Beware the spines!

November 18, 2021

Tucson ride take 2

We sure do like this state park! Watching the birds is a big part of our morning routine. We hung a nectar feeder from our front awning so we could watch the hummingbirds while sitting at our table. But most of the time they move too quickly to get a decent picture. I cut up an orange I had and put the halves on a nearby tree. The woodpeckers have enjoyed that treat.

First thing this morning Don had to drive over to a nearby Circle K to pick up an Amazon order. It's been handy to have this service, but we found you are limited by the size of your item since their storage boxes are only so big. I've been wanting to try a new cordless vacuum but it looks like it will have to wait until we get home since it's too big to be delivered to one of their hubs.

After he got back, we got ready for our bike ride. We first took the same trail I was on yesterday along the Canada del Oro wash. Then we exited at La Canada Dr. which has a bike lane and a long climb for several miles as we headed north.

It was up, up and more up as we slowly made our way past neighborhoods and retail shopping centers. Traffic was busy on this 4-lane road and thus quite noisy. Not my favorite bike route. But we were planning to ride part of the Sun City development.

The sun was beating down on us today and it was hot out, which made it harder to climb. I kept dowsing my legs with water in an effort to prevent a heat rash.

Finally we huffed and puffed our way to the summit of the steeper portion of the climb at Tangerine Rd. There was a bike lane/trail on this road which we could have taken back toward the state park, but we wanted to explore further north to get more miles in.

There was still more climbing, but it wasn't too bad and we passed nice residential areas and open desert so it was easier to talk to each other.

I enjoyed looking at all of the saguaros and trying to identify the variety of other cactus/trees growing out here. Since there weren't any parks with bathrooms in this area, when I needed a pee break, I had to walk out among the plants.

Of course, most everything in desert has spines so you have to watch where you do your business! As I was walking back to the bike I felt a spine pierce the toe of my shoe. OUCH! Now THAT hurt! Limping back to the pavement, I took my shoe off and had to yank a long spine out of my big toe. Great! I hoped nothing was left under the skin to create an issue later on (it ended up being ok).

We followed the road as it curved to the east, not knowing exactly where we were, but knew that Sun City was ahead of us somewhere. Taking a side road took us a dead end but luckily a guy out walking his dog was able to point us back to the correct route.

His directions were spot on, and we were able to get on the right road looping Sun City and return to the state park via Oracle Rd. Don said we had done about 800 ft of climbing and maybe a few more miles that he had expected! Whew! We sure had gotten our workout today!

The rest of the day we spent relaxing under our shade awning and watching the birds. So much for life in camp!

Don found this hitchhiker lizard in the bedroom this morning, just sitting calmly on his bike jersey! We don't know how it got inside, but I was glad he discovered it before it scurried across me when I was sleeping!

Road runners are frequently seen here in the park. They are so used to people that some will literally eat out your hand.

Here's another campground critter for Bill to ID. Fortunately it was outside on our outdoor rug!

Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 185 miles (298 km)

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