Looking for the Sun in Sun City

December 29, 2020

This was a nice separate trail along Tangerine Rd. But the clouds ahead of us looked a bit threatening.

Walking the bike across busy Tangerine Rd. was easier for us to manage. I appreciated the push button in the median but it's hard to for us to push buttons and maneuver such a long bike through these intersections. It's easier for us to stay on the street in a bike lane or car lane and act like a vehicle.

We enjoyed the landscaping along our route through Sun City. I'm thinking this is a Senita cactus?

We couldn't believe our eyes when we spotted this LIVE javelina nosing around the entrance to a subdivision! We have only seen dead ones along the roads. Unfortunately this poor guy had a broken back leg and was just limping along.

Is that what I think it is? Yup, that's snow on the slopes of Mt. Lemmon.

Heading back to the park on the Canada Trail. It never rained during the ride, but the clouds remained with us all day.

The wind had died down overnight but it was still cold enough that the furnace kicked on. There had also been a little rain that had fallen. It was partly cloudy and slow to warm up, as usual.

By 10:30 am it the sun finally came out and it warmed up to barely 50 degrees. Since that was probably the best it was going to be today, we headed out for a ride.

I was glad that I had on my long underwear layers, fleece balaclave and full fingered gloves! But I sure could have used my heavier winter gear I use at home.

We rode out of the campground and onto a trail that went under Highway 77 which connected to the La Canada del Oro Trail. That took us north of Tangerine Rd. where it turned to gravel. Nope, not going to take Garfield on gravel! So we turned around the went back to a trail that ran along Tangerine Rd. which took us west to Rancho Visosto Rd and north again.

We stayed on the street now as there was a nice bike lane and climbed up into the Sun City area. There was quite a bit of traffic on this 4-lane road but we were comfortable in the bike lane. Lots of other cyclists were out enjoyed the day.

This is an upscale over 55 community full of very nice homes. We enjoyed all of desert landscaping that had been done in yards and along the street. I was so excited when we actually spotted a live javelina nosing around the brush at the entrance to one subdivision! Unfortunately it had a broken rear leg so was just limping along. Probably the result of being hit by a car.

Our road eventually curved east and then back south which took us downhill back to the park. I was so cold when we got back that I cranked up the furnace and drank some hot tea. A short time later we another brief rainstorm. Good timing, I'd say!

The rest of the day we stayed indoors and watched the hummingbirds fighting over the feeder we had bought. We also spotted a Gila Woodpecker.

It looks like more rain tonight but we're crossing our fingers for a warmer day tomorrow.

After dinner we watched Lazarous Man - a new series we had brought with us.

Today's ride: 18 miles (29 km)
Total: 300 miles (483 km)

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