+ Tucson 101 (click to open)

About Tucson

• Walk Score: 43. Walk Score measures the walkability of any address based on the distance to nearby places and pedestrian friendliness.
• Transit Score: 35. Transit Score measures how well a location is served by public transit based on the distance and type of nearby transit lines.

• Bike Score: 66. Bike Score measures whether an area is good for biking based on bike lanes and trails, hills, road connectivity, and destinations.

• League of American Cyclists Community Rating: GOLD

• People for Bikes Network Analysis rating: 33

Maps

• City Bike Map - PDF, Interactive
• The Loop Trail Map - PDF, Interactive

Indigenous people used the river floodplain around modern-day Tucson to farm, creating irrigation canals that functioned for several millenia, before the land was taken from them in an all-too-familiar pattern of displacement by Europeans. The first to arrive and do so were the Spanish, who built a fort here in 1775. The territory was later taken by Mexico, and then in 1854 it became American, shortly thereafter picking the wrong side in the American Civil War. Things plugged along quietly enough for the next hundred years, and then the town’s population absolutely exploded between 1950 and 1960, going from 45k to 213k in 10 years. Some of the factors include soldiers who trained in Tuscon for WWII moving back afterward, the advent of air conditioning, the expansion of the university, and the town annexing enough land to physically expand eightfold. The company that would go on to be known as Raytheon got started making radar and missiles, the local airport went international, and local government turned the economic incentive engines up to 11. As a result, groundwater pumping has mostly dried the Santa Cruz river up, with the distant Colorado River doing its best to supply the town’s needs. With the Colorado beginning to now dry up as well, Tucson has started water conservation programs, but the future of their water supply seems uncertain at best.

For many people, the biggest draw to Tucson will be the weather. There is a monsoon season, which raises humidity and then dumps a good bit of rain on the valley in late Summer. But the rest of the year is usually ideal, with highs in the 70s and 80s and limitless sunshine. Another big draw is The Loop, a 55-mile bike path that circles town. Desert climate means long views of distant hills, and everyone enjoys car-free biking, so The Loop could be a wonderful way to get out for fresh air and exercise while staying in town.

Biking downtown, however, is unfortunately very car-filled. Very few concessions, if any, have been made for people travelling downtown in any way other than single occupancy vehicles. Bike lanes are rudimentary or entirely absent on many downtown routes. The locals who were kind enough to chat and ride with us showed us several routes to get near downtown that were much better than Google Maps’ suggestions, which helped a great deal. But once you get truly downtown, you may well find yourself politely, carefully, respectfully riding on sidewalks (as we did) to get those last few blocks to the good restaurants, bars, etc. It remains the humble opinion of Bikabout that this is the safest, best option when it isn’t safe to bike on the street. If you do find yourself riding on a city sidewalk, remember to go slow, be 1,000% respectful, and remember that you are a guest who is almost certainly not technically allowed to ride there. So be cool.

+ Bike Safety, Etiquette and Laws (click to open)

Etiquette

You likely will not encounter much bike traffic while in Tucson, other than on campus paths. The biggest thing to remember is that sidewalk ettiquette we mentioned above. It’s almost certainly illegal to ride on sidewalks downtown, but so is going 1 mile per hour over the speed limit. In practice, if you just don’t surprise or frighten other people, you’re going to be fine. And the sidewalks were the only safe way for us to get to many of the best places in Tucson, due to street car tracks, cars, and lack of separated infrastructure.

Safety

Choose the routes (including the occasional sidewalk jaunt) that seem the safest to you. Also, walk your bike through any particularly crowded, busy intersections if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Remember to bring sunblock, even if you flew there from someplace cold and grey.

Security

Bike theft seems to be moderate at worst in Tucson, from what we could tell. We never leave bikes outdoors at night on trips (“if you’re cold, they’re cold!”), and neither should you. Meanwhile, any decent u-lock should be fine for going out. Bike racks will be scarce, unfortunately, so you may have to get creative about where to lock up your bike.

