Mt. Lemmon Day

January 24th, 2014 - Climbing Mt. Lemmon

This was one ride we had planned months ago, the scaling of the highest peak in the Tucson region, which covers an elevation gain of nearly 6000' over 25 miles.  It's a popular route for Tucson locals, with the traditional starting point being at Le Buzz coffee shop near the base of the mountain. Jerry and Barb, also spending some of the winter away from their home in Seattle, volunteered to lead a group and provide a support vehicle for the day.  What a nice thing!
So the mountain road has lots of switchbacks, beautiful views, and decent pavement.

The grade rarely exceeds its steady 5% rate, but it's relentless for 25 miles.  So we were happy to both enjoy the climb, and also to get to our destination at the town of Summerhaven near the top.  After a lunch break we headed back down the mountain, of course not taking nearly as long to descend as it had to get up in the first place.

Mission accomplished!

A dilemma...Chicago in January or Tucson in January?

When friends Susan and Kirk Reed told us nearly a year ago that they had booked a trip to Vietnam for this January, something in the back of my mind set off a spark.  But not to go biking in Vietnam, as fascinating as that trip surely is.  So eventually we volunteered to "cat sit" for the Reeds while they're traveling.  It's a thinly veiled reason to escape the winter weather, but...hey, it's good enough for us!

Our back yard just after Christmas

Arizona desert view on January 19th

We'll let the photos speak to the matter!
Both of us are fortunate to have jobs that allow us to plug in remotely and work from our laptops. This made staying for an extended period an easier decision.  We packed up the bikes and shipped them via Fedex to arrive the day after Jeff's flight, which came a week before Mark's due to some other commitments.  Jeff had a chance to ride around town once with Susan, visit with Kirk a bit, then dropped them at the airport early the next morning.

What a year to have had this opportunity!  Back home winter was working on becoming the 2nd or 3rd coldest ever recorded, with temps well below zero on multiple days and nights.  In contrast, Tucson was a little warmer than average, typically 65-75 during the days.  Jeff wasted no time, even while working virtually full time, finding enough daylight to ride 650 miles for the month.  We met up with some other biking friends of Susan, some of whom we had met on previous trips, and others who became new ride connections. Mark jumped into the fray when he arrived as well, biking several hundred miles and swimming outdoors in the YMCA pool.  Ah, the simple joys are really the best, aren't they?

Rain in Death Valley???

Saturday, February 26th, 2010: The group we're with for the next 5 days is organized by an outfit called AdventureCorps, which runs some of the toughest races in the country for endurance athletes. This trip is more relaxed; kind of a Spring Training Camp for cyclists to help get in shape for the nice weather that will eventually come to the Midwest.

We flew into Las Vegas Friday morning and met up with our good friend and neighbor Susan Reed, who was already traveling in the Southwest. Driving out to Death Valley we began to get some hints that there was more to this area than we realized. It sort of sneaks up on you, as we crossed a mountain pass at 5000' elevation and then began a long 30 mile drive downhill. The Furnace Creek Ranch resort sits at 190' BELOW sea level, in the middle of the mostly barren basin of the valley. Who would have ever thought that rain could threaten the first day of a trip to Death Valley? Average February monthly rainfall for Death Valley: 0.30" - rainfall for today only: 0.36". In spite of this our group of 50 riders went out for a warm-up ride of 25 miles through the area known as Artist's Palette. The potential for rain had been in the forecast but we laughed it off, saying to ourselves "how bad can a rainstorm be in Death Valley?" hahaha...we were completely soaked, our shoes filled with water, and our lack of rain gear a definite mistake on Day 1.

Over the next few days though, it was warm and dry.  Discovering the valley in all its splendor - barren yet beautiful, with rock formations, geologic strata, vistas that stretch for miles, was a real American experience.  We hiked, biked, ran, attended a Park Service presentation on the origins and makings of Death Valley (fascinating) and the week culminated in a Century ride with a dust storm swirling all around us.  All in all, a grand week in a remote and spectacular area.

Saturday, September 26

The word for today was "climb". After a final breakfast with the Adventure Cycling group in Olema, we headed for San Francisco via Mount Tamalpais, which offers a stunning 180 degree view of the city, bay, AND ocean, assuming that you tackle the climb up the mountain first! Though we agreed that yesterday's impromptu climb over the coastal ridge to Limontaur Beach was steeper and tougher, Mt. Tam, as the locals call it, was plenty challenging. It kept going and going. It was a 4 mile climb to Ridgecrest Road, and then it was another 3 miles of rollers with 3 short steep climbs to the parking lot that was the kick-off point for another 3.5 mile climb to the peak of Mt. Tam. You get the idea. By the time we reached the peak, we had been climbing for 10.5 miles. Mark began to bonk. The heat was becoming oppressive too. After enjoying the views at the top, a coke helped temporarily revive Mark. Unfortunately, on the descent, Jeff had a flat in his rear tire but it was quickly changed. We continued heading down through the beautiful town of Mill Valley, at one point getting totally lost before a local biker led us to the right spot, and we re-joined the bike path that runs south through Sausalito and back over the Golden Gate bridge into San Francisco. We stopped for a quick sandwich in Sausalito which once again revived Mark. It was across from the famous house-boats of Sausalito -- a colorful "neighborhood" of unique houses on the water. We arrived back in San Francisco to the hostel in Fort Mason around 2:30 p.m. We rode on to our hotel and then took a cab back to pick up our luggage since we couldn't ride and shlep our bags all in one trip. Then...we were off the bikes after a week of beautiful riding, great scenery, and a terrific group of fellow Adventure Cyclists.

