Hondo Gravel

I plan on riding to bike paths around Tucson in November. Any advice or suggestions?

pdlamb

Go to any of the local bike shops and ask them for the map. I think it's on line, but I've never been able to figure out how to print it so it's legible (I don't have access to a billboard printer).

The path up near Rita Ranch from Valencia is a lot of fun, and the Rillito River paths are OK if you can avoid peak pedestrian and dog times. The Santa Cruz River paths were a bit of a pathfinding exercise (where'd the path go??) the last time I rode it. If you're going up Pantano Wash, there's a Culver's ice cream store half a block off the path on the west side of Broadway - good place to cool down.

Traffic is not always pleasant on Old Spanish Trail if you want to go up the Saguarro NP east. (Or is it north?) I enjoyed riding to the end of the pavement on the east end of Tanque Verde more, though the path ran out before that; nice view of the city from part way up the hill.

Of course, if you like climbs, you can either start at the bottom and climb up all the way to the top of Mt. Lemmon, or you can drive part way up (until it gets cooler) and ride from there. Take plenty of water! Weekday traffic and weekend mornings are usually good times to ride, as the drivers have learned to coexist with cyclists even though there are no bike lanes.

As you might expect, you'll need to drink lots of fluids, and do avoid the river underpasses when there are thunderstorms in the area.

andrewclaus

The Loop path is very good and well-signed--no map needed for that one. I remember lots of water faucets too.

Mt Lemmon may be the best road climb in the country. There is a climbing lane for bikes up to the high point (mile 19?), a couple miles before Summerhaven. Not for descending, though, since bikes can almost keep up with traffic. The ride past Summerhaven to the summit is not much fun.

andrewclaus

Leaving town to the SE is pretty fun, past Colossal Cave Park, the town of Vail, and out Marsh Station Rd to the Arizona Trail crossing. Past that is not so much fun. To the SW, Mission Road is fun but narrow. San Xavier del Bac is an interesting place, the "white dove of the desert." Sahuarita and Green Valley have some nice cycling.

stardognine

I've been as far as Spirit Mountain, so far. It still comes down to, how much water can I carry? 🤔😉

Hondo Gravel

Thanks for the replies. I like Arizona one of my favorite states when on a road trip. I figure November weather will be cool and nice to cruise a bike around.

saddlesores

great riding outside of town....but be prepared for goatheads.

redcon1

I've done Tucson in November and December 4 times-- a really nice metric loop including the Saguaro NP, one attempted (& aborted) climb up Mt. Lemmon, and lots of miles on the greenway paths. The issue for me, being from the east coast, is that it's always hot and water becomes a premium. Last year I was on the greenway and 40 miles in I missed my cage and my only cycling bottle rolled off the trail into a 20' deep wash with steep concrete sides. No way I could get to it. So I had only a gatorade bottle with a threaded cap, which meant I had to stop to drink. On the trip up Mt. Lemmon a few years ago, I had planned on a trailhead where water was supposed to be at about 8.5 miles up from the base, but there was none to be found there in early December. I ascended up a few more miles until I was parched, and then just turned around and rode back down to a gas station to rehydrate.

If I go back I'm taking my hydration pack.

diphthong

hard to miss the loop. only rode a few miles of it back in february but the stretch i rode (s-sw of dtown tucson) was well-paved and well-signed with plenty of access points. regret that i didn’t have more time for the loop. if you’re able to get out to it, i definitely recommend riding the saguaro national park-east unit loop. it’s 9 miles with 800 feet elevation gain. i only had time to do it once but i could have easily repeated the circuit 3-5 times to get into the 30-45 mile range. the road goes through the lushest desert i’ve ever seen.

stardognine

Ha, I forgot all about this thread, but it looks like I'm trying to confuse myself, with different Spirit Mountains. 🤔😉 As you folks know, there's a Spirit Mountain, South of Phoenix, headed towards Tucson. And there's also one in the Southern tip of Nevada, which I came somewhat close to recently. This one in Nevada, has some old petroglyphs, that some say show proof of UFOs visiting, in the old days. 🤔