Tuesday Ride

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Tucson, Arizona, US

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Route Overview

Emiliano Jordan

34 mi.

1,577 ft.

A mostly rolling 35 mile ride through Tucson's Sonoran desert. The 10%+ climb, starting around mile 24, will challenge you but the views are worth it.

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Route Details

This route is named after the popular Tuesday morning ride that follows this exact route. The ride follows a common route to get out of town. The route heads west/south-west of Tucson and then turns west up Ajo Way.

Once you turn right off Ajo Way, the ride quickly @slice[enters the Saguaro National Park](d,20297.16,43539.36) (locally referred to as Saguaro East) where you'll ride until you descend off of @poi[Gates Pass](2643950) and back into town. The park roads off gentle curves, rolling hills with a few short steeper climbs, and @photo[pristine views of all the Sonoran Desert](1050335) has to offer.

# More resources

* Tucson is a desert and the climate is extremely dry. If you're from out-of-town you'll be amazed at how fast you go through water. This ride in particular is easy to manage; between a couple gas stations and the @poi[Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum](2643952) there shouldn't be any problems filling up water bottles every ten miles.
* If you'd like to join the group ride that follows this route, start times are listed on [Fairwheel Bikes' website](https://fairwheelbikes.com/ridetime/). Please note once the ride turns @point[right onto Ajo off of Grande](d,9386.18) it is a fast, no-wait ride. 
* Doing the ride in reverse takes nothing away from the route and is a good way to avoid @slice[the 10%+ Gates Pass climb](d,37624.76,41183.33) as the other side is much more gentle. Just be careful on the descent.

# About the Start Location
Many of the Tucson rides I will be profiling start and end in the University area. This is a bit of a local meetup spot and is the start to Tucson's biggest and longest lasting group rides, The Shootout and The Tuesday Ride. Parking is metered on week days and often scarce, so plan for that, and possibly park on route or ride to the start location.

# Photo Credits
* [Bruce's Bike Blog](http://triplebranch.blogspot.com/2010/07/4th-of-july-ride-in-saguaro-natl-park.html)
* [Gosojourn](http://gosojourn.com/blog/biking-through-cactus-forests-to-the-arizona-desert-museum/)
* [Hillary Biscay - Tucson Tri Camp](https://hillarybiscay.com/camp/)

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Tuesday Ride

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