Nice (but windy) bike ride and dinner with Bill’s cousin

This was our only full day here, so we planned a nice bike ride. But before we headed out, Bill took Mouse on a walk. We try to do this twice a day when we travel. He is used to spending time outside when at home.

Mouse is comfortable with the harness and leash. But, know that he walks us,

Our planned bike ride was to be around 45 miles using the central part of The Loop, Tucson’s extensive traffic free bike network. We started on the path along the Rillito River for about 8 miles.

The Santa Catalina Mountain Range with the (dry) Rillito along the bike path

After the Rillito River we turned up the Pantano River path, which was a gentle upslope path, but the fierce headwinds made it feel like we were on a steep incline.

I hung back to take this next one of Bill on the path.

You can see how slight the slope was, but also notice the reduced visibility due to dust

At this point we were 15 miles into the ride, feeling the wind, but we had 7-8 more miles before our turn around. we had to make it to Julian Wash. Our hope was with the slight change in direction and the downslope the riding would be easier.

Well we made to the wash, but the wind was still strong and directly in our faces.

We headed down the wash toward downtown Tucson. Along the way were several artistic works.

Bill under one of the arches along the route

As we approached mile 35, we had two issues. First, we needed to eat and secondly, Bill’s knee had begun to bother him. So, after lunch, Bill left his Bike at the restaurant and took Uber to our truck, then drove back to pick up his bike, while I rode my bike the most direct route to cover the remaining 10 or so miles.

I met Bill at our origin and we drove back to Oro Valley to rest before dinner.

We had a nice time with Bill’s cousin, Susan!