Tucson, AZ to Lordsburg, NM

November 28 - December 5, 2015

Garmin Info and Maps

Tucson Loop Ride 

Tucson to Littletown

Littletown to Benson

Benson to Sierra Vista

Sierra Vista to Bisbee

Bisbee to Douglas

Douglas to Rodeo

Rodeo to Lordsburg

With Carol and Audrey

Our timing for coming to Tucson was perfect. Enjoying holidays with friends while traveling is extra special. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving meal with Carol and Audrey. Carol smoked a turkey on the grill and Audrey made all the fixins. Great food with good friends was just what these weary cyclists needed.  Carol packed us up a couple of pieces of pumpkin pecan pie for the road. Thanks gals for the wonderful visit!!

Taz and Ru

Wonderful Pecan Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin Seed and Sneakybottom

I had another tennis/biking friend to visit in Tucson and we got on the road for the 18 mile ride on the Loop paths to meet up with Dana. She has a beautiful home on a golf course. The weather was warm and the links were busy. Her family was just leaving when we arrived. Dana has had a busy Thanksgiving with a full household of family from Oregon. It was fun meeting everyone. We were shown the house and got settled. While Maryann was sitting in the backyard enjoying the view and sunshine, a stray golf ball hit the roof. Wow did that wake us up! We had, yet another, great meal with a bottle of wine. Dana has a couple of sweet cats and one of them slept with me. Really nice! 

View from Dana's

In the morning, Dana packed us a baggie of yummy Thanksgiving cookies and homemade muffins. I really enjoyed hearing about her new life in Arizona. Thanks for a terrific visit!

Loop bridge

Trike meeting on The Loop

After 4 days in Tucson, it was time to move on and we started riding on the Loop paths getting through town. We detoured from the paths to stop at a bike shop downtown where I found a nice cycling skirt. Maryann was hoping to find a new handlebar bag but they didn't have what she was looking for. The forecast is calling for freezing overnight temperatures for the next week. We picked up some booties to help keep our feet warmer in the mornings. Next door was a Whole Foods where we had a good, healthy lunch and picked up supplies. We stopped for the day, after 30 miles, in Littletown only because there was a cheap hotel and the route to Benson the next day would be manageable. The Travel Inn wasn't a great hotel but who am I to complain when the rate is only $40.

Glittering gutter gift

The ride to Benson was all on I-10. Riding on the interstate is legal here but not so enjoyable. The shoulder is wide but there is lots of debris. I wore my Bose noise cancelling ear buds to dampen some of constantly streaming truck sounds. I did find a gutter gift in the shoulder that is now hanging from my flag pole. It's a star that even glitters, oh baby! Nothing like a little holiday trike decoration, right?. There was a gentle climb all day.  One of the benefits of riding on the interstate is there won't be any steep hills. Sometimes there are rest areas but today we had to rely on snacks for the first 30 miles until we pulled into a Love's travel stop to use a table to make sandwiches.  As we entered Benson we met a touring cyclist, Ken Bettencourt, who I've known for years on FB. He is raising awareness and money for cancer. It was fun to finally meet him. Our Warm Showers host, Jerry, met us on the road just as we said goodbye to Ken and escorted us the few miles to his house.  His wife, Lainie, welcomed us warmly showing us to our RV home for the night. This would be the first time I had stayed with a host for a second time. It was also the first time these hosts had repeat guests and they loved it.  I came through here 4 years ago and stayed in the very same RV which is really comfortable. I wasn't sure if staying with hosts a 2nd time might be against Warm Shower rules. Maryann sent the email and I didn't realize who it was until he wrote back that he had figured it out remembering me. Staying with a host for a second time isn't something I had ever considered but is, apparently, perfectly alright. They made us a delicious meal with wine and I enjoyed hearing how they have been. 

