Hidden bike path
I’ve ridden the bike path along SR 51 (Piestewa Freeway) many, many times, but it’s been a few years. Today, I rode it again and found a surprising addition…and more miles to ride.
I haven’t taken this path since long before the city of Phoenix opened the Indian Bend Wash Park at the northwest corner of 36th Street and Sweetwater last year. But that’s where the path would always end. If I wanted to continue riding, I’d have to take 36th Street up north to Roadrunner Park and ride miles around the park there.
Now, however, I see that the city has actually paved the left-hand side of the wash all the way over to Stonecreek Golf Course, just west of Paradise Valley Mall. The beauty of this is that now this bike path connects the park through the wash to the border of Paradise Valley, near 52nd Street and Shea Boulevard. Since there aren’t many people in a the area (You’ll see a few joggers, dog walkers, and maybe another cyclist or two, but that’s it.), it’s also a quiet ride.
For this trip, which began as far north as Reach 11 (and I stopped to turn around at the golf course instead of going all the way to 52nd and Shea), I wound up with a 14-mile ride this morning. When I used to ride this path before, I might get 10 miles out of it, if I rode around the park a few times. With those extra miles paved in the wash, this is so much better.
For the Phoenix travelers–local or not–looking for a safe place to ride a bike in a quiet setting, and if you’d like a decent bit of exercise, I recommend this path. All you have to do, pretty much, is follow the 51. (Map it.)
Comments Off