Cycling Mt. Lemmon

Tricat ride up Mt. Lemmon
Photo by David McErlean

Mt. Lemmon is world famous in the cycling community. Pro teams travel across the globe just to train on the Catalina Highway's steep, long roads. The road is 26 miles long with with over six thousand feet of elevation.

The weather is warm again and cycling season has never been better. This morning I left from La Buzz Caffe and headed up Mt. Lemmon. La Buzz Caffe is located at the base of Mt. Lemmon and is the last major parking lot before heading up the mountain.

From La Buzz Caffe, the road to the mountain is a few miles of false flats before reaching the mile marker zero, where it turns to a steady climb.

The first six miles to Molino Basin are the hardest. After passing Molino Basin, the road levels out more to make the length of the ride harder than the steepness of it. The hardest part of the ride is telling yourself to keep going for three to four hours to the top. There are several places to stop along the way, such as Windy Point.

To keep the body moving, there are scenic views of all Tucson from the high elevation. Just looking out over the flat desert.

Once at the top of Mt. Lemmon, there is a small village with a general store and the Cookie Cabin. Although its a little pricy, the Cookie Cabin has really good pizza and cookies. These are the only places on the mountain to get food and refill your water bottles.

The way back down is very fast. Riders hit speeds over 50 miles and hour coming down the mountain. Watch out for fallen rocks in the road and cars. It will be one of the few times that riders are moving faster than the cars.

Expect to take three or four hours for the climb, and an hour for the way down. Don't for get to bring extra water and food on this ride. There any available until reaching the village. Also make sure to bring warm clothes with you for the way back down. The wind gets very cold while coming down.

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