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Ride from Sonoita to Parker Canyon Lake

11/9/2017

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Hiked to 7 falls and have never seen it so dry.  No flow, just a couple of pools.  Rain the following day may have started the water again though.  On Wednesday, I signed up for a group ride out of....
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....Sonoita, just southeast of Tucson and at the entrance to "wine country."  Around 15 cyclists came out and prior to the ride I had been encouraged by seeing a couple of names that ride at an A or B pace.  The ride was supported by a van, driven by a cyclist who crashed and out of commission for awhile.  The van would be available during the ride to shed clothing and then at the lake for lunch.
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Alas, it had been promoted as a C pace and the two who can ride faster needed to do a recovery ride so at mile 0.05, I got away.  The area received quite a bit of rain last night, the first in almost 2 months.  The monsoon season really fizzled after a strong start.  A match thrown in the grass would quickly escalate.  
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The Rincon Mountains with Mount Wrightson to the west.
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I passed a couple of wineries.  Kind of sad looking but the area's 7-9 wineries are on a par with Ohio's in terms of grape production and tasting room quality.  Not Napa or the Central Coast but worth a visit.
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The routes to the lake gains around 1500' of elevation so the vegetation begins to change and soon....
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....I'm in thick forest of mostly pine.  At mile 29, drop into Parker Canyon and there.....
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....find the lake.  Very nice spot at around 5500 elevation. There is a well stocked....
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....general store too so I buy a Coke and wait 30 minutes for the others to arrive.
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I was told the fishing is very good and there were several boats on the water.  I join the others for lunch but now I am in the super, ultra linger time of around 50 minutes so I thank everyone and head off for another solo effort that takes.....
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....me past this neat ranch where there is an extensive network of fencing made from tree limbs.
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A system had rolled through out of Baja and so some lingering clouds are on the horizon.  Finished with 58 miles and 3200' of climbing.  The pavement was fantastic with a nice rolling route and a couple of good climbs.  Would do it again.  Also traffic was very light.
        
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    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

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