March 31, April 1, 2018
After five months off the bikes we headed North out of Mexico enroute back to Canada. It’s official, we’re cycling in circles.
Cycling Stats
March 31, 2018
Start Point: Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
Destination: Mountanview Ranch RV Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, USA
62 km trip, 17.7 km/h average speed, 44.97 km/h maximum speed, 3:29 time on the bike
354 meters gained, 641 meters elevation descend, 1220 meters maximum elevation
April 1, 2018
Start Point: Amado, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, USA
Destination: Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA
77.3 km, 17.7 km/h average speed, 44.97 km/h maximum speed, 3:38 time on the bike
332 meters gained, 529 meters elevation descend, 940 meters maximum elevation
Route Description:
March 31, 2018 We started at the TUFESA bus station in Nogales. You just follow the signs to the USA. The border crossing was easy and we pulled up with the cars as there was no line. After the border we mapped frontage and side roads around the old Highway 19. Only at the border control point do you have to be back on the main freeway. After that you go back to frontage roads. Mountain view RV Ranch is less than 5K past the border control. 7.5K past the RV park there is also a rest stop where you could easily camp. However to get access to the rest stop you need to get on the main highway after the RV park as there is no access from the frontage road. There are also plenty of wild camp opportunities.
April 1, 2018 Again today we stayed on frontage and feeder roads and avoided the main highway. All roads were paved with a shoulder most of the time. Most of the roads just paralleled the main Highway 19. The terrain is pretty plant with an overall downhill +/-. When S Nogales Highway starts we went the wrong way to a no exit area so just stay on S Nogales Highway if you’re following our GPS track. As you get into Tucson there are many bike paths to choose from. It’s a big city so we find most cities have a pretty good cycling network and the city is flat.
Accommodations:
In Nogales on both the Mexican and USA side there are hotels. Lots of restaurants and stores for both days. The Mountanview RV Ranch in Amado we stayed at the first night was $15 for a tent per night. It included showers, toilets, pool, laundry and internet. In Tucson there are many hotels and likely warm showers hosts. We had some awesome friends to stay with.
What happened…
Andrew writes: It’s so refreshing to be cycling. And cycling in the desert in the spring is very enjoyable indeed. We managed to find some secondary roads and highways to cycle on, which made for little traffic, and it seemed like in no time we were visiting with our friends Larry and Mary in Tucson. It’s a little strange to me, to notice, how there are some sets of friends where Amanda and I split off, and I end up outside with Larry, and she sits inside with Mary, and we’re all happy as clams in the sand.
Amanda writes: It was so awesome to be back on the bikes! This is what we’re meant to do. It helped too that we were in North America which includes the land of magic things. You turn on the tap and not only does water come out; but water you can drink! And it’s free; that’s right the water is free. And then like that wasn’t enough, if you turn the left one on you get hot water. Insert happy dance here.
We crossed the border with ease and had set our sights on a campground that proved to be very attainable. We cycled in unison after a pretty restful evening on the bus to Nogales. I’m really glad we decided to bus that section. Traffic was pretty light and we found all the amenities we needed like food for cooking, shaded parks with picnic tables and we were able to set up camp quite early and enjoy an afternoon nap. The only down side was our ever problematic tent continued to cause us problems. The zipper is such a challenge to get closed that it takes a lot of patience and finesse. Once Andrew managed to zip it up, we agreed no one gets out until morning and then we need to get a new one. I suppose we can’t complain – it’s been a solid four years.