February 9, 2023
Gates Pass Loop
In praise of the out-and-back ride
Quick summary, reading time 1 minute…
It’s great to have the wheels to drive to a beautiful place for a bike ride, but I’d rather just step out the door and ride from wherever here is at the moment. For today I have mapped a loop over Gates Pass starting from our trailer at the RV park.
After today’s ride I get an automated email from RidewithGPS asking me to rate the route. For those who long for brevity, I'll copy that review here first:
"If you do it as an out-and-back, this is a great route from Mile 10 where you meet the Loop north along the Santa Cruz River to Mile 27 at the turn onto Kinney Road. You have 7 miles of Zen on the Loop along the Santa Cruz River, 5 miles of light traffic gradually climbing through nice neighborhoods and 5 more going up and down Gates Pass Road. Just turn around there at Kinney and ride back to the start. It's just as beautiful, although a bit steeper coming back. The rest of the loop on Kinney Road and Ajo Way etc is not fun, too much traffic. You could also start from the lot at Santa Cruz River Park at Irvington, a mile south from where this route meets the Loop."
Here's the route we did from Desert Trails RV Park:
Here's what we'll do next time - an out-and-back that skips the busier roads. Should be good training for Mount Lemmon:
Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to move on with your day, or stick around for more …
First let's talk about the fun stuff, like the glorious Tucson Loop. The underpasses are one of my favorite things about it. They're all adorned with different art, and the fun little hills that drop down under and back up spice up the ride.
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One thing about the underpasses on the Loop that I'm appreciating more today is that they eliminate intersections, where crashes involving motorists and cyclists happen most often. We've read a fair amount of research on this in a Cycling Savvy certification course I am currently taking on strategies for safely navigating traffic. The next Zoom session is tonight so it's on my mind as we continue through the underpasses at Silverlake and Starr Pass. You do have to be careful on these and be prepared for oncoming cyclists, blind curves and hills. But these passages are so much safer. It's truly wonderful to be able to ride here, free from the stress of the streets and intersections.
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After four lovely miles we come to this artful park at Huron Street just south of Speedway; a good bathroom stop. We hoped to have lunch at the Coyote Pause Cafe on Kinney Road closer to the end of the ride, but they close at 2; we won't make it. I see there are a few lunch places within a mile of us. We ride a short way around the block to Mariscos Chihuahua.
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Back on the path after lunch, we get 3 more miles on the Loop before turning west into the Silver Creek neighborhood, and continue on quiet, attractive residential roads. Traffic is fairly light and slow and the desert provides plenty of eye candy as we get into the easy part of the climb.
After the turn from Ironwood onto Gates Pass Road the real fun begins. The grade here averages 4% on the 3.5 mile stretch to the top of Gates Pass and gets as high as 12%. It's not too busy and very doable. There are a few other cyclists and a few cars - I'd guess most of them are here for the view. As we chug along, they wait patiently behind until its safe to pass.
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At the top we stop at the lookout point and celebrate our conquest of the mountain. It's not too windy today, a fine time to walk around and take in the view. Next time I'll try to remember to pack a snack for a picnic and some hiking shoes so we can venture out on the trails around the peak.
Continuing west from the top of Gates Pass we do the two-mile joyride down the mountain to Kinney Road.
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From here the ride south on Kinney to Bopp and back to the RV Park is part of the route that we'll skip the next time. But the first 10 and last 7 miles we did today on roads with more traffic was an interesting experience. I had plenty of time to observe what motorists did, especially when they passed us.
At the start of today's route there is a four mile stretch on Bopp Road. It's a steady climb east on two lanes with little to no shoulder and moderate traffic. The road isn't wide enough for cars to safely pass us in the same lane, not that they all understand this.
Mostly I ride in the middle of the travel lane so drivers can see they have to change lanes to pass, and I watch them do it in my rear view mirror. If it's safe to pass I'll offer a slow wave around to encourage them to go, and another friendly wave as they go by. The practice of controlling the lane and actively communicating with drivers one of the skills practiced in the Cycling Savvy program.
Little roller hills sometimes make it hard to see the road ahead and motorists have to wait a bit to see if its clear before they change lanes. Sometimes several cars queue up behind us waiting for an opening. At one point we stop on a side road to let three cars pass, but usually when there's a line behind us we aren't near a safe place to pull off.
