Sabino Canyon

January 14, 2022

We started the day rehashing the arguments for and against buying a pair of Garmin Varnia RT515 Rearview Radar Taillights, something that recently came to Rachael’s attention somehow. She read enough reviews to decide she was seriously interested, but to be sure she initiated a CycleBlaze Forum post a few days ago to get additional input. I was pretty lukewarm on the idea at first, but after reading the generally glowing responses from folks who have fallen in love with the device and apparently now wouldn’t leave home without one I’ve changed my mind.

We decided to get them, but as usual there are issues to hash out. Should we buy them here, or wait until we get back to Portland? Will we be able to mount them effectively on Rachael’s Bike Friday? If we buy them here, we’ll have to pay roughly $35 in sales tax. If we wait until we get to Portland Rachael might not get much of a chance to try hers out before we leave for Europe because she’ll be recovering from her nasal surgery. If we buy them here, should we bike out to the inconveniently located REI or get them at nearby Fair Wheel Bikes? REI has a generous return policy, so if she buys it here in Tucson and it doesn’t work out for her she can easily return it in Portland. Fair Wheel is much more convenient, a great shop and a place we’d like to give business to but they don’t do refunds on electronics. It’s expensive, and she might not like it or be able to mount it effectively, she fears. It’s not that expensive, and of course we’ll find a way to mount it, says I.

Finally she decides or I convince her to go just to Fair Wheel, see one for herself and talk to them about the mounting question. She comes back less than a half hour later happy as a clam (and what’s that about, anyway? Why would clams be happy, and how would anyone know the difference?) with her new radar light mounted on her bike.

So that’s clarifying. We won’t be riding out to REI together so we’re free to take whatever ride we’d like. Rachael just wants to put in some miles while she experiments with her new device, so she sets off for Marana. I’m getting just a bit bored with the Loop, so I head off to Sabino Canyon to get my own look at that incredible crested saguaro she saw two days ago when we were hiking there.

So, that’s pretty much the story of the day. She gets her 49 miles in and comes back elated with how great the radar light is. I get fewer miles in, but I do get a look at the saguaro and a few more desert delights besides. And on the way there I stop in at Fair Wheel myself and pick up my own radar light. It’s still in the box though, so I can’t comment from my own experience just yet. Stay tuned for a product review.

On Third Street east of the university I finally come across a chimney with a bit of character for the Cycle 365 Challenge.

A block later and here’s another, with a cluster of chairs and some positive sentiments to boot.

An interesting saguaro I pass by on the way out to the canyon.

On Tanuri Drive, climbing toward the Catalina Foothills.

I was about fifty yards away from the Great Created Saguaro when its location was revealed to me by a group of women walking the nature trial. Oh! Amazing! Amazing. Oh, that’s so amazing! That could only mean one thing. When I got there myself, I reacted much the same way but more quietly.

In case you try to view this cactus yourself, it’s on the Badaja Trail, a short nature trail near the visitor’s center. You really can’t miss it - there’s even an information panel in front of it. The cactus below is just a few yards away from it, also right on the trail

This nearby saguaro is pretty amazing too. I knew to look for it because Rachael had found an article about the cacti on this nature loop. I’m sure I would have noticed it on my own, but without the article I doubt I’d have seen it’s most interesting feature - the small prickly pear growing in one of its crotches.

There’s more than saguaros on the nature loop. This dead staghorn cholla, for instance.

And this Paper Flower (Psilostrophe Cooperi).

There’s a bit of water flowing in Tanque Verde Wash.

An Albert’s towhee! This guy was a frustrating subject, scratching away in the sand in the bottom of Rillito Wash. 95% of the time he’s nose down hard at it; then he’ll lift his head for just a second to swallow some morsel he’s found and then immediately digs in again. You have to anticipate when he’s going to lift his head and then snap fast.

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Kelly IniguezCould you tell me on your map about what mile the crested saguaro is? And the one with the prickly pear growing inside? I can't readily tell where you did any walking . . .
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezI locked my bike up at the edge of the visitor center parking lot and walked in. It’s a very short distance. I added a map to show the location.
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2 years ago

Ride stats today: Rachael, 49 miles, 1,200’; Scott, 37 miles, 1,200’.

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 1,633 miles (2,628 km)

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Suzanne GibsonThose Garmin tail lights sound interesting. Hope they work for you. Aside from the beep to warn you of on-coming cars, I think it's a great idea to ride with a tail light even in the day time. We always do.
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2 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThe combination of the radar and tail light The radar is integrated with our Garmin Edge 1030plus and they make me feel a lot safer on busy or windy roads. Also, the tail light works better than any we’ve had in the past.
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2 years ago