Phoenix to Tucson.. Suicidal?
 

I visit phx frequently and riding to Tucson appeals to me. I would probably be riding solo and I'm becoming a bit of a traffic weenie so narrow shoulders, big trucks etc wouldn't really work for me. I've found old reports of ppl who have ridden it but nothing recent. Any thoughts out there?

Picacho to Tucson is no big deal, the frontage road is great little traffic. From Picacho to Chandler I don't know what the route would be.

I did it with a group in November. Coolidge, Florence, Oracle route. Even on these back roads traffic wasn't ideal but where really is?

I've done it and it's not that bad. On the route I took very little of it was on a narrow shoulder. Almost all of my ride was back roads and frontage roads along the I-10. It's flat the whole way. I rode from Tempe to Hotel Congress in a day. Took me a while at the time.

I still have my old, handwritten route. If you're interested I could take a picture and post it.

That would be great, thx

Hopefully this is readable. This route has frequent changes and it cuts down on the monotony a little. http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=433245

There are lots of dirt roads between the two highways if you're into that.

I've done it twice.

Some people ride a way down the I-10 frontage road which I briefly considered before choosing the 87>79 route through Coolidge, and I'm glad I made that choice. The way along the 10 is scattered riding over bad roads while looking at freeway traffic while the Pioneer highway route that I took was beautiful most of the way and at least has a little bit of elevation gain. It's about 6 hours if you're cooking.

The road from Chandler to Coolidge has a 5' shoulder that I would just refer to as a bike lane. It doesn't get much use so you can get some rocky or littered areas but nothing major, I didn't have a flat either time I did it, the first time I was solo, and the second time with a group a few of the heavier people got a flat. In Coolidge there is a gas station where you can refill your bottles, and you definitely should, because it's the last civilization you'll see until you get to Oracle Junction, which is basically Tucson, and is the longest stretch of road. There is no shoulder here, but the road is in good shape and despite the 65mph speed limit, the traffic count is low and mostly passenger vehicles. Both times I did this ride were planned to be at the lowest traffic periods, Sunday morning just after sunrise... actually started in the dark both times, so I may have been riding before most people are even awake.

Once you get to Oracle Juntion, there's a Mexican restaurant to refill bottles if you want and then a descent down into Tucson and it's mostly city riding from that point.

Here's a link to my most recent ride that way...
https://www.strava.com/activities/103359059

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.