A few days ago I rode the Chuck Huckleberry Loop from Valencia Road to Tanque Verde Road. A couple of days ago I picked up where I left off and rode along the Rillito River Parkway a few miles west and back.
I accessed the Loop Trail via a short spur along Sabino Canyon Road from Udall Park, a large park named after a former congressman and presidential candidate. Near the entrance to the park and over the connector trail is this most awesome piece of public art. It is wasted on a terrible site framing a nice view of a stop light.
Like most of the Loop Trail, this section follows one of the dry wash beds through the urban and semi rural area. This makes for a mostly level ride with generous buffer zones along the way. That’s Tanque Verde Ridge, a place I have hiked, in the background.
The trail crosses small side washes and drainage ditches on numerous and mostly unique bridges. Some of the route of the trail is surprisingly rural.
For much of the ride, the trail is bordered by small horse farms and desert preserves. I even had an encounter with a coyote near this spot. He refused to sit still for a portrait.
There was a lot of public art along the trail including this mural on a retaining wall. It looked a lot nicer than the graffiti I saw on some other blank walls.
Along most of the twelve miles or so I covered, there were bike trails on both sides of the Rillito River bed. At the two exceptions the route was well signed and either dedicated trail bridges or wide sidewalks on the roadway bridges connected the rider to the side they needed to be on.
I used both banks on my round trip where I could for the variety of scenery. Generally the south bank was the more developed side and the north more rural and suburban.
About half way on my out bound ride I passed by this old racetrack that is now a Pima County Park. It’s always nice to see a glimpse of the past. To the north behind the grandstands is Mount Lemmon, the highest point in the area.
There was more public art at this park.
The desert landscaping for the most part is really well done along the trail.
At about twelve miles in I called it good and repeated the ride this time mostly on the other side of the wash.
Bicycling on the Chuck Huckleberry Loop is mostly a pleasant experience, at least on the sections I have ridden on so far. There was only two at grade crossings with roads on the entire ride and both were lightly traveled.
Even through the scenery along the dry washes is alright, after a while it does all start to look the same. The only other downsides to the ride is the overabundance of spandex clad baby boomers all apparently practicing for the Olympics and an excessive amount of homeless encampments in the scrublands on the wash bottoms.
Dodging abandoned shopping carts is kind of a pain in the ass. If most grocery store chains required a deposit for using shopping carts the problem would be solved.
The bicycle loop around Tucson is well used and a great amenity for the community.
The trail connects many parks along the way and provides access to them for the people who live and visit here.
I hope to ride additional sections of the Chuck Huckleberry Loop during my stay in the area. If I do, look forward to more bicycling posts. It’s not going to be cycling weather in the Inland Northwest when I return.
