On the trail again

last month

We left VA 2/25 driving with our Surly Troll bicycles to Tucson AZ. For 4 yrs we went to the Venice Beach area of FL for the month of April with our bicycles ready to ride and enjoy the temperate climate . This year we wanted out of the cold and snow sooner rather than later.

We always find a home via VRBO . This year was another astoundingly lucky rental. A beautiful home in a great location. We are a few minutes from Saguaro National Park East. Also a few minutes from the 137 mile paved Huckleberry Trail that connects areas all around Tucson.

I planned our route out here so as to take advantage of Greenways and Airbnb rentals. We took 4 1/2 days and stopped early enough to ride on 3 of them.

We are here from 3/1-4/1. So far we have been amazed by a number of things . In no particular order: beautiful views everywhere, very very friendly people - on and off bicycles, incredible botanical gardens 3 of them! , extremely well maintained bike routes, a music scene we had not realized would be SO excellent! - from Jazz to Opera we will have attended 8 different events by the time we leave. A large and growing ( according to locals) unhomed presence along parts of the trail in the ” wash”. The ephemeral rivers , there are 3 in Tucson, are dry much of the year . Locals tell us it’s getting worse each year due to less rain from the monsoons and less snow melt. The unhomed population sets up tent camps in the dry washes of the Riallto , Santa Cruz and Pantano rivers. The West side of town has the most. Tucson is spread out so although there is very little traffic it takes forever to get places due to mileage. Excellent selection of grocery and farmer’s markets .

I will try to post a couple pictures in comments.

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Still trailing
Original Author

last month

This is how we roll 😊

All of the trail is like this … 137 miles , not including additional links.

The desert

I have my coffee out on one of our patios . Our rental is on the Pantano Wash so there is an abundance of birds, and small wild life.

at the Tohono Chul Botanical garden.

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Comments (32)

Jilly
last month
Wow, looks and sounds wonderful! What a great experience. :)
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Annie, when you start using your walking stick try to switch arms to an equal amount of arm strokes on each side. I used a tall walking stick in my old neighborhood that had miles of trails. You will be surprised at how you can do some serious upper body toning with a light weight stick over time. If you donÃ¢ÂÂt switch back and forth your upper muscles will become imbalanced and you will become noticeably more toned on one side. Also, try to gripe the stick in a way that disassociates your trapezoids for a nicer look. Unless you have a very long neck over developed trapes donÃ¢ÂÂt look great on a women in my opinion. It gives more of a head sitting on shoulders look. If you practice with where you are griping you can tone your arms but also tone your back in a way that will give an illusion of a smaller waist. You can also go between using short strokes and very long strokes and use different muscle fibers. . And, of course you already know that you will burn many more calories this way. This post was edited by jterrilynn on Tue, Dec 23, 14 at 12:20
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eld6161
last month
Good to hear from you! Looks like a great trip.
dedtired
last month
Hi trailrunner! Glad you are enjoying yourself. Looks lovely!
maire_cate
last month
What a wonderful bike adventure. Hope the rest of your trip is just as successful.
Springroz
last month
You all were just on my mind yesterday!! Love the bikeventure!!
Kswl
last month
Gorgeous scenery and what looks to be perfect weather—- the right recipe for a great trip. Enjoy yourselves on this latest adventure and check in with more of your beautiful photos, please!
rubyclaire
last month
Sounds like a great trip and such a lovely change of scenery from (also beautiful) Virginia!
Still trailing thanked rubyclaire
Allison0704
last month
I was hoping this was Trailrunner/C! Have a great trip, sharing photos along the way.
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
last modified: last month
Thank you. We are having a great time. A really active community . Every age on the bicycle paths and all types of bicycles. The 3 arboretums are totally different. The largest covers 100 acres! There is an aquarium and zoo and museum . We were there for hours . The other two are also incredible and have so much interesting information as you stroll on desert paths . Tohono Chul is our favorite , they have water features , a riparian habitat , which is different and adds a wonderful respite area. The Mozart opera La Finta Giardiniera will be there in the afternoon of the 22nd and we are very excited to see it. We have seen Ladysmith at the Rialto Theater and they were incredible and standing ovations were the order of the evening. Their inclusive life affirming message was very well received. We also saw Branford Marsalis and his trio at the Fox Theater, beautifully restored and we had front row seats for each.

We will be out and about so will snap a few more pictures. I take pictures with my eyes and senses and as I have gotten older I relish the freedom this gives me.

Thank you for sharing our adventure. Some here may remember DH is a jazz pianist. He has played professionally since he was a teen in 1963 - present. When we are home he plays every Saturday night at a restaurant /bar venue. When we travel this is how he spends his spare time——piano , clarinet a hobby that is in house only and his newest an Akai Ewi.

Luckily its a big house! ❤️🙏
deegw
last month
I'm glad you and DH are well! Thoroughly enjoyed your update.
salonva
last month
Always a treat to hear from you and the photos are a bonus!

