Spring Training in “The Baked Apple”

We jump start our cycling season with a month in Tucson. This is our fourth consecutive spring in Arizona’s “Sunshine Factory” and the weather does not disappoint. It’s hot and dry and we are loving it! Speaking of loving it, Elliott and Skye come for a long weekend in the desert. In their three days here they conquered the city and truly enjoyed this officially designated UNESCO City of Gastronomy!

Enjoying time on The Loop. Riding through an irrigated pecan orchard.
With Elliott and Skye at the Guadalajara Grill, a local favorite.

A visit to Saguaro National Park East allowed our visitors to go on a hike while we went for a ride around the magnificent 8-mile loop road.

Hiking and cycling on a warm morning.
It’s easy to take artsy photos with this scenery.
Saguaro NP is the home to many varieties of cacti. Here is the Jumping Cholla.

The highlight of the weekend was a visit to the only (for now, Ft. Myers, FL is set to open spring 2026) Sweet Tomatoes in the country. For Elliott and Skye it was (separately) a childhood “comfort” spot, filled with lots of great memories. It was so special to Skye’s family that her brother flew in from San Diego to join us for dinner!

Since it’s a tourist destination they are selling the appropriate merch!
We were all very excited to be here, and it did NOT disappoint. If ya know…ya know!

Back on the bike, the Oro Valley Tandems were having a group ride and we joined them. We were 6.5 bikes and we had a lovely no-drop 27 mile ride.

Here are all six tandems “regrouping” before we continue.
There were some stunning mountain views along the way. And cacti are everywhere.
Caren was the .5 bike as Mike is still recovering from shoulder surgery!

I will leave you with a stunning sunset that happened the night Elliott and Skye flew back to the ATL.

We photographed this on a walk in our neighborhood!

Up next, frequent travel companions Mitzi and John join us for a week. Details later in the month.

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