November 28, 2021
Money, money, money....it's a rich man's world
Tucson ride take 6
It dawned another beautiful day here in Tucson with a predicted high of 81 degrees! Can't beat that. But our time in AZ is going by quickly so we want to make of the most of it while we can. We had the option of several different rides today, but ended up doing one right out of the campground that would take us north and west of Oro Valley.
By 9:30, we were out on the bike - heading north of Tangerine Rd. past the hospital and through the business park. I was surprised to see so much traffic on this Sunday morning. It seemed like everyone was out and about, including plenty of cyclists. This is a popular bike route.
I was happy to reach Sun City which was more or less at the top of the bigger climb. Not that it was bad, just a steady grade uphill.
This time we managed to find all of the correct streets to turn on as we made our way west out of Oro Valley and into the desert on Moore Rd.
What a crap road! Narrow, cracked, rough and no nice bike lane. We figured this had to be an unincorporated area since no improvements have been made to accommodate both the traffic and cyclists. Not that there were big housing developments out here. Just plenty of multi-million dollar custom homes on 14 acre or more lots. Many had ornate private gates.
Don wondered how much a piece of land would cost out here and if you had to build something specific on it. He thought it would an ideal location to have a plot of land to park the Airstream on during the winter. You'd have to have some type of electric, water and sewer hookup to make it work.
Interesting idea, but I doubt we could afford it and there would likely be some restrictions on what you could place on it - as in NO trailers! Might upset the neighbors with the 'riff-raff' moving in!
After a few miles of jouncing around we finally got to Marana where the road smoothed out with a bike lane. There were more housing developments now and less open desert.
We continued west for a few more miles before making a turn to the south back to Tangerine Rd. where we got on the nice bike path that parallels the highway. You could also ride on the road itself since there was a wide bike lane on it. We took that back east to the state park.
Once we got into the park, we continued riding some loops up to the hiking trails parking lot, then around the camping areas - just to add a few more miles to the day!
Eventually we made it back to our site where we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. It had been a good ride - plenty of climbing, rolling hills and distance.
We both felt really strong which is a bummer since we'll soon be back in Denver where we'll likely get in plenty of dancing, but not much biking unless the streets are dry. Typically Don never rides in the winter since he dislikes dressing for the cold. I don't mind as I can wear enough layers to stay warm. So I may still ride my own bike if there isn't any snow to deal with.
We're finally starting to see some different birds in camp now - a Downy woodpecker and a Vermillion Flycatcher that flitted through the trees (too fast to get a picture). It will be fun to see what birds are in the Phoenix area.
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https://www.alamy.com/looking-up-at-the-top-of-a-tall-flower-stalk-of-the-agave-plant-also-known-as-the-century-plant-sprouting-buds-image243635728.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_americana
2 years ago
2 years ago
Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 86 miles (138 km)
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