Two riders, two rides

January 18, 2023

One ride

I’m nearing the end of my drug regimen and starting to get discouraged when finally see there are signs of real progress. About midday yesterday I realized I was hardly coughing any more and felt more energetic; and by evening I decided it was time to get back on the bike to test the waters. Nothing vigorous, just a light cruise somewhere to look again at the turbulent river and keep my eye out for the birds. It’s been three days since the last new bird sighting, and maybe with all this water something new will flap by.

I’ve been looking for the right time to take the Raven in for its annual physical, so I pull up the Larry Williamson VW site - the dealership where we bought the car two winters back - and schedule an appointment. The plan is to drop it off and then bike over to Rillito Wash while the car’s being serviced. If I can get through I’ll bike to the end of the wash and then up the Santa Cruz to the Sweetwater Preserve before crossing back to pick up the car.

It’s roughly 10:30 when I start riding. The sun’s out, it’s a calm day, but it’s still on the cool side. In fact we’re in for a prolonged cold spell here - most nights will be at or below freezing and it doesn’t look like we’ll get much above 60 for a week at least. Susan apparently took the good weather east to Raleigh when she skipped town, the rat.

It is looking promising on the bird front though. There’s a lot of activity as I bike down an unpaved alley on my way to the Loop. Nothing new, but certainly enough to attract my notice and give me enxouragement. It continues as I bike northwest along the loop, my attention split between the wash full and flowing on the right and the mesquites on the left. I put together a pretty respectable tally of ten birds for the day in just the first mile: house finch, house sparrow, starling, Gila woodpecker, lesser goldfinch, mourning dove, curve-billed thrasher, western bluebird, red tailed hawk, Anna’s hummingbird. Nothing new yet, but certainly entertaining.

This house finch looks like he’s getting plenty of carotene in his diet.

The curve-billed thrasher looks annoyed by the swarm around him in his perch in a lemon tree. Pests!

A rare day on the loop. We’re lucky to be seeing it like this.

Two interesting sightings down in the wash - a guitar, the blond object to the right; and this man who’s been fighting his way through the reeds for the last few minutes to reach it.

Camino de la Tierra is barricaded at both ends today. This is the road we were forced to detour around on our ride with Janice two weeks ago.

One last look, since we may not see it like this again for a long while.

The flow has abated and the water level lowered from yesterday’s torrent, and I’m feeling hopeful that I’ll be able to get through to the Santa Cruz when I pass several bikers coming from that direction. It’s not happening though. The path is barricaded when I reach the rail underpass, the same spot that stopped Rachael’s ride yesterday. There’s a crew member guarding the entrance to make sure no one proceeds. She informs me that there’s a work crew clearing the trail, and a sweeper that spans the entire trail. Come back in an hour or two or tomorrow, she suggests.

I’m not surprised, really. My backup plan was to just improvise a detour route if this happened, which I find easily enough after staring at the Garmin for a few minutes. A zig zag through scruffy neighborhoods, trailer parks and rough-surfaced roads brings me to El Camino del Cerro, the nearest freeway crossing to the south. Not the most attractive route or one I’m likely to repeat, but it does bring me to an classy piece of junkyard art I haven’t seen before.

Chuck’s Trucks, on Camino de la Tierra. Worth a detour? Maybe not, but it’s a nice find as long as I’ve been forced this way.

I’m enjoying the ride and just being out on the bike again, but I’m not really expecting to see anything new at Sweetwater Preserve today. What is this - the third or fourth time I’ve been out here, and other than a single canvasback I haven’t really had much success. I’m charmed though when I look out on one of its ponds and see something I’ve read about but haven’t witnessed before - a shoveler circle. One of the shoveler’s characteristic behaviors is to sometimes assemble in large groups and swim in circles to stir up food.

A shoveler circle, and a disinterested egret.

I’m wrong about the day though, and pleasantly surprised to turn up not one, not two, but three new species. First, there’s the cheery verdin combing the cattails for insects and spiders. I’ve had my watch out for the perky verdin ever since we arrived. Verdins are actually a pretty common wintering species here and one I’ve seen in previous years, but they’re hard to spot. You have to be in a suitable environment, and in luck.

