The year 2022 marks my 11th year of shooting the final mile of El Tour de Tucson. And Saturday, November 19 was one of those cloudless, sunny days for which our city is famous. From my vantage point, it wasn’t clear who the 102-mile race winner would be. Shortly before 11 am, a police escort…
There are some times when I feel like I miss all the good stuff. Must be something left over from my childhood, when I was utterly and totally excluded from the Cool Kids’ Table. The finish of this year’s Tour de Tucson felt like that. A pack of riders flew toward me, I got a…
Part 1: Finding Treasure When the Grant Road widening project came through my neighborhood, I saw an opportunity: Rubble. And lots of it. The pre-construction building demolitions did not disappoint. A quarter mile away from home, I found a treasure. It was one of those metal grid walls that had been used in a store…
November 23 was one of those days that cyclists dream about. Warm, sunny, and delightfully lacking in headwinds that could slow you down — and get you down. For me, it was a great day for a bike-tographic expedition to the last mile of El Tour de Tucson 2019. The 100-mile race winner, Ulises Alfredo…
Okay, it’s confession time: I’ve been away from the bike-tography game for a while. I started my comeback at Sunday’s Cyclovia Tucson. If you’re not familiar with the global Cyclovia movement, it’s a celebration of streets for everyone, not just cars. Held in Tucson since 2010, Cyclovia inspires tens of thousands of people to bicycle,…
The 35th running of El Tour de Tucson offered the best thing a cyclist could ask for: Perfect weather. Sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures in the 80s. Which made it a great day for bicycle photography. However, I couldn’t help noticing that, as compared to a decade ago, participation was way down. I used…
A ferocious southeasterly wind didn’t stop the participants in this year’s Tour de Tucson. Nearly 5,000 people completed one of the five races or the non-competitive fun ride. View photos of racers and fun riders in my bike-tographic gallery …
You’ve probably seen many photos of El Tour de Tucson – packs of cyclists hurtling past picturesque mountains or cactus-studded deserts. Can’t say that any of them have come from my camera. Why not? Because I don’t have a car! The bicycle is my main form of transportation, and that includes going to and from…
Back to Tucson’s South Side for another exciting finish to El Tour de Tucson. I also shot the 2012 race from the South Side. The winner, Philip Tintsman, broke away late in the 104-mile race and finished miles ahead of everyone else. View my 2014 Tour de Tucson photo gallery…
Cyclovia Tucson used to be one of those annual events. And then it became popular. Very popular. The spring 2014 edition attracted 20,000 people to Tucson’s South Side. The first-ever fall Cyclovia Tucson featured the central part of the city. I have a confession to make: I didn’t ride. Not one single pedal stroke. The…
This past Sunday dawned bright and sunny. Typical Tucson weather, and it was perfect for a bicycle ride. So, I boarded the Official Bike-tography Bike and joined 20,000 of my best friends on Cyclovia Tucson’s South Side route. This five-mile ride featured a little bit of everything. Kids learning how to ride a two-wheeler. A…
My “No Gas” photo print has made the bigtime! It’s in today’s “Arts Speak” show at the Tucson Museum of Art. Here are the specs: Archival-quality 19.5” x 29” Giclée print in 38.5” x 29” frame. Which begs the question: How do you transport something that big when you don’t have a car? Meet the…
Have you been for a ride on The Loop? It’s an off-road path that’s being built around the Tucson valley. The Loop will make it possible for cyclists, walkers, and runners to avoid motorized traffic. This past Sunday, the first-ever Old Pueblo Gran FUNdo took to The Loop. It was a windy morning, no doubt…
Four years ago, I launched my first photography website. At first, Bicycle Stock Images was sort of a grab-bag for all kinds of photography. Last year, I brought it back to its original focus. This year, the all-bicycling-all-the-time site makes its first foray into the world of responsive design. Which means that Bicycle Stock Images…
A solo exhibition of images by Martha Retallick Borderlands Brewing Company 119 East Toole Avenue Tucson, Arizona 85701 October 12 through November 9, 2013 Tucson, AZ – September 19, 2013 – Meet Martha Retallick. She’s short of stature, slight of build, and doesn’t have an athletic bone in her body. But this tiny Tucsonan has…
Ahhh, April in Tucson. Time once again for our city’s annual Bike Fest. Which motivates Yours Truly to go on bike-tographic expeditions to all sorts of cool events. Let’s start with Cyclovia Tucson. Did you know that there are two them this month? The first was on Sunday, April 7. Believe me, getting a photo…
I like postcards. Oh, do I ever. To the point where I’ve been known as The Passionate Postcarder. That character has been on hiatus for a few years, but now the passion is back. Feast your eyes upon the front image from my latest promotional postcard… Okay, so you’ve seen the bike-tography on the front…
If my Official Bike-tography Bike could talk, it would tell you about all the interesting places it has gone while carrying camera gear. Here it is, awaiting the next assignment at El Tour de Tucson 2012… What is bike-tography? It’s the art of combining bicycling with photography. And it’s my photographic passion. Between 1980 and…
The word spread around Tucson like wildfire: “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey is coming to town! And he’s going to be organizing a big ride with racer Tom Danielson and Bicycling magazine editor Peter Flax! Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 20! The hastily organized event was called Ride On, Tucson, and you just HAD…
This past Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of El Tour de Tucson. Once again, this event attracted thousands of bicyclists and a a really fast guy beat out the rest. That would be Arizona’s speediest chiropractor, Scottsdale’s Eric Marcotte, who has won the 110-mile race for three years in a row. No Eric pictures here….
There’s a big streetcar construction project underway in central Tucson. The construction is wreaking havoc on the smooth flow of vehicular traffic, the survival hopes of small, locally owned businesses in an already tough economy, and the ability of bicyclists to ride safely and find places to park. The hip and happening section of 4th…