{"id":919445,"date":"2026-10-07T13:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919445\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T13:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T13:40:18","slug":"stargazing-and-bikepacking-in-arizona-was-one-of-the-best-cycling-experiences-ive-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/919445\/","title":{"rendered":"Stargazing and bikepacking in Arizona was one of the best cycling experiences I’ve ever had"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a writer, you\u2019re expected to have detachment \u2013 an ability to step back from your lived experience and be objective. Well, let\u2019s forget that, and let me tell you about one of the best things that\u2019s ever happened to me on a bike.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always looking for the next story. It\u2019s the best way I know to keep riding, see the world, meet new people and have as much fun as possible. But it takes imagination, research and a well-tuned antenna to keep things fresh. While \u2018middle-aged man rides bike, has lovely time\u2019 is a story I\u2019d love to keep writing, you deserve something more interesting.<\/p>\n

So, when a friend in Arizona casually mentioned that Tucson bikepackers<\/a> were doing multi-day loops to camp at the best stargazing spots, I was intrigued.<\/p>\n

Riders in the sky
\n\"\"Riding in 37\u00b0C temperatures, even 25km is hard work, particularly with a 20km climb thrown in. Eric Acre<\/p>\n

Did you know the term \u2018Dark Sky\u2019 was coined in Tucson? The south of Arizona gets more than 300 nights a year without rain or cloud, and the air is extremely dry, which means very little moisture distorts the view of the stars. It\u2019s why the surrounding mountains are dotted with observatories and why the locals call them the \u2018Sky Islands\u2019.<\/p>\n

So, when Tucson riders seek adventure, they ride miles of stunning, empty desert roads by day and pitch up at night in some of the world\u2019s best dark sky spots for stargazing fun.<\/p>\n

I love space, but I don\u2019t like camping. So, with my well-sharpened instinct for a shortcut, I went straight to the source.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on the summit of Mount Hopkins is owned and run by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, in conjunction with Harvard University, and collects vital astronomical data for scientists all over the world.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a serious place. So, when I contacted their team and asked if they\u2019d mind five sweaty bikepackers dropping by, I was honestly expecting to be told to shove my request where the sun doesn\u2019t shine. <\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t have been more wrong.\u00a0 Communications director Amy Stamm was delighted by the prospect and rolled out the red carpet for us. Forget squinting at the sky, trying to remember whether you\u2019re looking at the Bear Paw Galaxy or the handle of the Plough \u2013 we were in the hands of the experts.<\/p>\n

Country roads<\/p>\n

Which is what leads us to a remote car park at 10am, wrestling with more straps and buckles than a professional dominatrix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Whipple Observatory is more than 80km from Tucson. That\u2019s way, way too far for this parched Brit to ride, off-road and in brutal heat, in a day. Also, the last part of the ride is a 20km climb with 1,372m of elevation. So, the closer to our destination we can set off, the happier I am.<\/p>\n

Riding with photographer Eric, Nick (the founder of bikepacking bag company Rogue Panda), Artec (former singlespeed bikepacking racer) and Molly (bike industry veteran), we stage out of Tubac, a tiny town 25km from the mountain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t sound far, but the temperature is already north of 37\u00b0C. We each strap 5 litres of water to our bike before we set off. Ahead of us is a climb to over 3,000m, and we need to get there by suppertime.<\/p>\n

While Nick, Artec and Eric are all on MTBs, Molly and I opt for gravel bikes<\/a>, and the frequent stretches of soft sand suck at our heavy front wheels like stones in a lake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After a couple of hours of sliding, heaving and sudden losses of momentum, we\u2019re less than pleased. Thankfully, Nick miraculously produces ice lollies from his pack, stowed away specifically for just such an occasion.<\/p>\n

With spirits lifted, we spend the next few hours inching towards our goal \u2013 the space-age white cube of the observatory itself, perched atop Mount Hopkins like a gift. After reaching a two-lane section of blacktop and climbing for 10 minutes, we\u2019re finally at basecamp.<\/p>\n

Reach for the stars
\n\"\"Inside the Whipple observatory on Mount Hopkins. Eric Acre<\/p>\n

Director Gabrelle Saurage is there to meet us, and isn\u2019t fazed by five stinking, starving riders around her conference-room table. We\u2019re on federal land, at a site of key scientific interest and there are rules.<\/p>\n

