Featured Rideout First Group Ride Since January! A Small But Mighty Bunch

On Sunday morning I went out for my first group ride since January. Our bunch was small but mighty--Mr. Sandi and me and two of our good riding buddies, one on his H-D Heritage Softail and the other on this BMW R 1250GS. It felt great to be back out riding with friends! Our long-standing Sunday group ride has been on hiatus since Arizona went on lockdown and we haven't (yet) resumed our weekly meetup.

On this day I was so busy thinking about riding and then at breakfast figuring out how to navigate all the COVID-related procedures that I totally forgot to take photos. But I did think to snap one when we pulled into the garage at the end of the ride because, well, no photos--didn't happen. I mapped our route which happens to be one of my favorites and one that I used to ride my bicycle on, too. It goes through Tucson Mountain Park, Gates Pass, and Saguaro National Park West. I've posted photos of the Gates Pass area in the past and included one of those here along with another image from The Google that's representative of the scenery on today's ride.






Coyote Pause is one of our favorite breakfast destinations. They've been able to swing staying open since the state stay-at-home order was lifted but with a lot of modification--severely reduced capacity, masks on employees and customers (unless you're eating, of course), plexiglass, etc. We ate outdoors in a courtyard behind the restaurant. If you do that, you get your food "to go" and bring it out to a table yourself. We sat next to a lovely bubbling fountain under a shady overhang and had a leisurely breakfast and conversational catch-up.


The path back to the outdoor seating area. This little complex has multiple artists studios and shops in addition to the restaurant. It was very quiet and I think they are struggling a bit to make it through this pandemic.


My "big" mileage day coming in at 53 miles. I have to admit that in addition to my left arm and hand being still on the mend, the rest of me is fairly out of riding shape, too. By the end of today's ride I was tired. But very happy. And eager to work my way back into riding shape!

 

Let me know if you make it to the U.S., Octoberon! I'd love to share any info I can that might be helpful in planning rides if you've any inclination to ride through the Southwest and Rockies.

 

Thanks, Hobnail. You are so right. I was impatient earlier on but now have (mostly) made my peace with focusing on those small but incremental steps. Seven months in it's a bit easier to tell myself there's no deadline or big hurry. Plus "thanks" to COVID we don't have any rallies or trips planned.

 

Thanks, JtC. Yes, we are really blessed with terrific riding in southern Arizona--actually throughout the entire state of Arizona. I think the same is true of New Mexico, too. One of the things that always amazes me about the particular route is that it includes a national park which is right in our backyard that we can ride through whenever we like. And in the summer it's very quiet and peaceful because the snowbirds have flown back to off season homes and it's the low season for tourism.

 

I haven’t ridden in the Lincoln National Forest, @JtC. So I looked it up on Wikipedia and it looks beautiful with lots of diverse areas. Mr. Steve and I and some of our riding buddies have thrown around the idea of going to Ruidoso for either the Aspen Cash or the Golden Aspen motorcycle rallies. Have you been to either of those rallies? Their website indicates the fall 2020 rally has been canceled but they are planning to do the spring rally in 2021.

 

Thanks, Dartplayer! It's good to be back and I'm trying to stop just a wee bit shy of when I really hit my limit so I'm not wrecked and also so I keep that hunger to get out again soon.

I'm sure that your riding fitness will come back soon--and sooner than you might think. Keep after it! Besides, early nights are not such a bad thing.

 

Thanks for the info and report, JtC. It's good to hear the scoop from someone who has actually been at a particular rally. I've heard that the riding around Ruidoso is quite good and it's not all that far from Tucson--right around 500 miles even taking the more scenic route up through Arizona's White Mountains. It's also cool that it's at the horse track. I really enjoy horse racing. We have a track literally less than a five-minute walk from our back gate but it has a very short season--usually six or seven weekends in the winter. This year they only got in two weekends before the track was shut down along with Arizona's stay-at-home order.

 

I used to bet on the horses years ago but now I just enjoy watching them run. At our little local track you can walk down and hang right on the rail. And the races at Rillito Downs are both thoroughbred and quarter horses. It's a blast to stand on the rail and watch a quarter horse race the distance of which is anywhere from 100 to 400 meters. There are dirt clods flying and big quarter horse butts churning like nothing you see in the longer thoroughbred races. They are truly the sprinters of the horse world. It's electrifying! You are right on about the power and majesty of these horses, JtC. They're magnificent.