Bruce's Bike Blog: Heart of Tucson

School is out, the Snow Birds are gone--it's just the Desert Rats enjoying the hot Tucson Daze, Gentle Readers of Blog.

Le Tigre and I are rolling up the backside of Gates Pass--he says, "Me thinks I saw some Team Jerseys back there..." I turn around, and see Stef coming up the road. Okay, mes amis, Capt'n iCandy is in the House.

Heading up Gates Pass, which was an old Mule Train route from the 1880s.

Mule--Clydesdale, what's the difference, mes amis? Le Tigre has never been up the backside of Gates Pass, nor has he climbed Sentinel Peak, or what we call "A" Mountain. iCandy says he's with us!

I'm messing with my camera, which I think on its last leg (most of my photos didn't turn out) so I get dropped--no matter, we're having fun and enjoying the perfect weather.

At the top of Gates Pass, there's a turn out with a parking lot and a rest room--no water however. Its also a good place to re-group, as some riders are better climbers than others. Le Tigre gets encouragement from Capt'n iCandy and they make the turnout with no problem.

Stef, aka "Capt'n iCandy" help me set up this blog way back when we worked together at the University of Arizona. The jersey he and I are wearing are one of the many designs he has created for Team Mooney, a local team of triathletes.

Up here at the top of the pass you can see Old Tucson Studios. This is were many of the Hollywood Westerns were filmed back in the 1950s through the 1970s. The reason the saguaro cactus is such and icon, I think, is because we all saw the cowboys, outlaws, and law men, riding into the town or riding out on the range, with all these millions of saguaros hugging these very mountains.

We're riding through Saguaro Nat'l Park, on the smooth fast rollers that snake through the desert.

We'll ride South, to the boundary of the Park, and then head through the ancient villages of the Pima Indians at the base of A Mountain, and then ride to the top of Sentinel Peak.

Love you back, Stef...

There's been no car traffic this morning, Gentle Readers of This Blog--the road is blissfully smooth as we glide through the Park.

Le Tigre and iCandy--the Capt'n knows a route that will add a mile or so, but will take us off busy Ajo Hwy to Mission Rd.

Stef takes us on a recently completed bike and running path that I've never known about.

This area is were the native people lived, and where Tucson first took up roots.

We'll first have to ride around the Peak. It's rugged and ancient and always seems to breathing the hot Tucson Sun in and out, like a big sleeping lizard.

Up yonder we spy "The Old Pueblo" what the cowboys nick-named Tucson.

Riding through the Barrio to the entrance of A Mountain.

Here we go!

Sentinel Peak, and then about 1901, there after known to the locals as A Mountain.

On top of A Mountain. That's Interstate 10, and Downtown Tucson to the East of the Freeway. Mt. Lemmon is there to the left, and then Stef's house to the left and in the middle of the photo...

Here's the A Mountain story: about 1901 University of Arizona students got together, and to show school spirit for the up-coming football game, probably road horseback, went by Model T and carriage--with I'm sure a few wagon loads of iced cold beer and barbecue grills--and built the A. It was painted white and you could see it from everywhere. UofA rival football team, Arizona State University would always come and somehow paint it their colors, red and yellow. And it would get painted white again soon after.

After 9-11, the A was painted red white and blue. Many people were opposed to the war, and really just wanted it to be white, like it had been for 100 years--and there was a lot of yelling back and forth.

In the meantime, on St. Patrick's Day, some fun-loving pranksters painted the A green--holy shit! The A had been guarded by the police so just that sort of thing wouldn't happen--but it got painted right under their noses! Ha ha ha ha we all laughed.

Then some self-righteous Tucson business man looking to make a name for himself said he would pay to have the red white and blue restored. But whomever he paid to paint the A, did the colors backward. Instead of being red white and blue, in the order, from the top to the bottom, it got painted red white and blue from bottom up. Ooops...

Stef sends a text to Angela that we're coming by the house.

Here we are riding into the Mercado, Stef's place in the Barrio.

Ryan, Stef, and myself all worked together at UofA--Ryan meets Angela, and we're invited to come in, get some water, have some coffee and visit. Angela makes us some smoothies--cool! Stef gives Ryan a tour of the new house, and Angela and I talk about Little Egypt's new job in Kansas.