Ombre Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Hey guys, I know it's still hot, but we can start planning our next southern AZ group rides now. We could start in mid October, when it won't be too scorching, and then try for monthly thereafter. @Chris Westland says he'll be in town in December so it would be cool to work around his schedule for that one. I'm suggesting another ride in the Phoenix metro area (specific nominations?), plus one in Tucson, and a third TBD. I've got a few good Tucson routes mapped out already. Payson could be good too. (Of course, the big delay is really not the heat, it's @dbfrese's broken wrist healing up ... and Chris' broken wrist healing up ... Sounds like those guys will have some common ground to discuss.) Post your ride ideas and availability here, and we'll work out a schedule! Arizona riders invited, not confirmed: @Playarider @Clovis @Xelvic @Baldy @cesar1047 @MagicCow @Jerry388d @AGENT @Code In Space @Kyle Jay Abbas @adhermes @trx123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Ombre said: Of course, the big delay is really not the heat, it's @dbfrese's broken wrist healing up ... and Chris' broken wrist healing up ... Sounds like those guys will have some common ground to discuss. Yep, that about sums it up! My third and final cast comes off in three and a half weeks, and after that a little physical therapy. I'm not sure when I'll get the go-ahead from the doctor to resume risky activities, but I'm champing at the bit to get back in the saddle again, with my brand new Demon Flexmeter wrist guards. I haven't given much thought to a specific ride in the Phoenix metro area, but I have been thinking of other potential Arizona rides, like a tour of the hilly town of Jerome (It is usually packed with tourists on weekends, so another day might be better?) and a ride to see the old abandoned Claypool tunnel (about two miles up the old US 60 out of Superior on a semi-rough road) followed by a tour of the town itself. Both might require some scouting ahead of time to test feasibility of EUC in those environments. Another thought -- maybe Globe might be worth exploring as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted September 15, 2017 Author Share Posted September 15, 2017 Love the idea of Jerome, but it's a five hour drive from Tucson so it would take some planning for me (and probably a two night stay). If others are interested I'll get serious about working it out at this end. I was going to suggest Bisbee, which is similar and closer to Tucson but 3 hours from Phoenix. Claypool Tunnel and abandoned Rt 60: YES! Looks awesome. A dirt road ride would be OK with me & Emma. That one is easy for Phoenix-area residents and not too bad for Tucsonians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYA-RIDER Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 Playarider is all in. Tucson or any other location is Good here. At least I'll try to work it out. Great to see some new ride options. And I'll bring my football for all you riders interested in a little "wheelball". (If you're not on the current injured list) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 On 9/14/2017 at 9:15 PM, Ombre said: I was going to suggest Bisbee, which is similar and closer to Tucson but 3 hours from Phoenix. Great idea! I'd be up for that sometime. Too bad Tombstone's streets are covered in thick gravel, otherwise that would be fun to explore, too. 4 hours ago, Playarider said: And I'll bring my football for all you riders interested in a little "wheelball". (If you're not on the current injured list) Yes, @Playarider, feel free to bring the football, but keep the cursed thing away from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYA-RIDER Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 dbfrese, this is one of those things... that if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger !. But i guess we should at least wait till you heal up from the last "incident/ mishap" I'm currently open for most any ride dates you guys come up with, so let's put together another great ride adventure !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Playarider said: But i guess we should at least wait till you heal up from the last "incident/ mishap" @Playarider, please, don't wait for me, I don't have the faintest idea of when I'll be wheeling again. I will have a great time vicariously through you all, assuming @Ombre takes sufficient video of your adventures. I'll just work extra hard during rehab to get it done as quickly as possible. I'm hoping for just a few months but who knows? Hopefully we'll pick up a few more riders the next few times around, too. I did see another rider on an inmotion this morning when I was almost to work -- I tried to turn around and catch up with him, but the things are faster than 9bot1s, so I lost sight of him pretty quickly. Maybe I'll see him tomorrow