Day 12: Benson to Tucson

April 7, 2016

Today is the longest day of the tour but also the last day of the tour. It doesn't matter if I end the day feeling too exhausted to bike tomorrow. I left Days Inn in Benson at 8:15. High overcast sky, but warm.

I pedaled a mile south to I-10 Business in downtown Benson. Then a mile west, uphill, on Business I-10 until it merges with I-10 proper. Then 12 miles on I-10, climbing 400 feet and descending 400 feet. Easy but loud and monotonous. There is no access road but the shoulder has a rumble strip most of the time. No development whatsoever along the highway, just desert. No complaints about the view.

I passed several exits on I-10 but had to go 12 miles to reach the first parallel road that actually goes somewhere. Marsh Station road was the main east-west highway before I-10 was built. Very low traffic because most of the traffic is on I-10. Rough pavement. But I enjoyed it immensely, maybe because it was so quiet and peaceful compared to I-10. But also because I was getting back into the Sonoran desert.

Marsh Station road crosses Cienega Creek on an impressive old concrete arch bridge. The creek had no visible water but it's lined with cottonwood trees. The height of the bridge suggests that the creek is occasionally a torrent during the monsoon season.

Cienega Creek bridge. The creek was dry but it has water during the monsoon season.

Marsh Station road was the main east-west highway before I-10 was built.

First sign that I'm getting close to Tucson.

On the fringes of Tucson I turned right onto Colossal Cave road. The first 2 miles was the only unsafe road of the tour with no shoulder and heavy traffic due to several strip shopping centers. Conditions were much better after turning left on Camino Loma Alta and left again on Old Spanish Trail. Both roads have a decent paved shoulder and moderate traffic. It wasn't extremely stressful but it was obvious that I was nearing a big city.

Old Spanish Trail has a lot of traffic but has a paved shoulder and is signed as a bike route.

After 10+ miles of suburban style traffic I turned right into Saguaro National Park. My wife and I visited the east unit of Saguaro National Park once in a car but this is my first visit on a bicycle. The cyclist entry fee is $5.

The main attraction in Saguaro National Park east unit is the 8 mile Cactus Forest drive which is a 1-lane, 1-way paved road with a speed limit of 25 mph. The first half is mostly uphill and the second half is mostly downhill. I arrived in late afternoon and traffic was very light.

The ranger at the park entrance warned me about this turn.

The turn is at the bottom of a short 12% downgrade. In the distance is easternmost Tucson and the Santa Catalina mountains.

Cactus Forest drive was the only place on the tour where I saw a large number of flowering cacti. The prickly pear blooms were just getting started. April is the peak month for flowering cactus. March is the peak month for flowering ocotillo. Wildflowers bloom pretty well both months.

Cholla (pronounced cho-ya) is not exactly the friendliest plant in the Sonoran desert.

The only photo of me during the tour, on the Cactus Forest Drive in Saguaro National Park.

The Cactus Forest drive does have occasional Saguaro cactus, but far fewer than can be seen in the west unit of Saguaro National Park on the opposite side of Tucson.

The Cactus Forest drive is worth a detour because it's so scenic and bike-friendly. The one lane road puts you pretty much in the middle of undisturbed desert. No fences, no driveways, no mailboxes, no power lines. More deeply immersed in the Sonoran desert than any other part of the tour.

The Cactus Forest Drive is one-lane, one-way. Steep uphill sections have a climbing lane for bicycles.

The Cactus Forest drive has a large number of Ocotillo on the roadside. They were all blooming, so to some extent the Ocotillo were more impressive than the Saguaro.

Cactus Forest Drive, Saguaro National Park. Nearly all the Ocotillo was flowering. Pronounced o-ko-tee-yo.

The day started out with high clouds and the clouds became denser as the afternoon progressed. By the time I left the park it looked like it could rain. But it never did.

Nice sampling of Sonoran desert plants. Even a couple of semi-rare barrel cactus.

I was quite tired by the time I left the park, with another 15 miles of city traffic still to go. The first few miles were downhill. The last few miles were flat. My route was mostly west on Irvington road, south on Wilmot road, and west on Valencia blvd. Wilmot road passes through the middle of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base with views of the famous "boneyard". The roads had heavy rush hour traffic but every road has a paved shoulder signed as a bike lane.

Tiny portion of the U.S. Air Force "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

On Valencia Boulevard I passed the Pima Air and Space museum which was much bigger than expected. Huge museum building with about a hundred planes on display outside. I would like to see it.

Valencia Boulevard is a bike and pedestrian friendly 6-lane boulevard across southern Tucson.

I arrived at Quality Inn Tucson Airport at 6 PM. I was exhausted and the sky threatened to rain. There were a few sprinkles in the evening but most of the rain evaporated before reaching the ground.

The pedaling began and ended at Quality Inn Tucson Airport.

Today had a high of only 81F (27C) because of the clouds. It was pleasant. I had a tailwind most of the time and a net descent of several hundred feet. I expected Tucson to be an inferno but it turned out to be pleasantly cool.

It was a long day but the Cactus Forest drive was one of the highlights of the tour. Worth the detour.

I will stay 2 nights at Quality Inn Tucson Airport. Tomorrow I will rest, pack the bike, and meet my wife's relatives. I hoped to visit the Pima Air and Space museum but I feel a cold coming on and don't have the energy.

When I arrived the check-in clerk couldn't find my bike box. The following morning a different clerk found the box in the conference center kitchen.

Distance: 70.3 mi. (112.5 km)
Climbing: 2363 ft. (716 m)
Average Speed: 11.0 mph (17.6 km/h)

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 466 miles (750 km)

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