Also, adjacent to Hance Park, Burton Barr Central Library (temporarily closed) is our next stop. As an architecture geek, I love this iconic, design-award-winning, modernist building that rises above Central Avenue like a cliff. Completed in 1995, it was designed by two leading Arizona architects, Will Bruder and Wendell Burnette, who have gone on to do other landmark projects. My favorite element? The vast fifth floor reading room, where skylights perfectly illuminate tapering columns during the summer solstice, which the library hosts as an annual viewing event.

After doing a bit of lunchtime people-watching through the window, we hopped on our bikes and headed north for more culture. At Phoenix Art Museum (closed through September), we spent a few hours checking out the changing exhibits, as well as the museum’s permanent collections. We were mesmerized by the museum’s impressive fashion collection, which includes pieces by the likes of Fortuny, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Adrian, plus special exhibits put together by the museum’s noted fashion curator, Denita Sewell. We also enjoyed the photography collection.

Social distancing-friendly itinerary substitution: Pedal across the I-10 bridge into downtown (or take the Valley Metro Rail to the Roosevelt Station) and explore Phoenix's most-decorated neighborhood: The Roosevelt Row Arts District. Here, street art murals projects span the height of buildings, the width of alleys and dot the landscape with vibrant vibes, positive messages and glimpses of the area's culture and history. Must sees include the 1½ Street Mural Project, the Cambria Hotel Downtown Phoenix Convention Center and you should absolutely take some time to cruise the side streets between first and sixth (along Roosevelt) for ever-changing public canvases and endless photo ops.

The art museum’s store was tempting (books, tableware, jewelry, objets d’art), but we pedaled on to the Heard Museum, a gracious institution dedicated to the art and culture of native peoples. We almost didn’t make it into the museum itself, waylaid by the Heard Museum Shop and its gorgeous American Indian jewelry, dawdling in the bookstore across the entry courtyard and then examining the menu of the Native American-centric Courtyard Cafe. (Yeah, we just ate, but we were burning calories on the bikes, no?)



We spent most of our remaining time in the museum’s “Home: Native People in the Southwest” exhibit, which traces the cultural traditions of most of the Southwest’s tribes (think Navajo textiles, Hopi Katsinas, Zuni jewelry).

There was more to see, but the museum was closing, and we were getting sensory overload from our day of urban exploration. We vowed to come back — to the Heard and to downtown Phoenix.

We locked up our bikes at the Vernon and Central avenues Grid Bike hub and hopped the light rail at the adjacent station to get to the car. As I headed back to my suburban lifestyle, I contemplated trading in gardening tools and Lululemons for a bike and a Valey Metro transit pass. It’s a tempting proposition.

For more details on using Grid Bikes in central Phoenix, visit gridbikes.com.