Looks like I am goona be at a conference in Tucson on September and wanted to know:
-good places to rent a nice road bike
-good rides to do from downtown. Is riding from town, climbing Mt Lemmon and back a doable half day during midweek?
thanks,
Jack
Fairwheel. Park out near the base of Lemmon is the safest.
I stayed in the foothils, so I was pretty close to Mt Lemmon. I rented a bike from Miles Ahead Cyclery. Had a LOOK bike, fit was okay. Wasn’t high end, but served the purpose. They also provided maps for some other nice rides, once again in the foothills area. From there Mount Lemmon is doable in half a day.
Enjoy, it was great riding out there.
Mike
From downtown to the top and back is about 5-5.5 hours depending upon lights. Plus it could be hot enough to frys balls if you leave in the afternoon.
Trisports.com rents road bikes I believe.
If I remember correctly you are about my size. I have a 56 carbon felt collecting dust if you want to borrow that.
Leaving at 5:30am from Le Buzz is your best option to do it in half a day plus let you get back to work after lunch.
If you have to work the morning, I’d suggest bringing your lights and doing it on the night of a full moon.
Some suggestions in database if you do a search. I checked in late June this year, but Tucson bike rental prices are ~2x what I’m used to, at least compared to Albuquerque & Moab. I skipped the rental, one ride for >$50 wasn’t worth it for me.
Brought my own bike last year for Mt. Lemmon in August, its an awesome ride, never very steep, but long. Cools down nicely as you climb. I started a few miles from the base early in the AM (Buzz Cafe shoping center), but well after sunrise, and was back in the hotel showering before noon. I don’t remember exactly but it was ~60mi RT from Buzz Cafe to the Iron Door restaurant, took about 4 hours IIRC. If you want a shorter ride, the top of “consistent climbing” is ~2 hrs or so, depending on your speed.