Bike Outing

When we were in Colorado during September, we bought new bicycles. We have been able to ride them in the state parks we stayed in there and around our resort here in Mesa. But we wanted to explore more of this area. Several of the canals running through the metro are have paved trails. After a search of a nearby access point, we drove to Chandler yesterday and rode on the Chandler Paseo Trail along the Consolidated Canal. We probably rode about 6 miles of so--not long, but enough to get started.



On the web site where I found the trail, there were ads for "waterfront property" along the canals in the Phoenix area. That might be a stretch for folks from locations with lakes and oceans, but the developers have put in well-landscaped parks and greenways along the Paseo Canal. This one, at least, is very attractive.







The bougainvillea were just beautiful.



Some of the parks are even marked "private property, for use of residents of (this development) only." In some places, the other side of the canal is not nearly as attractive.



The canal even had some birds. We saw several mallard ducks, as well as this bird. I think it is a cormorant, but I'm not sure.



It was a good ride and we will find other canal trails in the future. I prefer riding on pavement and don't want to contend with vehicles on the roads, so these trails are great.

The day ended with a beautiful full moon, photographed about 9 pm.