Friday, September 25

Today's ride was from Guerneville to Olema, approximately 50.2 miles. We left camp in a fog as we rode 7 miles to the coast and Highway 1. Today's ride was primarily coastal as we headed south through Bodega Bay in Tomales Bay. The rugged coast along Highway 1 is spectacular with magnificent views around each corner. However, Highway 1 has no guard rails so it was a bit scary to ride with a scenic yet precipitous chasm next to the road. So foggy we almost rode by our scheduled rest stop (but not quite). Pine and at time Eucalyptus filled the air making it an aromatic ride too. We headed inland north of Tomales Bay which was unclear at the time, but then we turned west again on Dillon Beach Road and proceeded to ride back to the coast on pretty and mostly hilly road with one tough climb through forest before arriving in the town of Tomales for lunch. Tomales Bay has oysters, seals, and white sharks and is teeming with sea life.

After lunch we rode south along the edge of Tomales Bay to Point Reyes Station, another quaint little town. We stopped at the local organic market and found two t-shirts that we really liked. One says: "cycle, cycle, recycle," the other says: "Keep Life Simple - eat, sleep, bike."

We finished today's ride by 1 p.m. and had already checked into the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge. So on the recommendation of Ian, the Adventure Cycling route marker (his only job on this trip), we biked into Point Reyes National Seashore and road the 9 miles to Limontaur Beach. Of course, a significant range of hills stood between us and the beach. The first few miles to the summit were moderate difficulty and about 5-7 percent grade with a few short, harder spots but as we began the descent on the other side, we saw the warning sign: "17% grade". Yikes! Did we want to bike up this on the way back or did we just want to turn around at the top? We decided to continue and proceeded down to the beach for some spectacular views of the ocean and shoreline of sand and cliffs. On the return, we were dancing on the pedals rocking from side to side up the 17% grade. It was tough but we did it! The 5 mile climb back up was worth it as we got to coast downhill the remaining 4 miles at 35-40 mph. I'm glad we took this extra bit in as the park is definitely worth visiting.

Dinner was BBQ salmon, fresh corn on the cob and chocolate mousse -- very nice once again.

The coastline was a nice change from the wine valleys. Cooler air after several days in the high 90's is a relief.

Thursday, September 24

Thursday September 24 - Days typically start out cool and foggy making for dramatic views on our rides. Today we left Calistoga and the Napa Valley and headed into the Alexander Valley, a beautiful valley filled with lots of vineyards. Because we were heading closer to the coast the temperature weren't in the 90's during the afternoon. The roads were in good condition and traffic was light, and overall today was a beautiful, picturesque ride on country roads! As the morning went by the wine country gave way to beautiful coastal wooded areas with more climbing and twisting roads. For the wine connoisseurs on the trip this was the last chance to stop for wine tastings along the ride's route.

We stopped in Healdsburg, a nice, affluent small town for some coffee and pastries and conversation with some of our fellow bikers before moving on down the road to Guerneville. Guerneville is an unassuming little town of 1000 in the woods, known as a travel destination because it's on the Russian River. What it really feels like is a holdover from the days of "Turn on, Tune in, Drop out" hippiedom. Apparently a substantial cash crop of a particular agricultural product remains a big part of the local economy today!
What we did discover when we arrived in Guerneville and stopped for yet another coffee and pastry is Armstrong Woods, an old-growth redwood forest approximately 2 miles outside of town. We rode there after our coffee break with Amy, another biker from our group and a grad of Evanston Township High School (1 year apart from Mark)! In fact, her folks still live in Evanston. Small world. The redwood forest is peaceful and beautiful with giant diameter, tall majestic trees.

We stayed at the Highland Dell B&B which is very nice, right on the Russian River, but can't say the Russian River is anything special. It has attracted vacationers for many years for boating and fishing; maybe we're just not seeing its attractions like some locals do. We had a quick bite at "Don's Dogs" across the river from the B&B, where we met Murphy the cafe mascot, and had to compete with her for our lunch and the cook's attention. More than the river, this is the kind of local flavor we like about small towns.

Wednesday, September 23

Rest is important. Many people on the tour spent this day doing something other than biking. Some decided they needed a respite from 90 degree days and camping and checked into a local hotel/spa. Calistoga is a quaint little town with hot springs and mineral baths, good restaurants and assorted shops along it's main drag, and dozens of wineries surrounding town. Some opted for a short bike ride to local wineries for some wine tasting. Some tried a mud bath -- a favorite local pastime.

Jeff and I stayed at a nice place called Eurospa. We enjoyed a nice, healthy breakfast of granola, yogurt, fruit, and local pastries. Then after a brief rest, we went for a run and checked out the town on foot. Afterward Jeff returned to the hotel to clean up and I was off to the new outdoor community pool to go for a swim -- I loved it. Next we walked to the Calistoga Roastery and had a great cup of coffee and sat with Rich and Cindy from our group, a very nice couple from Sacramento, and had a very nice chat with them.

This afternoon we had a taste for something different so we had Mexican cuisine at Cafe Pacifico -- Jeff had the Carnitas (excellent!) and I had Chile Rellenos Pacifico (very nice variation on a classic). Then we did laundry, an unavoidable part of any bike trip. Jeff went for a massage and I strolled the main street visiting book stores and the local bike shop. Talked to lots of nice people.

Dinner tonight was grilled chicken with mushrooms in a wine white sauce, with cherry tomatoes, caeser salad, and Texas pecan squares. Another great meal!

Tomorrow we move onto Guerneville and the Russian River by riding through the beautiful Alexander Valley.