Have ridden it both ways. Not suicidal but that depends on your comfort level with traffic. Either routé describes works.
Adjacent to I-10 can be a bit boring; the route through Florence or Coolidge is a bit hilly but more scenic.
Definitely bring 2 water bottles and refill at each opportunity as water is a scarce commodity inn the desert.
After Oracle Jct/Catalina you pretty well get into Tucson area traffic.
Currently (5/9/15) construction for several miles just as you enter Catalina.