No white light (it interferes with the telescopes), no booze and we\u2019re to watch out for mountain lions. When we explain we\u2019ve been riding for over three hours already, they\u2019re worried we won\u2019t be able to make the 20km climb on a dirt road to the top.<\/p>\n

Despite our assurances, facilities manager Tom has packed his truck with cold drinks, snacks and a first aid kit, and insists on following us up. The poor guy spends two hours driving at a crawl, watching our exhausted arses wobble up the steep dirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth it. As we crest the penultimate turn, the sun is beginning to set, the sky filled with streaks of orange and purple. The last of the light turns surface water into pools of silver, and we can see the lights of Nogales twinkling in the distance, just over the border in Mexico.<\/p>\n

While that would be reward enough, the Whipple\u2019s delights are only just beginning. We\u2019re welcomed into a rec room with a kitchen and pool table, before being shown to individual dorm rooms each with a double bed, fresh towels and electricity.<\/p>\n

Showered, changed and heartily fed (they ordered food from a local restaurant for us), we\u2019re then taken down the mountain by Tom, where visiting Harvard academic Dr Daniel Eisenstein has assembled a group of grad students and a telescope for us.<\/p>\n

Moonstruck
\n\"\"Arizona’s dark skies, dry air and altitude are ideal for astronomy. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Have you ever seen the moon closely enough to make out the shadow cast by the edge of one of its craters? Me neither, until now. Thank God it\u2019s dark, otherwise all these people would have witnessed me weeping gently at its beauty.<\/p>\n

It turns out that\u2019s just the warm-up. Tom drives us back up to the main prize \u2013 the MMT Observatory telescope at the top of the mountain, at almost 2,600m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in a huge sheet-metal building the size of a Georgian townhouse, and the two scientists charged with looking after it couldn\u2019t be more pleased to see us. They\u2019re armed with space jokes, endless facts and a saintly patience with our ignorance of the solar system.<\/p>\n

They can put on a show too. Since the telescope\u2019s bay doors are closed while clouds pass over, we\u2019re invited to stand right behind them as, with a flourish, the scientists crank them open on huge rollers, revealing the Scorpio star system right there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crystal clear, as if we could reach out and touch it. Then the giant altazimuth holding the telescope\u2019s mirror rotates downward behind us and we all think the same thing \u2013 please let this thing be a space laser.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not, but our hosts have one more cool thing up their sleeves. The entire building we\u2019re standing in is designed to rotate, so they let us stand on the steps and watch the clear night sky move above us as we spin slowly through the night.<\/p>\n

Big numbers
\n\"\"The rugged, hot, dry terrain makes even short bikepacking rides hard work. Eric Acre<\/p>\n

By now, it\u2019s past 1am, there are still two more telescopes to see, and Eric isn\u2019t leaving without photographing the Milky Way. So Eric, Molly and I head down the hill to meet Mike, who operates two smaller telescopes. He\u2019s a delight and has stories for days. I learn more about space in 10 minutes than I\u2019ve learned in my entire life up to this point.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s hardly room in our brains for the scale and specifics of the astronomical numbers involved, and we\u2019re barely able to keep our eyes open. But I ask Mike what his most memorable moment from the past 20 years is, and his answer is something I\u2019ll never forget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2003, we detected light from a star that we\u2019d never seen before. It was so bright and so distant that it backlit three galaxies we knew were there but had previously been too far away to see.\u201d On that humbling note, we stagger to bed.<\/p>\n

Blacktop blast
\n\"\"Tarmac roads were a welcome relief from the sandy trails. Eric Acre<\/p>\n

After breakfast, and a swift honorary lap around the telescope building, we hare down the access road, stop for goodbyes and proper coffee with our newfound friends, and get back onto the road.<\/p>\n

No one\u2019s in the mood for a return journey on the dirt trails, and the more direct route is on the highway, which turns out to be this trip\u2019s last, glorious gift. On a gentle downhill, in the first rays of the morning sun, we take our hands off the bars, crank up the tunes and simply cruise. We don\u2019t turn our pedals, slow down or see a sign of human life for an hour.<\/p>\n

The word \u2018epic\u2019 gets thrown around a lot, and I\u2019m generally opposed to hyperbole and exaggeration. But I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s another more suitable word. It\u2019s not possible to ride into space just yet. Until it is, this will do just fine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a writer, you\u2019re expected to have detachment \u2013 an ability to step back from your lived experience…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":919446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,50514,85],"class_list":["post-919445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-gravel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=919445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/919445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=919445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=919445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=919445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}