After a month of not riding, I was in need of a big, long ride. In the summertime in Tucson, that typically means that you start looking at Mt Lemmon.
The classic up-and-over Lemmon has many faces...Red Ridge, Samaniego, Oracle or CDO. My recent favorite has been CDO.
After talking about the ride, Tim and I decided to ride Red Ridge. Red Ridge is similar to CDO, although it is just a little easier since you do not have to ride up past ski valley.
I woke up at 3:30, packed and ready, rolled out from my house. Skipping Prison, we saved our energy for Cafe, Secret, 1918 and Sunset....and onto the General Store.
Once you get to Red Ridge, the real fun begins....
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
Switchback attack!
It is not hard to see why we ride this trail.
Oracle Ridge after monsoon season
Tim changing a flat.
Red Ridge eventually intersects Dan Saddle and later Canyon del Oro.
The
creek is fed by rain and melted snow from the north face of Mount
Lemmon. The creek flows northward towards the town of Oracle and then
curves southward to the town of Oro Valley. They say that it probably got its name
from the Spanish explorers that discovered gold in the area in the 17th
century.
Gold or not, it was our saving grace. We ate lunch before starting out at 3pm under the temporary cloud cover.
Wet your shirt and climb, climb, climb!
Green in Tucson...
Tim continued to ride, while I finished where I started....the house. Brilliant views, a good friend, who in fact, has been off the bike longer than I have due to an injury. This was Tim's first time doing an Up and Over Lemmon ride, a miracle given the fact that he thought he would never ride again.
Tim said something (that Lee B has mentioned several times), "We are lucky to have the means and the time to be able to do a ride like this and see the wonder of the backcountry."
Lucky, indeed.
Want to read previous Lemmon epics?
