Sellarole Road

January 30, 2025

AFD#6

We’re doing our own thing today: I’m planning on stretching my distance out a bit by biking east to Sellarole Road and back. It’s a simple script: an out and back with a birding stop on Sellarole. At the end of the day I’ll have another outing, downtown to the HUB for a twice deferred Nonalcoholic quest run.

Rachael’s script is a little more complicated. She’s walking a loop I drew up for her to Reid Park and back by the Arroyo Chico complex of trails and bike paths. She also plans on a Safeway stop about four miles from the end, so she can load herself down and get some weight-bearing action.

The short story: it’s a near perfect day script-wise, with no adversity for the sixth straight day. Pretty dull, huh? I’m sure some of you’re secretly missing those bad story days already. They made for a really tough two months for Team Anderson, but provided a lot of cheap entertainment for you. Tough - get used to it. We’re starting to get this method thing down, and don’t plan to look back.

Scott’s ride

Like the ride to El Rio, the ride to Sellarole Road has been one of my stretch goals on my road to recovery. Sellarole Road is a delightful short connector between the Loop as it follows the lip of Pantana Wash over west to Harrison Road, where the Loop picks up as a gradually rising shoulder as it continues north before finally cresting out around Valencia Road.

Sellarole Road is just a bit wild and rustic, and one of my favorite miles in the entire system. I hope it never gets upgraded much beyond its current state. It’s pretty shabbily paved, with a single one-way lane on both sides of a short,shallow arroyo. There’s almost no vehicular traffic, because the road dead-ends at Pantano Wash so there’s no reason to drive here unless your’re associated with one of the few ranches and residences on the street. There’s a narrow one-way-at-a-time bike path that diagonals across the blocked end of the road so bikes can get to the other side.

I like everything about the place. I like the character of the road itself, I like its access to an unspoiled section of the Sonoran Desert, and I like the birding. It’s the most reliable spot in town to come for a look at a Harris’s hawk. And if I had to hazard a guess, I expect this would rate high on Bill’s list also, our resident herpitologist, bird, and cactus expert.

There’s plenty of time for Rocky to fit her walk in. Might as well wait for the day to warm up more.

It’s a stretch goal,so I push the weather envelope on this chilly morning by bundling up and getting an early start. Also, I modify my usual route to knock off a few miles by following the University Bike Boulevard further east to its end at Columbus and then following Columbus north to where it connects with the Loop a few miles east of Treat Street. So a part of this ride is experimental, testing out a new route northeast that will draw a little closer other stretch goals I have in mind that are still further out: Sabino Canyon, Agua Caliente Park, Remington Road, and the eastern unit of Saguaro National Park.

And I’m pleased to say that Columbus is perfectly acceptable, developed very similarly to Mountain Avenue. The bike lane is a somewhat rougher ride than Mountain, but for me at least it’s well worth the tradeoff to shave seven or eight miles off a lengthy out and back.

Eastbound on the University Bike Boulevard.

I arrive at Sellarole Road right on schedule. It’s just turning noon, and I’ve budgeted myself for an hour here on this miracle mile before heading home, with the goal of being back by around three. Let’s start with a few landscape shots of the road itself.

Here we’re at the eastern end of Sellarole Road where it joins Harrison. Were looking north (and away from the direction the Loop goes from here) toward the Catalina Range and the rounded top of Mount Lemmon.

A view west down the southern lane of Sellarole Road, looking back toward its dead end (except for bikes and peds) at Pantano Wash.

And now, let’s follow a short side spur that soon comes to a gate beyond which vehicular traffic is prohibited. I’m mostly wandering around looking for birds, but I take plenty of time to enjoy the cacti also.

I didn’t bring the lock with me, but I’m never more than 100 yards from the bike and it’s always within sight. I don’t see another person here the whole time I’m wandering around here.

I call time just past 1:00 and head back to pavement. I could shave another four miles off the ride by backtracking down Columbus, but roughly 40 miles feels like the right distance for the day so I follow the Loop all the way back to Mountain Avenue and return that way. I expect it to go fast - the next 15 miles are all gradually downhill, and I expect a tailwind to accelerate me.

Expectations aren’t met though when the wind gets reversed on me from what was predicted. It’s still a fast ride, but not that fast. And it takes something out of me, enough so that I’m happy when I come to the rest area at 22nd street to stop, lighten my load, and then break out the emergency rations for a brief trailside break in the sun.

Northbound, descending along Pantano Wash just on the left.

It’s not long past three when I return home. It takes me a few minutes to complete my arrival script (keys in their place, charge the camera battery, change clothes, put away the camera and Ray-Bans, remove bike-specific stuff from the rucksack, use the bathroom).

When I’m done I see that Rocky is only a few blocks from home herself so I decide to wait until she arrives to touch base before heading off for a bite and brew.

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Rachael’s walk

Rachael returns pleased with both her performance (a fast paced 12 miles, with minimal complaints from her wrist and foot) and with the walk itself. I suspect it’s one she’ll repeat this winter.

She’s maybe less impressed with her decision to go out of her way and stop by the Safeway though - or at least by her decision to totally weigh herself down with another four miles of walking ahead. That Rachael: like Madeleine Pass, she’s one tough lady!

On the Treat Walkway, a footpath across Arroyo Chico that bikes have to detour around.

On Eastland Street, approaching the entrance to the park.

Her triumphant entrance. Rocky returns with an attitude.

Loaded down from her stop at the Safeway on Broadway and Campbell that she’s been carrying for the last four miles.

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As a reminder, my plan was to walk down to the nearest streetcar stop and catch the tram downtown to the Hub, one of the traditional spots Rachael and I would eat out at in years past. I can’t say I’m as impressed by it now, after it’s been remodeled over the winter. The half chicken with orecchiette and broccolini certainly fills the bill though, and they have a nice Athletica offering I haven’t seen before.

The best part of the outing though is the walk to the streetcar. For some reason I decide to walk down University instead of 2nd for the first time, and am nonplussed to see a sign in front of a structure I’ve never noticed from this side even though we’ve been biking past it with regularity. Its a playhouse!

And, it’s the explanation for why there are those two colorful murals on the east side of this building, including the Jesse Walters one I showed you when I detoured this way lured by the song of a thrasher the other day. It’s decorating the back wall of the Rogue Theater.

We’ll have more to say about this old Rogue in a coming post, but for now let’s just note that it’s currently running a play I remember reading half a century ago in college, The Playboy of the Western World. Hold that thought.

The Rogue is at the Y, a junction between two of old Tucson’s most iconic streets: at the intersection of University Boukevard and 4th Avenue.

The second mural on the east side of the building. I took a photo of it earlier also, but a car was cluttering up the view then.

Looks sufficient. Seems like there’d be leftovers, but at least I skipped the ice cream.

Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 414 miles (666 km)

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Bill ShaneyfeltYour opinion "herpitologist, bird, and cactus expert" exceeds me.
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