The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Tucson Sunshine and Saguaros Spring 2018

March 3rd to March 10th

Ride Director: Sharon Reed
Ride Co-Director: Pamela Stern
Report by: Jay Mead

Forty-one intrepid riders encountered some heat (not much), saguaros, rattlesnakes, roadrunners, a serious climb or two, raptors, and truly magnificent scenery on this year’s Sunshine and Saguaros ride in Tucson, Arizona. This fixed base ride put us in a fine hotel next to Tucson’s extraordinary Loop, a buttery-smooth path winding more than 50 miles around and through scenic Tucson neighborhoods. This is one of this pleasant city’s greatest amenities, as any BAC rider will agree (“a great civic achievement” said one enthusiastic rider)—a beautiful bicycle and walking path that loops around the entire metropolitan area.  Tucson truly welcomes cyclists, with this great Loop and excellent bike routes throughout the city.

This is a fixed base ride, with maps and cue sheets for over 30 ride options. Leaders Sharon and Pam offered a suggested itinerary each day, but independent-minded BAC riders often do their own thing, so here is a summary of some of the rides taken through the six days of riding:  Saguaro West and Saguaro East National Park are always popular, each with a lovely desert loop ride, especially Saguaro East—one of the great rides in the country (word to the wise:  don’t forget to bring your National Parks Pass—you do have one, don’t you?—for free admission).  Many riders combined Saguaro West with a visit to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, a great introduction to the fascinating flora and fauna of this high, bone-dry region (another word to the wise:  arrive before 10am so as not to miss the unforgettable raptor demonstration).  Another day, another challenge:  Mt. Lemmon, at over 9000 feet, with a road you could ride up as far as you wanted.  Sabino Canyon is a beautiful excursion winding up into the Catalina Mountains—a group of BAC early risers were riding up the canyon before 8am so as to be off the road per regulations by 9am in favor of less-hardy tourists in the tram. Agua Caliente is a delightful 30-mile ride to a beautiful and surprising small lake in the eastern hills in this desert country, and a popular ride was the full loop, 52 miles through the city with almost no hills, resulting in a long and pleasant day on the bike seat. Tucson Botanical Gardens and Tohono Chul gardens are great. There were many more possible rides, and of course you could construct your own: Tucson is very bike-friendly, with many bike lanes on even the busiest roads.

Leader Sharon Reed and assistant Pam Stern did a great job, and all appreciated their hard work to make this ride a success. Happy hours were festooned with excellent snacks and drink (notably the welcome and completely unexpected appearance one day at happy hour of chocolate-dipped strawberries), and Sharon provided detailed and entertaining commentary every evening about next day’s ride, safety issues, rattlesnake sightings (of which there was only one, fortunately), and Tucson lore. Food in Tucson can be great (best Mexican in the country), and the two group dinners reflected that, especially the trip to the classic El Corral, to which we all mosey’d on the last evening (“moseying” is the only possible way to arrive at this classic Old West bar and steakhouse). The weather was great, as it usually is (60s to 80s everyday under cloudless skies), the riding was sublime, the people were delightful and interesting (The Tripper endorses Mariella Smith for Hillsborough FL County Commissioner in 2018!), and this ride was a wonderful experience.