Tag: tucson

J&P 11: Tucson to Casa Grande

Posted on February 20, 2011March 4, 2015 by Rich

Waffle House at 7AM. Jesse was already there with raisin toast, coffee, and orange juice. I wasn’t too hungry and so ordered the same thing. Unfortunately, Jesse had been battling a chest cold since day one, and this morning it was definitely worse. Various group gatherings in front of Motel 6, and finally we hit the road by 8:15AM or so. Today is traditionally the easiest riding day on clockwise years, a long gradual downhill into Casa Grande, but I could feel the northwest breezes into our faces right away. The winds shifted slowly to the west, and I took

J&P 11: Florence to Tucson

Posted on February 19, 2011March 4, 2015 by Rich

I slept pretty well, despite the steady flow of tar and nicotine. At 6:30AM I opened up my door for some fresh air, and waited until 7AM to meet Jesse. We rolled out to catch an electric sunrise over the state prison and then made a few cruises through Old Town Florence, which looks sort of like an unimproved Tombstone. We pedaled over to the Holiday Inn where there was a Burger King and, I was hoping, other choices, but found none. We returned down the main drag to Old Pueblo, already open for breakfast. I had a pancake sandwich

Douglas AZ: Through McNeal

Posted on December 5, 2010March 16, 2011 by Rich

What a hot room! Even though my heater was off, the air got stifling. I finally touched the walls and found them very warm – the heat was radiating in from the office or some other source. About midnight I reached over to the window air conditioner and cranked on the fan only. With it being 40°F outside, I soon had a nice equilibrium 70°F, however inefficiently obtained, and so ran the fan all the way until 5AM. I met Jesse at 8AM. We rolled again to the old west main street (Allen Street) and found the OK Café for

Tombstone AZ: Riding on I-10

Posted on December 4, 2010March 16, 2011 by Rich

I woke up to see 2:21AM on the clock, and never got back to sleep. Keyed up to go, with dreamlike thoughts swirling around my head, I lay in bed sort of quarter dozing, waiting for the morning. At 6AM I opened my door to find Jesse ready to go. We considered Denny’s again, but instead drove the X5 about 6 miles north of Davis-Monthan AFB to Joe’s Pancake House that got great reviews. It turned out to be perfect – friendly service, local customers, homey comfortable atmosphere, good coffee, and tasty fare. I enjoyed coffee, eggs, pancakes, and grits.

Tucson AZ: Starting Point

Posted on December 3, 2010December 11, 2010 by Rich

I spent the entire day fiddling with my gear, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Temperatures in southern Arizona had been cold, with many nights down in the 20s, although the forecast was for warmer weather. In the end, we decided to nix the tenting this trip and stay in low-end motels. Without a tent or sleeping bag, I had plenty of pannier space. I decided to take all four bags anyway for better weight distribution, and felt funny with them being almost half empty. I dragged out my laptop and charger to take along, then weighed

Mt Lemmon Climb

Posted on September 14, 2010September 13, 2017 by Rich

Making plans on endorphins can certainly be fun. Jesse and I had just finished the always fast Tour de Sue route with the Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club. We started off leisurely, but after the 2nd rest stop on Riggs Road we pounded it to about 90% of our capacity. That guy is one strong rider and it was all I could do to stay up with him. We pulled into Arizona Bread and sat down for breakfast with Ed, Jules, and a few other riders. With the endorphins energized and the conversations cycling-centric, one rider named Gary mentioned that the

J&P 10: Tucson to Florence

Posted on February 14, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

I awoke around 6am, but rolled over and dozed off again, especially when I saw that Phil had decided to do the same. About 6:45am I decided to get moving, and just about then a key went into our lock and the door opened. Only then did I realize that “Phil” was actually a pile of pillows on his bed, and that the real Phil had been up for quite a while getting coffee. Phil left again, and I eventually got dressed and headed out across the cold parking lot, still well before sunrise. We had debated last night on

J&P 10: Casa Grande to Tucson

Posted on February 13, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

Breakfast was included with the room at the Holiday Inn, so Phil was up by 6:15am. A nice looking buffet table turned out to be meagerly supplied, and the breakfast area was quite understaffed. The eggs and pancakes were passable, the bacon not so. Other riders slowly drifted in and scrounged up their morning fare as well. Just about ready to go, Phil stowed his bags in the RV. We generally congregated for a while out front, just socializing and seeing what other riders were doing. Pretty soon there were 7 or 8 cyclists all ready to go at the

J&P 10: Preface

Posted on February 11, 2010December 4, 2014 by Rich

Having a century under my belt in December, I kept up a decent riding schedule throughout January in anticipation for this year’s J&P Tucson Tour. This being my second year for it, I knew better what to expect and how to pack. My front tire, which had been rotated from the rear a few months ago, was showing serious wear, so I decided to again change both out for my touring tires, reasoning that they would handle the additional weight better, and be more resistant to road debris. Just like last year, those tires were a real beast to get

J&P 09: Tucson to Casa Grande

Posted on February 15, 2009December 4, 2014 by Rich

Phil’s up quickly again this morning, about 6am. I used my cell phone as an alarm clock and it works very well. In the morning darkness, we hoof it across the street to the Waffle House, which some of the riders have dubbed the Awful House. Phil gets a nice big plate, while I order just a waffle plus 1 egg and some OJ. Just as we’re finishing, Jan, Carol, and Diana show up and occupy the booth next to us. Mary Ellen calls around 7:30, then arrives at our room to pick up her bike. We soon head to