and let him know about the group rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 I'm not in any hurry, at least until the heat breaks. But how's this for a possible route? Start at the Helen Street Parking Garage (free shaded parking on weekends) at the north side of the U of A. Then a leisurely dawdle along some of the streetcar route, and through the university campus. There's excellent riding around the campus area. After that we go over to Tucson's famous 4th Avenue shopping district and play dodge-em with the tourists. Then go under the train tracks to do a bunch of wandering around downtown (not detailed on the map). That includes a few historic sites, a bit of Congress St., the turquoise trail, Convention Center, etc. Eventually we get on the bikepath that parallels Aviation Highway for a few miles, and then up Highland Ave's bike lanes back to the University district. (Of course we would toss the football back and forth as we ride. ) The route as shown is only 6.5 miles but with farting around we can easily double that. There are plenty of side trips to make. Actually, I have extensions to this route that would make it 25-30 miles, so we won't run out of good riding. Also lots of potential lunch stops, places to recharge, and good breaking points. ---- Post what dates work for you. Personally, I'm wide open in October. @dbfrese: think positive healing thoughts! If you don't ride I'm afraid I'll be @Playarider 's next target! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 54 minutes ago, Ombre said: But how's this for a possible route? Looks good to me, I've been to Tucson a number of times, but haven't explored it much, especially downtown. Go ahead and schedule what works best for you and @playarider, (and any new riders we can recruit!) as any time in October is likely to soon for me. I'll hopefully be able to catch the next ride in Bisbee, Claypool tunnel, Payson, or wherever we go next. Do not let me hold things up, as we are quickly moving into prime riding season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLAYA-RIDER Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Looks like a great route! I haven't been to some of those area's in a hundred years (man, am I old). And I'm a huge fan of a leisurely dawdle ride as well as the "rock em- sock em" game of "tourist dodge em" !! Looking forward to it. Also I've taken a que from dbfrese by carrying a spare battery and adding a quick release latch to my battery compartment. So now I can keep up with the big dogs!... at least as far as ride distance. My October is open as well so we can keep the date flexible for now, hoping to get a few more riders able and willing. Going to be great weather and a great ride. Planning on dbfrese to attend the next ONE WHEEL adventure........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 OK, we're aiming for October 21-22, 2017 -- a full weekend of riding in Tucson! @Playarider is in, as well as me and my daughter. @dbfrese is on the "Injured Reserve" list for now. Anyone else? You can join up for one day, two days, or part of a day. I'll figure out more routes, but rest assured this will be a "best of Tucson" event so expect a lot of urban scenery, great trails, downtown, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted October 17, 2017 Author Share Posted October 17, 2017 Last chance for the Oct 21-22 rides in Tucson! We'll be covering quite a lot of territory around Tucson, plus doing some training (backward riding, etc). EUC riders can join up for any segment on either day, for an hour or all day if you like. The weather should be awesome and the riding will be fun! Get in touch before Saturday if you are interested, by posting on this thread or PM to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 @Ombre & @Playarider, how was the Tucson ride? Looking forward to video. No video: didn't happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 Sorry, didn't shoot video. We were too busy having a blast! Saturday: Coffee at the B-Line on 4th Avenue at 8:00 am, then 20 miles of wandering: 4th Ave, all of downtown including the entire Turquoise Trail, Rattlesnake Bridge, Aviation Bikeway, and a charge break at Roma Imports. Then we hit the University (including riding under the stadium), the hospital campus, a parking garage, the rest of the University, the Main Gate area, and all the way back to 4th Ave. We got interrogated at least six times by curious locals, including one guy and his wife who asked questions for 20 minutes. (He says he'll be in touch; hopefully we've found a recruit.) Although it wasn't a ton of miles we took six hours to do it all. We did a lot of leisurely fooling around and showing off. We took the late afternoon off and we met up for dinner later. Sunday: We met at Tucson Mall at 7:30 am and cruised northwest on The Loop (multi-use trail) along the Rillito River to I-10, then doubled