With Ken from Facebook

RV accommodation in Benson

With Jerry at his new bike shop

Frosty Scorpion

The overnight temperatures were below freezing and we woke up to frost on the trikes. Luckily, I had covered my trike and Maryann had brought in her seat pad. It was so cold we took our time waiting for the sun to rise higher before packing up. On the way out of town, we stopped at Jerry's new bike shop which was really cool. We wished him all the best and pushed on down the road.

DEA blimp

Today we would take off from I-10 and ride south on Hwy 90. There were some big climbs out of Benson and then gentle climbing for most of the day. On the way out of the town we passed a RV park that has an observatory. This is big star-gazing country. We stopped at Kartchner Caverns State Park to make lunch using the picnic tables. The ladies at the front entrance let us in without paying the day-use fee. This State Park looks really nice and they do have tent camping although the sites are the same price as for RV's - $28. We had talked about staying but with overnight temps in the 20's we opted for a Warm Showers stay in Sierra Vista, which is actually quite close to the border with Mexico.  Coming into town there is a long gentle descent through a valley and we could see what looked like a blimp in the distance. At first, we thought it might be an advertising gimmick but, coming closer, we wondered if it wasn't an aid used by the US Immigration and Customs agents for spotting border jumpers. The road went right next to Ft. Huachucha army base and we thought maybe the blimp could be military. Once we got to Sierra Vista, the blimp was right above us and we stopped a guy in his yard to ask about it. He said it's been there for over 20 years and is a tool used by the DEA to catch drug smugglers. 

RV park observatory

Kartchner Caverns for lunch

Sierra Vista scenery

Long Road into Sierra Vista

Kerry and Denise

Our hosts, Kerry and Denise, had just joined the Warm Shower's website and we were their first guests. They both ride recumbents and Kerry also rides a Catrike. They made us feel very welcome and comfortable. Kerry is a brew master and we got to try 3 beers he had ready. 2 were Scottish ales and the 3rd was a Belgium Triple. All 3 were delicious but I think my favorite was the 1st sample that had been brewed with bourbon chips. Yummy!

Maryann enjoying a homebrew

After a good night's rest, Kerry escorted us to the town center on his way to work. We picked up supplies and started out on a route Kerry had mapped where we took Hwy 92 instead of 90. This route is 42 miles instead of 23 miles but Kerry thinks it is much more enjoyable. There was a long, gradual climb before our first turn off the highway. This was a mistake. Kerry must have meant another road because this one ended at a gated development. The view going down the hill was very nice. We tried to go through the gate but no one would open it for us. One woman we asked looked at us with fear in her eyes like we might be terrorists. That was a first! Nothing to do but turn around and go back up the hill. After that we decided to stay on the highway. The wind had picked up considerably but it was a side wind and more noisy than slowing us down. There isn't much on this road and in Palominas we pulled into a new community medical clinic to use a bench for making our lunch that was sitting out front. The most appealing thing about the bench was it was out of the wind. I went inside to ask if using the bench would be ok and got into many conversations with patients and doctors about the trip.  Everyone was very enthusiastic and upbeat. As we were putting everything away, a truck pulled in with an old man and much older woman. The man was obviously in pain and had trouble getting out of the truck. I offered to help but he said no. Then we tried to get his mother out of the cab and he was having so much trouble I offered to help again. And again, he said no. This went on for quite awhile and he, finally, asked if I could lend a hand.  His mother was so frail I couldn't imagine how he got her in the truck for the drive over. Maryann went inside to find a wheel chair while I helped keep the walker steady. The mom was super afraid of falling and I was doing all I could to encourage her to keep walking. The truck wasn't far from the entrance but the mom was so weak it might as well have been a mile. Getting someone to arrive with the wheelchair took so long I wasn't sure mom could stay standing. The wheelchair arrived just as mom was about to collapse. Our work was done here and we could continue riding. I really think that man isn't capable of taking care of his mother anymore but, I guess, that isn't any of my business.

