with Tim Swindle

Saguaro National Park East, 3693 S. Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, Arizona 85730

Meet at: Desert Living Overlook parking lot, the first parking lot past the ranger station, on the road to the Picnic Area. Parking: There are five regular spaces plus a handicapped space in the Desert Living Overlook parking lot, and room to park one or two more small vehicles. There is also parking at the visitor’s center (before you go through the ranger station), which is only a couple of hundred yards away, although that is often full. There is one more spot big enough for one car about 600 yards beyond the Desert Living Overlook.

The ride: We’ll ride to the Javelina Picnic Ground (where we have Easter Sunrise services) and back, a little more than 3 miles. Then, for those who want a more ambitious ride, we’ll ride the Cactus Forest Loop road, about 8 miles. There’s quite a bit of climbing involved (the full loop is not only longer, but also has steeper sections), so I’d suggest that people either have an e-bike or a mountain bike with low gears, unless they’ve ridden the park before and know what they’re getting into. We’ll stop frequently to rest, hydrate, talk about the park, etc. I’ve never led a group ride like this before, but I expect it to take about 2 hours total for those who do the full ride, based on bike tours that I see in the park.