A Ride With a View

I have been able to train consistently (finally) this week and my body is complaining about it loud and clear.  Today I planned to ride in the morning and then do a track workout in the evening.  My sore glutes, abs, quads and shoulders were letting me know that any excuse to skip the ride was completely reasonable.  So, while killing time on Facebook thinking of a reason not to ride I came across this link to a photo-essay about riding in the desert while it is in bloom.  The desert really is beautiful this time of year.  Soon it will too hot to enjoy it and during the winter it is just too brown.  I found my motivation to ride.  I would create my own photo-essay documenting my ride.  I set a couple of guidelines to keep myself focused.  First, I could only take pictures of sites from the road, I would not wander into the wildlife for a close up.  This was for my sanity so I wasn't pressured to get the perfect shot and for my safety.  I did not want to try to jump away from rattlesnakes in my cleats or risk a flat tire from whatever sharp object I might find around the cactus.  Second, I could not deviate from my normal route to get the perfect desert shot.  I could only photograph my typical route.  And I was off!

I had my margarita socks on.  A ride has to be awesome if it is done with the addition of margarita socks.

Line of Ocotillo

The first thing I rode past and had to turn around to get a good picture of was this line of ocotillo.  They are in what I will a call a minor bloom.  They are green and have some red flowers but they are not nearly as full and lush as they can be.

Next up was this example of a Palo Verde in bloom.  They don't look like this for very long but they are stunning when they are all yellow.  IF I could have broken my self imposed rules I would have ridden to a place where they look like a yellow forest.  The blooms are beautiful but so hard on the nose.

Then I saw this guy.  There is nothing but desert between this ocotillo and the Rincon Mountains in the background.  I have tried many times to capture the awe of those mountains.  Pictures do not do it justice.

Then, of course, there is the quintessential desert picture.  There are mountains, a lone saguaro, and some token clouds.  This is the first time that I noticed that this area of desert does not have very many saguaros.  Interesting.

More mountains, more Palo Verde, and even some prickly pear and creosote.  This is a better picture of the mountain, I think.

This is where I was headed.  It is a consistent uphill climb.  It was great being distracted, for once, by my surroundings and not focusing so intently on my legs.  I really enjoyed this ride.  All the stopping and starting meant that the effort wasn't too overwhelming.

Here is the view from the top of Pistol Hill.  This is a terrible picture of the view.  From this spot you can see clear across Tucson.  On the far left are the Tucson Mountains, the range in the middle of the picture are the Catalina Mountains and Rincons come in from the right.  It also does not give any perspective on the rolling hills.  Oh well.

I was almost home when I came across this little prickly pear forest.  The flowers are pretty.  I never realized how thick this area is with prickly pear.  Interesting.

This is just a close up of another prickly pear.  It was much closer to the road so I didn't have to break any rules to get a decent picture.

I really, really enjoyed this ride.  It was refreshing to just ride my bike and stop whenever and not be worried about pace or speed or heart rate.  I will definitely do this again.  Next time I'll bring my real camera.

"Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering."  ~Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne