My winter whines came early this year. On the verge of a late December polar vortex, I sat at the kitchen table lamenting the next day’s trainer workout to my boyfriend. Sensing I was feeling vulnerable and delicate, he meekly suggested we take a trip to someplace warm the week between Christmas and the New Year. I was skeptical. I wanted to use that week to get some solitary work done, catch up on sleep, and just exist. Also, we were already planning a winter bike vacation to San Diego for February.

That said, it didn’t take much to convince me. Within 24 hours, we had a hotel in and tickets to Tucson booked. We were going to escape the sub-zero temperatures.

Although this wasn’t my first trip to Tucson, it was the first trip where I felt like I really got to know the city. Naturally, I had to spread the love with TBD’s loyal readers. So, read on for some Tucson tips!

BIG SKY in the San Xavier Indian Reservation

Where to Stay in Tucson

Where you stay all depends on what you’re looking for. On previous bike vacations to Tucson, I traveled with enduranceWERX and we stayed at the Westward Look Resort. The resort was awesome and had a lot to offer (pools! hot tubs!). But, without the perks of a training group this time around, I decided to stay downtown and it didn’t disappoint! Downtown Tucson was surprisingly lively and had a lot to offer in the way of food, drink, and coffee. Best of all, it wasn’t hard to get to the good rides. I stayed at AC Hotel in downtown Tucson on this trip and it was clean and spacious. Importantly, management didn’t bat an eye when my boyfriend and I wheeled bicycles through the lobby.

Tucson Rides

Tucson is known for the “Shootout,” a regular, year-round Saturday group ride leaving from the University of Arizona. The ride is a casual pace until Mission Road crosses Valencia, then it’s a race pace. I’m not entirely sure where the race pace ends (drop a comment below if you know!) because I’ve always gotten dropped before that happens (womp womp). This is the official route for the Shootout, but if you have any questions, the folks at Fair Wheel Bikes are happy to help! (also, follow that link for start times!) If you’re looking for some more miles and plenty more climbing, I recommend splitting off from the Shootout and riding on to Madera Canyon. The ride up is spectacular. If you’d like that option, you can follow this route, drawn up by my pals over at enduranceWERX.

If you happen to not be in Tucson on a Saturday, as I wasn’t on my most recent trip, you might like to see some of the calm roads and the BIG SKY of the San Xavier Indian Reservation, which is the home of the Tohono O’odham Nation. If you follow this route, you’ll see much of the same roads as on the Shootout, and you’ll also pass by the historic San Xavier Mission, which makes for a nice pit stop on the way back to Tucson. As a warning, some of the roads around La Sahuarita are kinda crappy, but it’s not scarier than anything I’ve ridden around NYC.

If it’s not known for the Shootout, it’s definitely known for Mt. Lemmon, the [in]famous 26-mile climb to … nowhere. I opted to skip Lemmon on my most recent trip, mostly because on the scale of Fun to Type 2 Fun to Just Not Fun, I rank Mt. Lemmon as Just Not Fun. But hey, maybe it’s your thing? If so, you can follow this route from Le Buzz, located in the shopping center at the foot of Lemmon. There’s a hot chocolate and cookie shack at the top of Lemmon. It’s nothing special but it gets COLD up there, so at least it’s a place to warm up and refill bottles.

Gates Pass is west of Tucson and a must-do for anyone visiting the area. Once you conquer the gradual climb to the pass, you can descend on the other side, do a little loop, and head back over the pass into Tucson. It’s a good ride for a shorter day, but a must-do if you like to look at pretty things. There are many variations on Gates Pass available on Strava and RideWithGPS, but if you’d like a simple route from the AC Hotel, you can follow this.

The Loop: wide with super smooth pavement

The Loop is such a gift! This loop along the rivers of Tucson is such a fantastic asset and frankly something for other city leaders should want for their own cities. Chatting with other Tucsonians on The Loop, it’s clearly something they are all very proud of. This shared-use greenway is perfect for getting to/from rides around Tucson or just for riding all on its own. Now, if you’re questioning the idea of getting any serious riding done on a greenway, take my word for it! It’s not the congested cluster that the NYC greenways are. It’s wide, smooth, and as far as I can tell, never crowded. I used it to get home from Saguaro East, and rode most of it as a one-off on another day. This route is the entire trail, and you can adjust the start/end depending on where you’re staying.

Saguaro East is a 9-mile loop located in Saguaro National Park. If you love looking at giant cacti and beautiful blue skies, definitely do the loop more than once. It’s mostly rolling, with one tiny 650-foot climb. You’ll have to pay to get into the park, but it’s worth it! There are many options of getting to/from the park, but East Broadway from downtown, although kinda boring and suburban-y, takes you pretty much straight there.

Tucson Food, Drink, Coffee

Boca Tacos is along Historic Fourth Avenue and within walking distance of downtown. Offering some fun on-tap beers, an extensive taco menu, and warm, greasy chips made to order, this place is perfect for a post-ride lunch. Definitely check out the salsa flight! My favorite was an interesting peanutty, peppery salsa that made my mouth burn.

Borderlands Brewing Company was a fun place to stop in for a beer. With a variety of local (and some non-local, including our own Athletic Brewing) beers on tap, it’s hard to not find something to enjoy. As a bonus, on Wednesdays, anyone with a doggo gets half off their beer, so be sure to stop in on a Wednesday and meet some cute pups!

Across the parking lot from Borderlands is a great restaurant called BATA. It’s definitely on the fancier side (although I managed to sneak in wearing a $4 flannel shirt from Goodwill without any protest), but features excellent burnt stuff. Now. Hear me out. Their specialty is a Japanese style of grilling, so many of their dishes have a great burnt-on-the-grill taste. The menu is vegetable-centric and, according to the website, changes frequently depending on the season. So I won’t recommend a specific dish but just say that you should go! With any luck, the dessert menu doesn’t change much and you’ll be able to get the hazelnut chocolate cake with a sweet parsnip topping. Yummm.

Mercato San Agustin and the MSA Annex are located at the end of the Streetcar line (which is FREE to take!) and have fun options for eating, drinking, and coffee. I had a burger from Beaut Burger, a vegan burger joint with tasty fries, but for the omnivores there are certainly other choices. Both the Mercato and the Annex are popular for cyclists – you can just wheel your bike in. These are also good options if you’re riding the loop and want a quick snack or pee break.

If you’re getting a late start on the day or just want a leisurely brunch, I recommend 5 Points. It’s a short walk from downtown through a cute Tucson neighborhood. The aptly -named restaurant is actually at the intersection of five different neighborhoods. I recommend The Pancake, not to be confused with any regular pancake. Paired with two eggs on the side, it fueled me for about 45 miles of riding before I needed a mid-ride snack.

You may have heard of the famous Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix. But obviously Tucson is not Phoenix. Thankfully there is Anello! Chef and restaurateur Scott Girod trained at Pizzeria Bianco and then started his own adorably charming joint in Tucson. I cannot stress how delicious this pizza was. I sampled both the Margeurita and the Verde, the latter of which was topped with a parsley puree and pistachios. It was so delicious, once I finished off the one on my side of the table, I was tempted to swipe a slice from the unknown couple across from me when they weren’t looking. Seriously, go here. The pizza is amazing. And if you’re running early for your reservation, you can always grab a quick beer at Crooked Tooth Brewing Company, which is just across a parking lot from Anello.

I know, I know. This is supposed to be a healthy bike vacation, right? But, I would be ripping you off if I didn’t mention The Owls Club, a sweet downtown cocktail bar. Stop in before or after dinner. But be careful - the drinks are strong. The Slow Learner is definitely the menu highlight!

The Cup Cafe, located within the historic Hotel Congress is a sit-down, table service breakfast situation, but isn’t much more expensive than a regular coffee bar and has some excellent breakfast selections. I recommend the Barrio Toast! If you’re doing a short ride, this could be a nice place to start your day; take a little longer to soak up the morning sunshine and enjoy the outdoor patio!

Cartel Coffee Lab is a hip coffee shop on East Broadway that has some delicious breakfast burritos on offer! If you’re taking a combination bike vacation / work-remotely trip, they have speedy wifi, nice wooden tables, and plenty of space to spread out.

I was not optimistic about Caffe Luce, mostly because the curtain-covered windows didn’t give me a great vibe. But inside, the place was fabulous! Clean and spacious, they offered up fun grilled breakfast sandwiches (I went for the grilled pb & j) and delicious coffee. Also, if you’re a tea person, according to my boyfriend, the tea was excellent (he ordered an entire pot of tea and loved it!).

Speaking of tea, the Scented Leaf, also in downtown, offers a great selection of black, white, green, and herbal teas. My boyfriend, an unfortunate anti-coffee tea-lover, gave it his seal of approval.