Ajo

4 Jan. When you have a minute, grab a map and take a close look at the southwestern part of Arizona. That’s where you’ll find the town of Ajo. I heard about this town of 3,500 by accident – I was reading an article about how communities work together to help themselves and Ajo was featured.

I drove to Ajo and spent a day looking around. It used to be a copper mining town but now it’s struggling. There’s a dusty, run-down feel to the place, which I liked. The center of town has a lovely square with white-washed buildings and Spanish architecture. Most importantly, there seems to be some desire for the townsfolk to work with each other — not easy in a town with a diverse population (Native American, Mexican, Anglo.)

What strikes me as having great potential is that Ajo sits in the middle of wide open desert. Seriously, look at the map! There appears to be lots of opportunity to bike in places that never see cyclists. In other words, real immersion and an authentic southwest experience.

I’ve made contacts with a couple of folks in Ajo. Unfortunately, there isn’t a single bike shop in town so there’s very limited knowledge about the biking options in the area. I’ll work with locals to determine whether this might be one of those truly magical areas for cycling.