Bicycling Reports

Travel using a bicycle, whether on paved or gravel roads or trails.

Bicycling Mount Lemmon, Winter 2016

April 7, 2016 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

We have a view of Mount Lemmon to the north from our winter home in Tucson. Mount Lemmon, the high point of the Santa Catalina Mountains, has an elevation of 9157 feet. It rises about 6300 feet above our home. Linda and I have bicycled up and down the General Hitchcock Highway many times to various destinations on the mountain. This past winter we decided we should see how high up the mountain we could ride. After gradually reaching higher destinations over several rides we finally reached our goals.

The General Hitchcock Highway (aka Catalina Highway) climbs from near its base in Tucson to Summerhaven. Near Summerhaven a side road climbs through Ski Valley and past a gate to the gated and fenced Sky Center.

The General Hitchcock highway is a very popular bicycling route for local and visiting bicyclists. It is a great bicycling resource providing good workouts, fun descents, and excellent views of the Tucson Basin and surrounding mountains to the south.

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El Tour de Tucson 2015

November 28, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On November 21st Linda and I rode in the El Tour de Tucson 2015 event. There were four event routes of 104, 75, 55, and 40 miles. We had last participated in El Tour de Tucson ten years earlier but this time we were spending the winter in Tucson and wanted to ride the longer 104-mile route. It had been 6.5 years since I last rode 100+ miles in a day, so I expected a challenging day. Of the 5365 riders finishing a route 2431 riders completed the 104-mile route, including Linda and me.

The 104-mile ride started at 7:00 am. We had been advised to start lining up by 6:00 am so we got up at 4:00 am, fed the dogs, stopped for coffee and a scone, drove to downtown Tucson, and found parking. We found the “Silver” assembly area for those expecting to finish between 7 and 9 hours and joined the crowd. It was a cool morning so I wore most of my warm bicycling clothes.

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Bicycling Kitt Peak, Arizona, March 2015

March 15, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, March 13, Linda and I enjoyed bicycling up and down Kitt Peak east of Tucson. We had been bicycling several days in Tucson and thought we were ready for a more ambitious ride. It was a fun and memorable ride.

We parked my Jeep near the start of Arizona Highway 386 and its junction with AZ Hwy 86. The climb started gently, but soon steepened. Overall, the grade averaged about 7% for the 12 miles to the summit area. On our climb the traffic was light and there was an adequate shoulder. The climb was strenuous, but enjoyable.

Linda on summit of Kitt Peak — Linda near the summit of Kitt Peak

We rode our bikes around the Mayall Telescope. Linda started down and I began scouting how to tag the summit when a security guard drove up and told me to leave. Apparently the short road off Highway 386 to the Mayall Telescope is now open to “authorized vehicles” only. My bicycle and I were not authorized.

We visited the Visitor Center before enjoying the descent back to my jeep. There was a Border Patrol checkpoint on the highway on our drive home, but they let us pass without comment.

Arizona Bicycling and Hiking, March 2014

March 31, 2014 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Linda and I spent several weeks in March of 2014 visiting Arizona for bicycling and hiking. This was our third Spring visiting Arizona and we were curious to see locations we had not previously visited. I enjoyed hiking several Arizona “prominence peaks”: Mount Ord, Pinal Peak, Mount Graham, and Chiricahua Peak. The only significant snow I encountered was on Mount Graham, and it was manageable. The weather was ideal for hiking and enjoying the scenery.

On March 10 we camped near the city of Sedona. The next day we moved camp to Dead Horse Ranch State Park near Cottonwood. We explored around Cottonwood on our bikes. On on March 13 we relocated to Payson Campground and RV Resort which was our base for four days.

On March 14 we drove south from Payson on AZ Hwy 87, turned east off the highway, and followed a gravel road to a locked gate. From the gate we hiked to the summit of Mount Ord, a 2000 foot prominence peak in the Mazatzal Mountains. The weather on the summit was light and intermittent hail turning to drizzle with thunder in the distance. But the hike was pleasant with good views of the mountains and valleys south of Payson. After returning to the highway we visited Fountain Hills, near Mesa.

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