And then there’s a warbler hopping around in the center of a willow. I wait around in vain for it to expose itself, but don’t really expect any of the poor photos I’ve taken will reveal anything. I’m pleasantly surprised later when I conclude that the only reasonable bird in this season is an orange-crowned warbler.

#48: Orange-crowned warbler. Not the best sighting and might be confused with a yellow warbler, but I feel confident. Yellow warblers winter further south, in southern Mexico and Central America; and this species is the only wood warbler commonly seen here in the winter.

And then, as I’m back on the loop again I pass by another normally dry basin that’s flooded today and full of a wide variety of ducks: pintails, shovelers, mallards, scaups, widgeons, ring billed ducks, green winged teals, the works. They’re pretty far out there, but I just know there should be a bird I’m looking for in the mix if I’m patient and stare hard enough. And I’m right - finally a gadwall drifts near enough to the path to become bird number three for the day.

#47: Gadwall. Now that I know what I’m looking for, the males are easy to identify: about the size of a mallard, with a black bill, a black patch on the rump, and a steeply sloping forehead.

And actually I’m pretty sure I saw a fourth new bird, a ladder-backed woodpecker - but he flew off too quickly for a photo or a good sighting. Hopefully it’s not the last of these I’ll see this year. That’s it though, but way more than I’d hoped for out of the day.

I bike another mile or two down the road when I notice that lazy slug Rachael has finally gotten herself out the door and is speeding her way north on the opposite side of the wash. When she’s close enough to come into sight I send her a canned text from the Garmin: “Send Help”. Sure enough, it gets a response - a few seconds later she brakes to a stop, reaches into her bag for the phone, and then looks up when I shout out to her from across the wash.

Not long after I reach for the phone myself and learn that the car will be ready for pick-up shortly, nearly two hours earlier than promised. I’d been planning on continuing on home and waiting for the call, but instead I turn off when I come to Grant and work my way back north. Not a bad ride - 17 miles in only three hours!

The acacias are in bloom along the Sweetwater Preserve.

The other ride

I’ve been back a couple of hours when Rachael enters the door and announces that it was a mixed ride, some bad, some good. First, she briefly runs through the bad stuff - a frustrating outing, starting with a broken shoelace that holds up her departure while she first tries to retie and rethread it and then gives up and steals one from one of her old walkers. Then it’s a slow go that’s stalled here and there when she works around flood-caused detours and eventually just has to turn back, with only a disappointing 35 miles to show for the day.

But then, three encounters on the way back saved the day. First, an excellent encounter with a roadrunner right beside and then on the trail, taking its sweet time and putting on a good show. Next, a coyote appears not far off the trail, her first sighting this winter. There really does seem to be more wildlife activity after the rains.

And finally, the really big surprise - a pair of three-wheelers pedaling her way pull her over. They spotted the Bike Friday and realized it was Rachael. Why? Because they’re CycleBlazers Larry Mitchell and his wife, down from Alaska on their multi-year quest to bike in 50 states. Another CycleBlaze meetup! And totally unexpected - I’d gotten behind on the blogs and hadn’t known they were coming through Tucson. What luck!

Later, I’ll feel envious when I read Larry’s post of their day. If you haven’t read it already, you should - he has come remarkable photos of their own roadrunner and coyote encounters.

CycleBlaze Meetup #4: Larry Mitchell and his wife.

Ride stats today: 35 miles, 800’; for the tour:1,048 miles, 37,500’

____________________

2023 Bird List

45. Verdin

46. Orange-crowned warbler

47. Gadwall

Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 1,044 miles (1,680 km)

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Janice BranhamPretty great day despite the obstacles.
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1 year ago

Ron SuchanekDon't forget to go see the big metal birds at the boneyard.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Ron SuchanekThanks for reminding me. I’ve been saving this for tomorrow, when it will be too cold to bike. Unfortunately, I see I missed my chance - it’s closed to visitors now, with no word on when it will reopen.
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1 year ago