The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Tucson Spring Warm-up

March 9th to March 16th

Ride Director: Jerry Porter
Ride Co-Director: Kim Porter
Report by: Gloria Kreitman

BAC TRIPPER REPORT - TUCSON SPRING WARM-UP

MARCH 9-16, 2023 

Ride Leaders: Jerry and Kim Porter

Submitted by: Gloria Kreitman

Tucson is an amazing place to ride especially in the spring time when it’s sunny and mild with cool mornings and warm afternoons. While most parts of North America were experiencing harsh weather–atmospheric rivers with driving rain and wind, landslides, record snowfall and bitter cold–this intrepid group of riders from Canada and across the U.S. met in Tucson to enjoy the unique riding experience. There were many “first timers” on the Tucson Spring Warm-up Tour and several highly accomplished riders with experience on more than 20 BAC Tours.  The group also included 3 tandem couples who set the pace on many routes and sailed down Tucson’s gently rolling hills.  

Riders got acquainted at the Welcome Meeting on the first day and subsequently met each day for Happy Hour to review the day’s ride and discuss plans for the next day’s adventure.  The routes offer a variety of cycling from short /long flat paved pathways to hill climbs.  Several routes had remote starts but most started at the entrance to the Loop, right behind our hotel at St Phillips Plaza.  

Love the Loop

The Loop is a 137-mile interconnected network of pedestrian/bike paved pathways to get around the city.  A newer section stretches into Oro Valley. Many riders rode this section of the Loop to the entrance of the Catalina State Park.  Along the way we saw roadrunners, rattlesnakes, hawks, beautiful flycatcher birds, and coyotes. The Loop was accessible right from our hotel and it was a joy to ride on smooth pavement without cars.  The complete loop ride of 53.9 miles connects the Santa Cruz River Park with the Rillito, Pantano, Harrison Greenway and Julian Wash. There are gorgeous views, interesting wildlife, and plenty of rest stops with bathrooms along the way. 

Great Hits

The Art Mural Ride was a big hit with riders.  This shorter ride went through downtown to experience some of Tucson’s more than 100 brightly colored street art that portrays the area’s rich cultural heritage and the natural environment.  We loved those jackalopes, javelinas, quails, coyotes, and roadrunners up on the walls and larger than life riding bikes!

Another favorite was the 28 mile Sabino Canyon/Tohono Chul Loop ride.  After riding to the entrance to Sabino Canyon and locking up bikes, riders took a shuttle that stopped along the way to see and learn how the canyon was formed and what kind of plant and wildlife live in the canyon. Further into the ride, we saw Tohono Chul Park which contains an extensive desert garden of beautiful native plants and several cultural exhibits.  Some riders got to enjoy Tohono Chul with live music by Italian classic guitarist Giovanni Accadia!

Saguaro National Park East is known for its Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive. It's a paved 8.3 mile road with few cars and gentle rolling hills.  This ride was ~50 miles with ~2000 ft. of climbing and worth the effort.  

For a day off from riding, many riders visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This zoo/botanical gardens/museum, is currently rated #1 on TripAdvisor for Tucson "things to do".   We got there early to experience the Raptor Free Flight show where birds native to the Sonoran Desert region are flown in open space, fast and low, barely over our heads.  There is yet more to see and do there. Here are a few highlights: the hummingbird aviary, underground cave, gemstone and rock exhibit, desert garden walk, gray wolves, mountain lions, and javelinas.  The 41 mile Saguaro West/Gates Pass-McCain Loop is a popular but technical route. This ride wasn’t recommended by our leaders for the tour participants due to the fast narrow descent and some very tight turns.

Mt. Lemmon

For those riders who want the ultimate challenge, Mt. Lemmon is a fantastic ride. According to John Summerson, "The Complete Guide to Climbing By Bike", Mt Lemmon is 33rd on the list of 100 toughest road bike climbs in the US, with sustained 4-6% grades up Catalina Highway from the desert floor to the summit at elevation 8000’.  

Kim Porter, Ride Co-Director, met us with drinks and snacks part way up to the Windy Point Vista which was the destination for most riders (~6000’ elevation).  Two riders kept going up for another 1000-2000’ to see snow and get a snack at the General Store on top followed by a nearly endless descent of 25 miles. Fantastic achievement by all!  There were many pro cyclists training on the mountain that day.  The scenery on the descent was breathtaking with unique rock formations, wildflowers and even waterfalls.  

Ride. Explore. Eat. Ride Some More

This city has it all.  We rode together and enjoyed great food at the local restaurants–from 

Vegan, Italian, Peruvian and Mexican cuisine to Frank’s “inelegant” home-style food.  We ended our tour with a fabulous group dinner and went home with new friendships and wonderful memories of the excursion.

The Jerry and Kim Porter team put together a well planned and enjoyable trip. A special thanks to Nancy and Michael Kirk for creating 27 RWGPS routes with cue sheets to enable riders to explore as much of Tucson as time allowed.  We’ll have to come back!