A couple times I move further to the right as a platoon of cars comes around. Some drivers still do a full lane change, some straddle the center line and a few get close enough that I swerve to the right to get some distance. The same thing happens later on Kinney Road. When I stick to the middle of the lane, I don't have to play keep-away.
Barry is not comfortable riding in the middle of the traffic lane. He prefers to stay further to the right in an effort not to annoy drivers, and tolerates the close passes. I get it, I don't feel especially welcome out there. Our car-centered culture sends us the message that we have to stay out of the way for our own safety, and nobody I know enjoys inconveniencing motorists. But I feel safer and more visible to drivers when I control the lane.
We're visitors here in Tucson and I'm not well versed in the local culture around cars and bikes. I'm interested to hear others' perspectives on riding with traffic in Tucson or anywhere else. You can learn more about Cycling Savvy here. It's a great resource for learning strategies to be safe on the road.
At the same time, our next trip up Gates Pass will be more fun when we load the bikes on the car, drive past the busy roads and start on the Loop. Looking forward to it!
Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 219 miles (352 km)
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I also like riding right out the front door! A friend and I went round and round about this. It was not a pleasant discussion. She thought I should stay near her, in Oro Valley. I don't especially like the path riding up that way. There's only one path (the Canada del Oro) and it's too busy for my liking.
I finally hit on a root issue. 99.9% of my rides at home are directly from home. Jan lived in Denver before moving to Oro Valley. She said from her home, they had only one good ride. To her, riding to the start is the way it's done.
That, I think, was key to our disagreement. For me (and every person is different) the most important thing about finding a place was being able to ride out the door. The morning view while I drink coffee? Well, I don't drink coffee . . . for Jan, that was #1, sitting on her lovely patio, and looking at the mountains while sipping coffee. I could understand her POV, but I don't think she understood mine.
Sorry, maybe more than you wanted there!
Anyway, here's what I've found about road riding in Tucson. I love Tucson, I don't say much negative about the town. I'm amazed, given that I've lived my entire life in small towns, how much I enjoy the city.
Negatives - Tucson is far too trashy. It's unfortunate, but a fact. Oro Valley is not trashy, FYI. The roads to the south are in much worse condition, the further north you go, the smoother the roads are. What I love about Tucson road riding is that the roads that are suitable for bicycles are very well marked. Cars and bicycles both know where they should be. The marked bike lanes go clear through the intersection.
We spent Christmas this year in Palm Springs. I did exactly one lengthy ride. I was surprised, given the area, how poorly the streets were marked. They did have bike lanes, but they disappeared at the intersections, reappearing after the crossing. With six lanes of traffic across, I want to know, and want cars to know, where I should be! In the area we stayed, virtually all side streets were gated communities, so there was no getting off of the main thoroughfares. That caused me to like Tucson's appreciation of the cyclist even more.
If you look on RWGPS and search Tucson, you will see local rides. There's also a group called Cactus Cycling that has rides on their website.
Look at my RWGPS ride for Jan 22 or November 1, for two good rides that include East Saguaro Park. Starting at Michael Perry Park would be a good location, or over by Kenyon Drive. I like to eat at the food trucks at 22nd Street and the bike path, at the end of this ride.
That's probably a lot to digest. My almost apologies - I love Tucson and get a little excited about sharing, especially when talking about bicycling here!
1 year ago
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Coming back is the problem though. There are three choices- back over Gates pass (too steep, narrow and twisty to feel quite safe to me), the Ajo Highway (safe enough, but too busy to be pleasant) and north out Sandario Road to Picture Rocks or Twin Peaks (two lanes, no shoulder, too much traffic in my opinion).
1 year ago
But that's Italy, where the culture is very different.
Stateside, it's a good idea to study each state's rules of the road. Some states specifically say cyclists should keep to the right "as far as possible" while others say "as far as safely possible" or "as far as practicable". Those last two are, of course, more nuanced and subject to interpretation but it pays to know your rights.
You'll never win in the event of a collision or an encounter with an ignorant and/or intolerant driver, of course, but it always helps to know what the legal requirements and expectations are.
The better strategy is, as you've already observed, to avoid those types of roads altogether, or at least as much as possible.
1 year ago
That language is, as you observed, open to interpretation, but there's good research demonstrating the risks of riding on the edge, and in poorly designed bike lanes. Controlling the lane is the safest approach when it's unsafe to ride on the right. To me that's the most practicable.
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