back on the opposite side. The miles really pile up fast on the trail, so we took a coffee/charge break back at the mall, and then did the southeastern end of the trail, riding through a farmer's market at Rillito Park, another one at St Philip's Plaza, and various minor side trips like Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, etc. Stopped for lunch and another charge a couple of miles south of the trail, then looped back. Total of 30 miles for the day. We stopped off at Brandi Fenton park again on the way back to do some trick practicing on the basketball courts in the shade. Mostly we were working on riding backwards (3 of us). I took exactly one picture in two days. Seriously, I was just having way too much fun to think about anything else. We'll try to do another ride in the Phoenix area in December, hopefully with @Chris Westland if he gets down here with a wheel. @dbfrese you better be ready to ride! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Sounds like it was a great ride! I got my cast off October 6 after three solid months of casts. Dr. ordered me to wear a brace until after he got results of CAT scan, but as of the 18th, I'm free of that as well. I've lost a lot of flexibility in that wrist, so I'll be doing everything I can to get it "re-habbed" for a December ride. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 I'm proposing the next ride : Dec 2 or Dec 9. What say you, Arizona riders? RSVP here with your favorite date. Location TBD but probably Phoenix area. @Chris Westland@Playarider@dbfrese@Clovis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 3 hours ago, Ombre said: Dec 2 or Dec 9 Either date would work for me. In fact any Saturday but the 16th would be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted October 24, 2017 Author Share Posted October 24, 2017 Here's a proposed route through Tempe and Scottsdale, for our December ride. (Red line is just to show the rough idea; we'd actually be riding the green trails.) The basic loop is approximately 12-14 miles but I'm sure it would be much more with side trips. We need to get @Playarider to comment on the viability of this loop, but I'm sure it could become an all-day experience if we do some wandering in the city centers and Papago Park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Westland Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 Sorry for the late reply, I'm just back from 2 weeks in Tunisa. I'm afraid I'll have to RSVP regrets for December as my daughter planned for the family to be in Snowbasin at that time. Will have to catch you whenever we do make it to Phoenix. Sounds like a fun ride. Enjoy yourselves! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 @Playarider says the route is a GO! We'll meet up at the Indian School Park and Tennis Center on Hayden Rd in Scottsdale, Dec 9 in the morning. This will be our usual wandering, goofing off, exploring urban ride. First leg should be about 8-ish miles to the first charge opportunity in the Scottsdale waterfront area, and then another 8-10 miles down into Mill Ave in Tempe for grub and power. Our return leg will be north along the Scottsdale Green Belt back to Indian School Park. Lots to see and do along the way! Who's in? @dbfrese @Clovis ? Preferred start times? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbfrese Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 I'm in. The 9th should work for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 In case anyone in the PHX area is watching this thread -- we decided last minute to get together for a ride in Scottsdale on Sunday (Nov 11, tomorrow) at 1:00 pm. If you want to join up, reply here or PM me tonight. @Clovis @Xelvic @Baldy @cesar1047 @MagicCow @Jerry388d @AGENT @Code In Space @Kyle Jay Abbas @adhermes @trx123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 21 hours ago, Ombre said: In case anyone in the PHX area is watching this thread If you hover the cursor over the names, it will show you when each person last visited. Some of these people don't visit often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 @steve454 thanks for the tip. Looks like most of the guys I tagged haven't been here in 10 months or more. That's too bad, because we had a great ride through Scottsdale on Sunday. Video of what we found will come in the next few days, including a gaggle of roller blade chicks, 2 guys on 36" unicycles, and tons of scenery. UPDATE: The Dec 9 ride will start at 10:00 am in Scottsdale Dec 9 at 10:00 a.m.: meet at Indian School Park and Tennis Center on Hayden Rd in Scottsdale. All riders welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 @Ombre your welcome. I wonder if there is another way to contact everyone without being a time consuming hassle? Looking forward to the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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