I’d only been relocated to Tucson and Southern Arizona for a month or so when the opportunity arose: a bike rally.
I’ll admit that I am trying to find my cycling way since moving to Tucson. Yes, I’m just blocks from The Loop but really am trying to recover from several falls, the loss of a relationship and separating from a cycling culture and group.
So this ride came along at the right time.
An out-and-back from in front of the Rex Allen Museum on Railroad Avenue in Downtown Willcox, the route was two rides: a 66-miler and a 33-miler. It was really a climb out of the Sulphur Springs Valley up towards Dos Cabezas. Over the 14 miles out that I rode (to the first and only rest stop which was about 2 miles short of the full-route turnaround) I climbed nearly 1,000 feet in elevation. While my total ride averaged almost 12 mph, because that downhill return was in half the time at over 22 mph, you get an idea of just how slow that outbound ride was because of the climb.
Nonetheless, it was a fun ride and my first rally in some time. And my first long ride on my drop handlebar road bike. The scenery was beautiful and the camaraderie with other cyclists was special, too. Maybe a group of 500 split between the two rides.
As a bonus, it also marked a return to the town we lived in when I was in first and second grade. So after the ride I was able to visit locations I hadn’t seen in over 60 years.
This is the home of Rex Allen, a TV and movie cowboy of the 1950s. So it was fitting that the start/finish was on Railroad Avenue in front of his museum (I think it used to be the town theatre) and next to the memorial park across the street.
Across the tracks just south of the start is the Elks Lodge (#2131). My dad’s picture hangs in the bar as he was the second Exalted Ruler (no kidding) of the lodge. The place has become a central part of the town’s social scene with a Friday night fish fry and concerts.
Didn’t know there were so many churches in a town this size. And it sure was quiet, even for a Saturday.
Might make this a regular stop each year, despite the 80-mile one-way drive, meaning a 4:30 start from home. Reminds me a bit of the Italy and Paris rallies in Texas. But those will be replaced with Willcox, Sky Islands, Scottsdale and El Tour de Tucson.
It was good to be back on the bike. While I’m not he zealot I once was, I still like to turn the cranks, socialize and learn about new places.
Thanks, Willcox.
Relentless
