Pima County has more that 100 miles of bike trails and lanes. A huge effort has been made to get grants to pay for them. We have met several cyclist from Canada and the US that return to Tucson every year to ride them.
Since we had ended our last long bike ride at Julian Wash, why not start there and see where we ended up.
The clouds were appreciated since it has been so warm here in Tucson this winter.
After riding 18 miles, we ended up at Saguaro National Park on the east which has an eight mile loop with a few kickers to keep you awake. Then we headed a different way back to where we started.
Love these smooth paths. Some are chip seal but this was smooth as ice.
The bike path has all sorts of interesting art along the way.
We found the mountain biking area that we had heard about along the path and decided to return the next day.
Looking at this trail map, we thought no problem. It looked like each loop came back to the middle. Boy, were we wrong. We know better than heading out without a map or GPS in a new area. Many of the trails did not have directions posted and we found ourselves going the wrong way a few times. Good thing is was a Saturday with a few people there to set us straight.
I was glad to see these chairs which meant we were almost back to the truck.
My new bike handled the washes and dips so much better without jolting my head. Sometimes on my old bike, I would feel like I was going to knock a tooth out. I guess I should have listened to Mike and gotten a new mountain bike sooner. Looks like I might be as hard headed as he is.
Many of the flowers are blooming and we look forward to seeing the cactus in bloom before we leave in April.
The Mercado is a public market a couple of blocks off the Santa Cruz bike path and there is a constant flow of cyclists stopping here. The line to Seis where we decided to have tacos was a constant 8-10 people long. It was fun to watch the kids play in the middle and flow of cyclist visiting while they ate something from one of the shops.
Tucson is such a dichotomy in so many aspects as you go from one section, street or building. It keeps things interesting.
