[Originally published February 20, 2026]
Thanks to Jeff for this guest post! It's a story about how things don't always go to plan, but sometimes, that's part of the real adventure.
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“Let’s go someplace warm with a nonstop flight from Raleigh”. My wife, Debra, had an airline voucher to use before it expired in early December. Phoenix, AZ fit her limited criteria, so we were off to the desert southwest for a few days of urban adventure.
For accommodations, Debra found a renovated Airstream trailer permanently set in a neighborhood on the north side of Phoenix. As a recovering architect I appreciated the modern design aesthetic of the property, with steel posts suspending a fabric canopy over the trailer and chairs on the outdoor deck. A linear, steel fire pit was the focus of a minimal but very intentionally designed oasis inside a painted wood privacy fence. And then there were the bikes, of course. The property listing promised a pair of professionally maintained classic Schwinn bikes that would allow us to explore the city. What we found when we arrived was a little different.
By design we did not rent a car and chose to pack our helmets and some lights and arrived ready to explore the city on 2 wheels.
When I pulled back a tarp covering the bikes I found 2 single speed step-through department store beach cruisers with 24” wheels and plastic wicker baskets. They were covered in dirt and had four flat tires. One bike was missing a nut to secure the front axle making it a veritable death trap. The brakes rubbed the rims and kept the wheels from turning. In short, the bikes were unrideable without a lot of love. Luckily, my volunteer work with Raleigh Community Kickstand has given me plenty of valuable experience repairing department store bikes.
So, I got to work. I cleaned up the bikes, put air in the tires, adjusted the brakes, tightened the handlebars, and extended the seat posts well past that etched in warning in an effort to avoid knee surgery after riding this thing. In chivalrous fashion I climbed aboard the death trap, and we tentatively pedaled off toward a local bike shop, Velo Cycles, in hopes of sourcing the missing part to keep the front wheel firmly attached to the bike. It was obvious that Velo was a high-end bike shop, so I knew what to expect when I wheeled my bike into the store. After only a hint of judgement, we wore down the mechanic and staff with our witty banter and became fast friends with him and the woman working the retail side of the store. We shared some stories while he found the elusive missing part and quickly had it installed for no charge. We went on to buy some bike lube and all kinds of nutrition in return for the favor.
So now we were free to explore Phoenix. The city grid is extraordinarily flat with distant views of mountain outcroppings in every direction. We quickly learned that Google Maps steers you toward some decent bike infrastructure and bike lanes provided on some of the busier streets; however, the residential streets in between were all but deserted and felt extremely safe and carefree for biking, so we favored those quiet options whenever possible. The other thing that you can’t help but notice in Phoenix is the presence of Waymo driverless taxis. They are everywhere and you will interact with them dozens of times on an urban ride. At first, we were a bit tentative being alongside them at stoplights or at 4-way stop signs, but to their credit, the one thing they are is decisive. There is no hesitation in the way they drive, and we came to enjoy the predictability of their operation. While not perfect, and there are certainly stories of their foibles, including one that wandered onto the light rail tracks in Phoenix a few weeks after we were there, their attention to the road and their surroundings appears to far exceed that of the typical urban driver. They had earned our trust.
When we awoke the next morning ready to romp on the streets of Phoenix we found one flat tire on each bike. I put air back in the tires and, once they were open, we were once again off to Velo Cycles. They did not have the 24” tubes we needed, so they recommended we head further north to Sun Cyclery, who caters to the less discerning cyclist. They were great and had the tubes we needed. I set up shop in the parking lot and swapped out the tubes so, by late morning we were finally ready to begin our ride proper.
The destination for the day was sunny Scottsdale, and the route would make use of a sometimes paved, sometimes gravel path along one of the canals that winds through Phoenix. The canals were dug over 1000 years ago by indigenous people that used them for irrigation. Now they appear to serve as a form of flood control and convenient option for a smattering of walkers, joggers, and bikers. With our early detour to the bike shops, we were going to be on the hook for about a 35-mile round trip on our klunkers. Along the way we peeled off from the canal and stopped for a late lunch at OHSO Brewing. The manager saw us park our bikes and identified himself as a fellow cyclist and quizzed us about our ride while offering advice about other routes, including some caution about the safety of our plan to ride the southern canal to the Arboretum. We had a great meal and out of kindness or mercy for our long beach cruiser ride, they comped our beer.
We rolled into Scottsdale and I found a place to sketch a pedestrian bridge over the canal while Debra was able to do a little exploring around town. Scottsdale had a much different uptown/resort feel, catering to the 1%ers. We didn’t dawdle too long before reversing course. On the return ride there was a not-so-safe-feeling narrow pedestrian bridge crossing of the highway that had a rather permanent homeless encampment requiring us to walk our bikes over someone’s area rug. We finished by cruising a long, straight bike lane into the setting sun back toward downtown Phoenix and our AirBnB.
The next day we did chance a ride along the southern canal and knew right away, based on the number of shopping carts deposited in the canal, this had the feel of “the other side of the tracks” or perhaps, “the road less traveled”. The Desert Arboretum proved to be stunning and well worth the effort. The Arboretum is laid out in 4 loops, each with a unique desert environment curated to reflect the 4 desert climates in Arizona. It was also hosting a mesmerizing exhibit of outdoor digital screens that used 365-day time lapse scans to illustrate the dynamic nature of desert and urban landscapes. For the return trip to downtown Phoenix, we made use of their light-rail system, which has cars conveniently dedicated to cyclists.
On our last full day, we biked to the Heard Museum. Built in 1929, the museum has a vast collection of American Indian art and artifacts of more than 40,000 pieces. We had intended to spend a few hours but ended up eating lunch at their café and spending most of the day absorbing everything the museum had to offer. We learned a ton and appreciated both the quality of the work and honest presentation of difficult issues.
Similar to Raleigh, Phoenix hosts a First Friday art walk. Unlike Raleigh, the event draws 20,000 people monthly. It is more street festival than art walk, with a combination of musicians, food trucks, craft vendors, with a little art sprinkled in. We arrived early and left around 9 PM before things got, in the words of one bartender, “a little chaotic”. Traffic was at a bit of a standstill, but we were thankful to have brought our bike lights and were able to weave our way out of the chaos and find our way home on deserted residential streets.
We have found urban vacations, both in the US and especially abroad, work best without reliance on a vehicle. Walking, biking, and transit options make for an authentic experience that challenge and expose you to the art, architecture, people, and complexities of the urban fabric. Phoenix was no exception and proved to be an excellent place to explore by bike, even if it was a clunky beach cruiser.