Tucson Culture

Recreational cyclists were common outside town on the long, beautiful bike trails that stretch for miles. In town, there’s a smaller but dedicated contingent of family cyclists out there doing normal things, and around University of Arizona campus there are hundreds of people biking between buildings.

Best Bike Rides in Tucson

+ Bikes (click to open)

Bike Share

• Tugo Bike Share - $4 - $80 pass prices from daily to annual durations.

Rentals

SHOPS

• Tucson Loop Bike Rentals - rents ebikes, comfort/cruisers, road and mountain bikes with a unique and convenient return option, bike lockers located on The Loop.

SPINLISTER

• "Airbnb for bikes"-rent a wide variety of bikes from locals

BIKE SHOPS

• Transit Cycles - woman-owned, full service maintenance shop specializing in city bikes.
• Ajo Bikes - sell kids', recumbent and mountain bikes; repair all others.
• Cycle To Go - specialize in folding Bromptons, Tern, Bike Friday and Yuba cargo bikes.

+ Eats, Drinks and Sights (click to open)

Places to...

• EAT - El Charro Cafe, Penca, Lemongrass, Five Points Market & Deli, Seis Kitchen
• DRINK - Barrio Brewing, Tap and Bottle, Presta Coffee Roasters
• SEE - Aviation Bikeway, Rattlesnake Bridge, Parking Garage for Sunsets

+ Hotels (click to open)

Hotel

• The Tuxon - boutique, restored roadside motel | 960 S Freeway, Tucson, AZ 85745 | +1-520-372-2853

  Amenities: free bikes for guests, roll-in-room bike parking, bike rack, 2 blocks from car-free bike trail

• Graduate Tucscon - boutique hotel on campus | 930 E 2nd St, Tucson, AZ 85719 | +1-520-467-5900

  Amenities: free bikes for guests

+ Transportation (click to open)

• Sun Tran (Map) - FREE fares through June 2022

AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN

Take the number 11 or 25 bus from the airport to Downtown's Laos Transit Center.

BUS POLICY

"Sun Tran buses are equipped with a bike rack on the front bumper that can hold up two or three bikes, depending on the rack model. If the bike rack is full, please wait for the next bus. Bikes are not allowed inside buses, unless they are fold-up styles."

LIGHT RAIL POLICY

• "Cyclists dismount and wheel your bike to the stop. You’ll enter the same streetcar doors as pedestrians.
• Look for seats that face each other and locate the yellow handle on the corner of the seat. Flip the seat up. Now you have room to stand with your bike.
• You’ll stand with your bike on board. There is a designated area in the center of the streetcar for you to stand with your bike."

TRAIN

• Sunset Limited (New Orleans-San Antonio-Tucson-Phoenix-Los Angeles) - $20 for trainside checked bicycle service. Reservation required.

Bus

• FlixBus (Tucson-Phoenix-Tempe-Las Cruces-El Paso-Flagstaff-Kingman-Las Vegas-Palm Springs-Riverside-Los Angeles) - "If bike racks are available on your selected ride, you can simply add your bike during the booking process. You can take your bike with you if it is of standard size, without add-ons and weighs a maximum of 45 lb. Alternatively, Folding bikes can be transported in their special transportation case. The maximum weight and size of a folding bike that we can accept are 70 lb or 95 square inches. Your bike is transported in the baggage compartment as ‘Additional Baggage’ must be purchased during the booking process."

AIRLINES

These airlines fly into Tucson airport.

• Alaska Air- $30 to check bike
• Delta- standard checked bag fee for boxed bikes under 50 pounds
• Frontier- $75 to check bike
• Southwest Airlines- FREE to check a boxed bike weighing under 50 pounds as our 1 piece of luggage.
• Sun Country Airlines- $75. Sun Country will accept non-motorized touring or racing bicycles with single seats. Bicycles must have the handlebars fixed sideways and the pedals removed, or be placed in a cardboard container, or the pedals and the handlebars must be encased in plastic foam or similar material.