Archive for the ‘Tucson Commuting’ Category
On the Road……Central Tucson’s Palo Verdes
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I’m back in the desert, but recovering from an awful case of pneumonia valley fever — which is not good at all.
Nonetheless, I saw this lovely Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida), which is Arizona’s state tree, while riding to pick-up my Honda from the dealership over on 22nd St.
These trees have green branches and trunks to help with photosynthesis, which comes in handy during droughts when the Palo Verde drops its leaves.
On the Road……Tucson Front Yards (more)
FOR SALE…$25…FIRM, which begs the question: the mattress or the asking price? Or both?
On the Road……Tucson Front Yards
Tucson front yards are quirky and full of character…These are along my regular 3rd St./Rosewood commute.
On the Road……Near the Alamo Wash on Rosewood St.
Tucson is blessed with what the locals call “washes” essentially dry riverbeds that channel water during heavy rains. In New Mexico (where I went to high school) we called them “arroyos“. I think they are one and the same.
Theoretically these washes perform the function of habitat corridors in an otherwise highly fragmented urban landscape. I’m not familiar enough yet with the city’s urban ecology to know for certain, but I’ll bet bobcats, javelinas, and other assorted critters make use of these.
This particular wash, bisects the bikeway I use to get to work. It was a partly cloudy day so I stopped and made a few pictures.
On the Road……3rd Street-University Bikeway, Tucson
Here’s the 3rd St. bike way (looking east west) which is the bike path I take when riding my bike to work.
Near the University there’s some good infrastructure (like the special bike crossing above), but unfortunately as you travel east the bikeway ends at Wilmot (about a mile before my destination). I’m then forced to ride on one of Tucson’s mega-six lane boulevards (along a narrow stripped bike lane) for about another mile.
This (and the fact that I pedal directly into a glaring sun each morning AND afternoon — since I ride due east in the AM and due west in the PM) will be a test of how dedicated I remain to riding my bike to work.
Nathan
