Sky Islands Odyssey East Loop

As someone who survives seasonal depression, I've learned ways to help make it through each winter like taking a big trip to somewhere warm and sunny to ride my bike long distances. This year, I took two weeks to wander through California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona with the goal of taking up residence in Arizona for most of that time to admire the blooming ocotillo and explore a new corner of the southwest. My friend Aparna and I schemed a 4-day bikepacking trip with her family based on Bikepacking.com's Sky Islands Odyssey East loop. They flew into Tucson and met me in Patagonia to start our adventure. 

A home away from home to get ready for bikepacking in Patagonia.

Feeling optimistic as we head out of Patagonia.

Blue skies give way to dark storm clouds... 40% of .1 inch of rain!?

Emergency storm camp with vestibules pitched facing each other for socializing.

How it all went down.

Aparna and her family decided to cut the trip short due to their kiddo not feeling well, so I ventured off alone to finish off the loop.

Nothing like some hike-a-bike to start the day.

The other side of the mountain.

Aaaaah, flat trail to avoid the frontage road.

McDonalds provides a nice outdoor seating area, ice cream, french fries, and nice employees who let me fill all my water bottles with ice and cold water from the soda machine.

Gorgeous roads.

Sandy roads.

A magical dispersed site appeared right when I had about had it.

An oasis of clay, culture, and creation in the desert at the Canelo Project (https://caneloproject.com/). Reach out to them in advance if you want to camp or stay in their guesthouse.

He looks grumpy, but he's a snuggle butt.

The grasslands.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Everything you need to know is laid out here: https://bikepacking.com/routes/sky-islands-odyssey-east-loop/.
• The two things I think the bikepacking.com write-up does not cover are: (1) there is a reason why this is routed counterclockwise, and while it is rideable clockwise, it rides much better as mapped; and (2) the gravel roads in Santa Rita mountains are pretty gnarly and only rideable for more experienced riders running bigger tires and lightweight set ups... while most of this route is fairly moderate, those parts are not.
• I've become a pro at packing in 5 - 6 liters of water to dry camp to give myself more flexibility and that strategy was essential for this tour. Do not depend on seasonal streams or seasonal water tanks.
• A safe place to camp or park your car for your bike tour is TerraSol: https://www.marytolena.com/terrasol/ and it is also a hub for AZT through hikers.
• If you like goats and animals, a fun quirky AirBnB to base out of is: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/41503562.
• Make sure to get local intel at the Patagonia Lumber Company, the hub for all things gravel riding! If you happen to be there on a Sunday, then make sure to join their big ass group gravel ride.

Bike Overnight: Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge

As someone who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (aka short dark winter days can really affect my mental health), I try to get out of town and somewhere warm in late February or early March when it's not quite spring yet and it seems like winter will never end. And also, before Spring Break. This year, I decided to head to southern Arizona (and Utah... seriously, southern Utah has my heart and so if I decide to quit life again, you can find me in Escalante and Boulder, Utah) to poke the cacti and bask in the sun.

Typically, I don't do the road trip thang for bikes, except to drive somewhere, park the car, then do a long ass bike tour for X number of days, and then drive back. Since this was a solo sojourn, I decided to do a lot of driving, camping, biking to places from camp, and the moving on. I had tried to design half a dozen shorter bike tours while giving me the flexibility to see more, but had been so busy my brain juices just didn't have it in me. So I cobbled together this sub-24 bike overnight from some intel from Dirty Freehub, but made it a nearly 100% gravel route instead. While the folks from Dirty Freehub also hail from Bend, Oregon, they spent several months exploring Arizona this winter and I was thankful for the fruits of their labor!

This was really a lovely isolated route and I did not see a single soul on my ride except for a single Red Cross support van. As a queer woman of color, I felt a little nervous about riding so close to the border, but had no encounters with Border Patrol agents. The highlights included seeing a herd of mule deer, a pair of pronghorns, a gajillion birds, and a playful pair of coatimundi! 

I did a fair amount of research in advance, and while it would be easy to load up on water and dry camp most anywhere, I decided to stay at La Siesta Campground in Arivaca for ease and because of the awesome reviews. I was so glad I did! Steve, the warm and welcoming owner, made sure I was taken care of. Since I had made a reservation in advance, he was expecting me... and he seemed joyful to see me and without hesitation ushered me into a pop up trailer to stay instead of the tent camping I had planned. See, I had been biking in 30 mph winds all day and it was just getting worse, so he didn't want me to have a hassle with my tent. With showers, shelters, two little ponds with a pair of hilarious ducks, and half a dozen cute cats and kittens, I settled in with a beer I had picked up in town for a relaxing evening. 

Some of this route has smooth happy dirt roads.

Some of it is chunkier and lots o' loose gravel.

Stupid traffic out here.

Signs of welcoming in this tiny town.

My luxury digs for the night at La Siesta.

Serious luxury.

Happy hour.

Sunrise and my favorite hilarious most spoiled duck duo.

Downhill for days!

A few notes for bike tourists:

• There is no overnight parking at the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge headquarters/visitor center... you just need to park in a dispersed camping spot. Spots 75 and 76 are super close to the visitors center and made for an easy starting and ending point.
• While I know many folks play it by ear, making reservations in advance for La Siesta Campground (https://lasiestacampgrounds.com/) will let the owner Steve know to expect you! I truly recommend this spot for some R&R... especially if you want to bikepack glamp it a bit!
• The Mercantile in Arivaca is pleasantly stocked with more than the essentials. Like, vegans rejoice (even though I am not vegan), they had all the meat alternative you could want.
• Arivaca also feels safe for QTBIPOC folks with plenty of signage and messaging in town in support of Black lives and LGBTQ+ lives. I felt incredibly welcomed here, from the cashier at the Mercantile to the owner of La Siesta.