Happy Trails to you!
Fun2BHere
last month
What a wonderful trip. I love hearing about your adventures.
teeda
last month
Love following you vicariously on this amazing trip. Thank you.
OutsidePlaying
last month
What a great adventure and wonderful opportunity to get to know a city in the process. Love following along with you and your DH.
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
Thank you for the kind supportive messages. We went to Cape Breton , Nova Scotia in August 2024 with our bikes. We were 3 1/2 days on the road for that trip and . I planned it again so that we had greenways in Easton PA and Portland ME no biking in St John New Brunswick we did a lot of walking . We had a house for a week on the Cape on a 200 ft bluff overlooking Chimney Rock and in the distance PEI , where we cycled with friends a few years ago. Lots of cycling and hiking. We are headed to NOTL Canada in July with our son and DIL and GS . Her parents have lived there since retiring and moving from Germany. She has Swiss, German and Canadian citizenship. We are taking our bikes and have a farmhouse VRBO adjacent to peach groves and a winery. I don't foresee biking very far LOL !!

Grands will be with us again in June for " Camp Dammie and Tappy " they are 5 and 7 now. They are acually signed up for camps in VA as they are SO much more affordable in VA then Alpharetta GA and they love being with us as much as we love them. They get to play with their cousin although now that he's a " teen" that might be minimal. We shall see.

That's an update. We will be doing something in October but TBD.

Again y'all are very generous to put up with my mostly " off again" participation here. Lots of reasons . I'll post when I am able . c
justretired
last month
We spent 15 years at the RV park on Pantano and Broadway wonderful area, food and city Be sure to make it to Sabino Canyon and Tubac!
justretired
last month
Also you can bike to Mount Lemmon amazing views
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
jr… DH doesn’t have his Trek eBike and at almost 78 and given his rapidly failing eyesight that climb isn’t on his radar. I would love to do it ! We will compromise as we do the Julian wash tomorrow and then the music venue at the Congress Hotel at 6:30 pm.

We will do the etrolley at Sabino next week also. We pass your former digs quite often! Sunday is the farmers market and riding up there on the River trail.

We are in Civano. It’s so beautiful and the homes with their incredible gardens and beautiful stucco designs are so lovely. We couldn’t take the weather the rest of the year but are loving March!

So glad you posted thank you! Where are uou now and why did you leave Tucson?
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justretired
last month
Sounds like you are making the most of your time The bike trails are amazing It is a beautiful drive up Mt Lemmon also and try lunch at the Iron Door when you reach the summit We frequented that farmers market! loved enjoying fresh produce in the middle of winter We were snowbirds ready to explore other places, but we miss Tucson for sure After 15 winters it felt like home Enjoy the rest of your visit
martinca_gw sunset zone 24
last month
Trail-c! Like others i was also hoping and guessing this must be you . It’s been too long…Soo glad to learn all is well and you two are STILL riding. Wonderful !!!
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
last modified: last month
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏
jb1586
last month
That is a fantstic trail! Wide and paved, just perfect! We bicycle several times a week on different parts of the Pinellas Trail, an old paved rail trail in and around the St. Petersburg area. Love it!
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
@jb1586 we have biked for years on every trail in the Panhandle and down the Gulf through Sarasota and Venice Beach. And we did a loop from Ft Meyers to St Augustine and back across to Ft Meyers . And Key West up through FL to Bar Harbor ME! And St Augustine up and along parallel to 90to San Diego.

The Johnny Cash song ” I ’ve been everywhere” lol
texanjana
last month
What a wonderful adventure, C. It’s been years since I have been to Tucson, and it sounds like I need to go back. Thanks for sharing.
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
Spent the morning at the farmer’s market . Incredible food and music .

Katchapurian pastry filled with spinach and cheese! yum!
Jilly
last month
That looks delicious!
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
@Jilly it was. my phone died will get more pics next Sunday. Incredible artisans. i got 2 kinds of honey, mesquite and desert wild flower. Bumble berry jam and Jalapeno Raspberry. we had fabulous french croissants from this amazing pattiserie . oh and two soups that we tried first spicy tomato and lemon lentil —- frozen in neat qt bags. Also pastries from a Maltese artisan baker.the music was a trio blues— guitar bass and fiddle. everything perfect weather and coffee exceptional. We rode 22 miles yesterday and going hiking tomorrow on Mt Lemon and riding the sky car. Have music venues Thurs Fri and Sat nights! busy week
nicole
last month
An amazing adventure!
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
Drove up Mt Lemmon then hikedup to the Summit. Lots of snow. Engaged DH in a snowball fight.. I won! ❤️❤️ he’s mine now ❤️❤️
jojoco
last month
Mine too, trail. Mine too.

But it’s a little bit lighter seeing you post again. Welcome back. You’ve been missed.❤️
Still trailing
Original Author
last month
🙏
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On the trail again

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