Group Ride in/near Bisbee?

My wife and I are going to be in Bisbee AZ near the end of May and I
was hoping to hook up with a group ride either in Bisbee or close by.
Is there an active cycling club in that area that I could ride with? I
know the Vuelta de Bisbee will be held there next week, so I hope they
have an active cycling community; I just haven't found it on the web
yet.

If you know of group rides in nearby towns, that would be helpful too,
of course.

Thanks!

-JR

OK, I love Bisbee - great town, a bit funky (post copper bust and the
rebirth of the town), centered in a great area. That said, Bisbee (the
town, geographically speaking) is not real conducive to cycling - lots
of steep hills, narrow winding streets, etc. Never seen much in the
way of cyclists around there.

If you know the area, or look at a map showing populations, you would
suspect that the best bet anywhere close by for cycle clubs is Sierra
Vista; flatter, and a much larger population with lots of (mostly
military) retirees. There are at least two clubs in Sierra Vista; the
Cochise County Cyclists and Thunder Mountain Cycling. The next best
bet in the area is Douglas, but I do not know of any cycle groups in
that area even though it is the home of the Cochise County Classic each
fall.

One other note; weather will be hot, darned hot possibly, by end of May
so best to do your cycling early in the day.

- rick

I love hills (it's a sickness), but narrow streets can be unnerving,
which is why I'm looking for a group ride: safety in numbers plus local
knowledge. I should have thought to look for "Cochise County" but it
simply didn't occur to me. I found their website just fine -- looks
like a pretty active group.

Thanks!


-JR

And just 90 minutes away is Tucson which is a cycling paradise with
many active clubs-ranging from social to recreational to touring to
fitness to hard core racing. Also, great roads and variety from pure
flat to genuine mountaineous.

By the end of May it will be HOT in southern AZ. The riding community
is still very active but rides start early.

I, too, love hills. The problem with Bisbee is that all the hills seem
to be better suited to ascending and none seem good for descending ;-)
If it were me I would head west into the San Pedro Valley and maybe
over to the Huachucas, or head east toward the Chiricahuas, or maybe
towards the Patagonias. In other words, I would want to do my riding
away from Bisbee (but not go anywhere near Tombstone), and leave Bisbee
as the nice place for dinner and some rest :-)

- rick

I'd forgotten about the Chiricahuas. I remember when we visited the
park the last time I thought: what a great road for a bike ride. I
don't remember much about the drive to the park -- are there decent
roads along the way?

Just out of curiosity, why stay away from Tombstone? McLaurys and
Clantons not still raising a fuss, are they? ;-)


-JR

The road to the Monument from Wilcox is in good shape and not heavily
traveled. But it does not have much of a shoulder. It is also easy to
come in from the other side-same road.

BTW was hiking there only 5 weeks ago and the snow had just melted.

As to Tombstone, while the town is a bit kitschy there are plenty of
nice roads around -also sans shoulders and the contryside is actually
beautiful. Tombstone is just outside of the Dragoons (Cochise
Stronghold) which are really spectacular low mountains. Well worth a
day to drive or mountain bike or hike in.

For the Chiricahuas, from Bisbee, I prefer coming in from the south
rather than the north (Wilcox). Head south of Bisbee, cut across on
Double Adobe, take the back roads until forced onto US 191, then US 181
to the road up to the monument. If you are real hardy you could cut
down to Douglas and go over to Portal and in via the east side of the
mountains.

I avoid Tombstone for the same reason I avoid any tourist town where
the population of clueless folks driving oversized RV's they are not
used to handing is higher than a couple. Too many tourists not
watching where they are going. Easy enough to get the Dragoons from
further east and not go through Tombstone ;-)

- rick

Thanks, Rick. I printed out your suggestion and I'll take it with me
in case I don't hook up with the Sierra Vista cycling group.

-JR