On the road to Bisbee

Bisbee David escorted us into town

Bisbee mine

From Palominas, the road was all uphill and slow going. We arrived at the cute town of Bisbee just as the sun was setting. There are 2 Warm Shower hosts here. One lives a few miles out of the town on a long unpaved road off the grid. The other lives in town. His profile was somewhat peculiar and we didn't send out a request. Who should we meet riding his bike home but David who was an interesting and outgoing character. The road into town doesn't have much of a shoulder. David caught up to me riding far out into the lane to chat. Many cars passed, honking and quite obviously upset that he was taking up so much of the road. He was completely oblivious and repeatedly waved back as if the honks were all friendly hellos. Even though we told him we are on Warm Showers but hadn't sent him a request to stay, he apologized for not being able to host us. David was very nice and rode with us all the way into town explaining all the different places we could stay. It was as if he wanted to take care of us. He talked incessantly while taking us to different hotels. Bisbee is very hilly and has lots of hotels and we had to do a lot of climbing. Eventually, he took us to the Silver City Inn showing us the back way up a precariously steep brick path where we could keep our trikes on an upper locked patio. It was getting dark and cold and I really needed to pee and David kept on talking. I really appreciated his help but also needed the conversation to end.  Finally, the front desk gal took over and we got checked into the quaint and very old hotel for $70. She explained that the rooms are European Style with bathrooms down the hall. We were the only people staying and didn't have to compete with anyone else for bathroom time. 

Riding passed some Bisbee past

Bisbee is a cute, artsy town that seems to survive on tourism. Most of the towns we have been through in Arizona have an older population made up of snowbirds staying for the winter. Bisbee's population is noticeably younger, liberal and more hip. The front desk gal told us the busiest time of year is pride week. But I'm really not sure how Bisbee can support all these hotels on a one week rush. The Silver City Inn is one of the cheaper hotels and $70 is the most we have paid for rooms in a long time. Bisbee was originally a huge mining town that went bust. There is an enormous hole in the ground as you come into town. In it's hay day, the population was equal to that of San Francisco. When it went bust, the people had to leave to find work and most of the buildings, including lots of schools and government offices, were abandoned. Somehow, artists have found the town and are trying to bring it back to life.

Our hotel rooms were comfortable but, unfortunately, faced the main street. The restaurant across from our windows had live music until midnight and then there were lots of drunk people yelling outside for a couple more hours. After a less than good night's rest, we got up hoping to find a restaurant for breakfast but nothing was open. There's not much going on in Bisbee this time of year. No problem, we had plenty of oatmeal and coffee to start the day.  We forgot that the gate to the patio would be locked and hadn't made arrangements with the front desk gal. She was out running errands when Maryann called and we had to wait until after 10 to free the trikes. It was so cold this wasn't such a bad thing. 

Huge tap screw flat

Today's ride would be to Douglas. After all the climbing yesterday, today we would be rewarded. Once we got out of Bisbee, the ride was all downhill. On the way down I ran over a large tap screw that flatted the front left tube. The screw was so big I didn't have any trouble finding the hole. Even though we started our ride later than usual, we still arrived in Douglas very early getting checked into a very nice Motel 6 before 2 for $35. This was good because Maryann needed to get one of the her cycling shoes repaired. The front desk gal told us of Durazo's saddle shop and we rode over. There were lots of Mexican cowboys standing out front finishing up business when we arrived. The owner, Joe, took a look at the shoe and made the repair on the spot. Joe's shop was quintessential old school. There were well-worn saddles sitting in a row waiting for repairs, typical Mexican white cowboy hats stacked up high next to beautiful leather boots on display.  Joe used a very old Singer treadle sewing machine with a cast iron base to fix Maryann's cycling shoe. The whole repair took less than 10 minutes and he only charged $2. I really enjoyed watching a true craftsman at work and thought the whole experience was amazing.

