Oh Canada!

November 17, 2021

Tucson ride take 1

The birds are back!! Don had barely put out some feeders this morning when the goldfinches, woodpeckers and hummingbirds found us. This was one reason why we've been carrying feeders for the past few months.

He set out the rest of our feeders after breakfast then we headed over to Walmart to do our grocery shopping. While we were there he picked up more bird food and another hummingbird feeder since we know from past experience that the birds will quickly eat us out of house and home!

By the time we got back and had put things away, it was time for lunch. Don told me he had some stuff to do around camp so didn't really want to ride. That was ok with me as it's always good to have a few hours away from each other.

My route was pretty simple today - an out and back ride on the Canada del Oro bike trail as far as I wanted to go.

I headed out of the campground after lunch and hopped right onto the trail. Access for biking is very good from this state park. I wasn't sure of the mileage, but decided to just follow the trail down to the Santa Cruz River as far as I wanted to go.

The day was a little cloudy and stayed in the 70's all afternoon - a nice day for a ride. Lots of other people were out and I was glad to back in 'bent land! I saw 6 trikes and a long wheel based underseat steering 'bent. There were plenty of road riders too and everyone was pretty friendly as we passed.

It was a fun downhill run to the river, although I knew it would be all uphill on the return. My wildlife sightings included a coyote, road runner, egret and a quail.

I enjoyed my ride and made it all the way to the river. I could have done more miles on the trail that ran along the river, but I still needed to get back home before dark. So I turned around here and retraced my steps back to the campground.

The uphill did slow me down a bit but it wasn't too bad. However, it was nearly 4:30 by the time I got back to camp. Don said he was wondering if he would have to track me down since the sun starts setting by 5 pm at this time of year.

It had been a good ride and I was happy with my distance as it was the furthest I've ridden for quite awhile on my own. I didn't feel exhausted and except for a little pain when twisting my foot as I clipped in and out, my sprained ankle felt good. But I was HUNGRY and told Don to get going on those turkey burgers we'd picked up at the store!

Due to the clouds, we were treated to a another beautiful sunset while we ate. But as soon as that sun was down, it got dark and chilly. We're happy we have a nice warm trailer to retreat to at this time of year. I remember tent camping here in January and it just wasn't fun.

The Gila woodpeckers are quite the bullies! They were chasing the smaller birds off of all the feeders, including the hummingbird nectar. This is a male.

Today I rode the Canada del Oro bike trail - one of Tucson's premier trails. It follows the Canada del Oro wash. Dry now, but I could imagine with enough rain it would be a dangerous wide river.

The swirls on this barrel cactus are so interesting.

I believe this is a female California quail. It was perched calmly on top of this wall while I stopped to take it's picture. Usually I've only seen quail in small groups foraging on the ground.

Down at the Santa Cruz River (which did have water in it) I saw this Great white egret.

There was a full moon highlighted over the mountains behind us tonight as the sun set.

Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 212 miles (341 km)

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