiring or staying, but getting a week off in the fall and a week at the beginning of February. Our friend offered I could leave my bike at her house and fly in. That's tempting. We could even leave the van (again) and fly home. That would give us two extra days of riding now. But either one would really commit me to returning in February. The boss might not be so agreeable when the time comes.

I'm not bored at all with riding the bike path. Our location at Campbell and River is located to reasonably ride three directions all on the bike path. Jacinto doesn't like navigating the walkers on the path and mostly does road rides from the motel. He says almost all roads have a roomy designated bike lane and he's fine with riding on the roads.

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 380 miles (612 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	3
Comment on this entry	Comment	0