Joe working on Maryann's cycling shoe

Joe with a happy Maryann

Mexico border

From there we went to El Chef, on Joe's recommendation, for a terrific lunch and picked up some fresh tortillas for tomorrow's ride. Douglas is a busy border town and we went to the crossing to check it out taking some pictures. There were a few more errands we took care of and I had a blast exploring the town. It has been a long time since we got to a town early enough to actually see it. I hope we can do that more often in the future.

After a good night's rest, we started out on another cold morning for our ride to Rodeo. We had an amazingly huge tailwind in bright blue skies. Hwy 80 is a wonderful cycling road. It's in good condition, the scenery is beautiful and there was hardly any traffic. Most of the vehicles we saw were border patrol who always gave us a nice wave. We probably enjoyed this ride all the more because we were cruising along at 20 mph. There's a rest stop with a table at a historical site marking where Geronimo surrendered at Apache, AZ. The wind was so strong we had trouble keeping everything on the table. Then Brett, a cyclist from Illinois, who we first met at the Motel 6 in Douglas, caught up to us and chatted while we continued riding on the deserted road. We were all loving this fantastic tailwind. Just 2 miles before Rodeo, I stopped to get pictures of the New Mexico state sign before heading into town. Rodeo is very small, rustic and cute. There's a diner in the sparsely stocked grocery store and everyone was friendly. Brett was there having already set up at the RV park and gave us the run down of the town. After getting a site for $18 and putting up our tents we all rode over to the desert museum to see the large display of rattlesnakes. This museum is modern and was quite surprising to see in such a desolate run-down area. I enjoyed learning about the local plant life and animals of the desert. We rode the 2 miles back to town in a beautiful sun set and then made our way to the tavern for beer and a very decent meal.  Maryann and I had added holiday lights to our trike flag poles just yesterday and it was fun being able to turn them on. We also added antlers to our helmets!

Fun idea but didn't work in the wind.

Scenery out of Rodeo

Geronimo historic marker rest area

New State

The overnight temperatures weren't nearly as cold as the last few nights and I actually slept well. Once we got packed up we all went back to the grocery for breakfast. The meal was so big Maryann and I took the pancakes to go to eat later as a snack. Once we were fueled up, we said goodbye to Brett who was taking Hwy 9 into Texas. I really wanted to go that way but the distance between places to stay is much too far for this 'ol turtle. So far, all the land we have seen has been fenced and I'm not sure wild camping is possible.  Our only alternative was to ride back to the interstate and this would be a big day's ride to Lordsburg.  The ride was very beautiful and also quite hilly on Hwy 80. Our tailwind continued although not as strong as yesterday. There weren't any towns along Hwy 80. The scenery was just desolate canyon ranch lands spotted with a few cattle and lots of cactus. At one point, Maryann stopped to change clothes. She was rummaging in her bags and, somehow, ended up leaving her hydration pack behind. 3 miles later she reached back for the hose and discovered her mistake. This was already going to be a long day and Maryann would be adding another 6 hilly miles in order to rescue the water bag. At least it wasn't any further...

Trikes lit up outside the Rodeo Tavern

Leaving Rodeo

We were hoping there would be a fast food place or convenience store at the junction with I-10 where we could use a table for lunch but we ended up making sandwiches on the steps of an abandoned gas station. The only business open was a huge fireworks warehouse. We went in hoping they would let us use the bathroom and the ladies were very nice loading us up with 4 water bottles. Wow, did that place have a lot of fireworks!

Quiet Hwy 80

I-10 into Lordsburg

The rest of the ride was on noisy I-10 and the sun was setting when we arrived in Lordsburg. There are many, very cheap, motels on appropriately named Motel Dr. They all looked like they rent on weekly terms and were so run down we didn't feel safe even going in for a look. The motels are also basically across the street from busy railroad tracks which put us off. We ended up at another Motel 6 by I-10 getting checked in for $50. This place had recently been renovated and everything was new. The rooms were big and the trikes fit inside easily. After 8 days of riding we really needed a rest day and booked in for 2 nights.