Coronado K-8

Woke up at 6am and was out the door at 6:45am on my hard tail, heading for a trail work party near the 50 year trail.

It’s been a while since I’ve ridden up Oracle. I used to head up there to ride Sutherland, Pie Jesu or Deer Camp with Stevie A, but those times have passed.

I’m in the center of town now, so I can avoid most of Oracle Rd, finally hopping on it at Ina. The ride on the rivertrail then on First Ave is pretty nice. Then the car madness begins on Oracle.

Still, I was at Coronado K-8 school in a little over an hour, fresh and ready to work. The kids instantly began inspecting my bike–apparently they haven’t seen anything like it. “Wow, look at the tiny pedals” “How much did your bike cost?” “I can’t ride because I got 10 stitches in my shoulder” Kids can be funny (sometimes).

We began throwing tools and it turned into a perfect morning. It stayed cloudy and in the 70’s. These are the kind of days that I live for.

There isn’t much land to work with at the school, but they wove a nice little trail around out in the prickly pear and cholla. It should be a fun trail for the kids to play on, as well as for the community to use.

I test rode an off camber section that I spent a great deal of time trying to bench out a bit. It seemed fine, but as soon as the kids saw me riding it they wanted to try the trail AND my bike. I dropped my seat to the bottom and said sure–I’ve got slimed tubes and they don’t. They took turns riding around the course on what looked like a giant bike on them.

At 12 I filled up on water and headed north on Oracle to Golder. After climbing the death hill out of the CDO wash (I always forget how steep that hill is, everyone always drives it) I had a pleasant cruise down the “sweet” 50 year trail. Someone in the parking lot gave me a thumbs up for riding to the trail rather than driving. I waved but thought “anyone can do it.”

I soon saw the sign for the new section that I helped build last spring. It is starting to ride in well and was really fun. It’s always rewarding to come back and ride a trail that you helped build or did work on. It doesn’t flow as well as the older section of trail, but it is fun.

For a perfect Saturday afternoon the trails were markedly empty. Is there any wonder I live in Tucson? Solitude is the name of the game, but to find it where you least expect it is even better. I rolled into the park and finally caught up to a pair of mountain bikers. I passed them, without trying, then they started drafting each other to pass me back.

They did, on Oracle Road, and I jokingly asked if they would pull me back to town. They said they were only going to Honeywell. Too bad, because there was a fierce headwind all the way back down Oracle.

My spirits could not be dampened though. The morning had been a treat and the temperature and lack of atomic blazing sunshine had me riding in euphoria. Not even the endless swarm of automobiles could put me down.

Still, I paused at one point in complete awe of Oracle Road and its drivers. Where are they going? Why? How did our society get to this point? Is there any way to get out of this mess? Is this okay?

The cars continued to buzz by; I sighed in relief as I turned off onto the rivertrail. I turned in a good 45 miles plus 4 hours of trail work; not bad for a days work.