Tour De Tucson!! Help!!

[mimitabby]

I've lived in Seattle for almost 30 years.
I"m going south on a jetplane to do the tour de tucson (and some other rides)

I DON'T have ANY IDEA of what to bring to wear, on and off the bike.

I asked my DH should i wear my wool knickers and he said "Are you crazy?"
(but it's below 50 in the morning)

It's supposed to not be hot, hot, but not cold either. eeeek.

Thanks

[Veronica]

Arm and knee warmers.

V.

[Running Mommy]

I don't know what it's been like in Tucson lately, but V is right. I wear arm and leg warmers and end up peeling them off mid ride.
I made the mistake of wearing a LS jersey the other morning and roasted.
The weather report is for it to start warming up as the week progresses. Should be a nice weekend for El Tour.
I need to do that ride one year...

[skibum]

I did this ride last year and wore shorts, jersey, arm warmers, knee warmers, vest, headband, regular gloves, and wool socks and just removed layers as the day warmed up. The tough part temperature-wise is when you are waiting around for the ride to start, especially if you go down early to line up in the gold/silver start area. That can be a pretty cold wait so you may want to have some extra layers on for that. If you have someone you can hand-off the extra layers to right before you start, that's great. My friends and I didn't, so we picked up jackets/gloves from a thrift shop and then left them behind at the start. I've heard that the organizers donate unclaimed clothes to charity so the stuff we bought may have ended right back where we got it from.

For the times when you're not riding, bring layers. It's pretty warm during the day but it cools off as the sun goes down.

Have fun! This is a great ride. I'd love to do it again sometime!

[kelownagirl]

Good luck Mimi! When do you leave?

[mimitabby]

we leave thursday night, Kgirl

thanks everyone!

[jobob]

Have fun !

We want a pie (er, ride :D ) report !

[Pax]

Enjoy the ride, Tucson is really pretty this time of year!

[maillotpois]

I generally wear a vest and arm warmers, no knees. but I am not much of a knee warmer person.

have fun!! I wish we were going. we planned to, and decided last week we just couldn't justify the expense right now. oh well - next year!

do give us a report!

(and don't expect much in the way of food at the rest stops. the cheering and support are great, but the food's pretty mediocre.)

[spokewench]

Definitely arm and leg warmers - and perhaps a windproof jacket you can put in your pocket. and definitely long fingered gloves. it has stayed pretty warm this year, but there are some mornings when it is pretty cold for the Tour De Tucson so bring some alternatives that you can layer with since the early morning is iffy. Bring your shorty gloves too so you can switch them during the ride.

spoke

[Pedal Wench]

I find that my knees prefer to be covered at anything under 65 degrees, especially if there are hills involved. Kneewarmers, legwarmers, capris or tights will all do the trick. If the temps are predicted to get over 65, I'll use the warmers that can be removed later in the day.

[mimitabby]

hills? I was told there are no hills!!
(my knees like to be covered too. I'm wearing my knickers.. i think)

[spokewench]

Only small rollers Mimi - do not panic - no real hills - slight gradual upgrades - that look like flat, but feel like you are climbing a bit. That is all!

spoke

[aka_kim]

Ditto on the rest stop food. Be sure to carry your nutrition with you! (Unless you can survive on water, orange slices, and bananas, and maybe the Krispy Kreme's at the first creek crossing.)

[mimitabby]

Krispy KRemes? yuck! no kidding, gut bombs on a century ride?!?!

[PinkBike]

last saturday in tucson i just wore arm warmers, and they came off at about 9 am. i dont wear gloves either, DH had arm and knee warmers and a vest but he peeled those along the way. last year the morning was cold for standing around but i do believe its warmer this year. as we left the hotel for the saturday ride at 6:30 am the weather channel said it was 54 but i wasnt even a little bit cold (and i am a total cold-weather wuss!). tucson's still way high 80s in the day and 50s at night. we went out for a walk around 10 last saturday nite and were still in shorts and t-shirts. i'd second the advice to bring arm and knee warmers, even a vest, then peel as ya go. seeya there!!!

[kelownagirl]

So where do you guys put all these clothes that you peel off? I can only fit something small in my back pocket...

[Running Mommy]

Not to worry.. Unless they are trucking them in there are no krispy kremes to be had in AZ. They all closed about a year ago..

[mimitabby]

I understand people wear stuff they don't care about and it is donated to good will when they get too warm and toss it (collected at rest stops?)

so far i am wearing knickers, wool knee socks (which can be rolled down to my ankles), a throwaway sweater, and a lightweight jacket that can be rolled up to fit into a pocket. I'll also carry extra gloves, i do that anyway.

thanks.

[Fredwina]

Thats's right, MT
plus they pick it up and truck back to the Convention Center,so You could claim it back if you wanted to....

[mimitabby]

next question:
what's this about "dry river crossings"

????
i thought this was a ROAD ride.

[Fredwina]

next question:
what's this about "dry river crossings"

????
i thought this was a ROAD ride.
Twice (if you're doing the whole 109) you'll have to cross what us "desert rats" call washes. It's a river/creek that only has water in in when it rains. You'll have to get off your bike and walk or carry it across.
The first one is like 5 miles in. Only the 109 does this one. it fairly wide open and short.
The other one is about half mile and pretty much singletrack. I remember losing time to not being able to pass slow walkers. I think evey body except for the lowest mileage option does this.
The bottom on both is sand, so if you're not up with the Platinum folks, you may not be able to ride across. Also, the sand can jam up cleats.

[mimitabby]

what happens to the road there, Fredwina?

[coyote]

The rode goes one way and the course goes another. Welcome to the desert :)

Sounds like what you will be wearing is fine. I commute in the mornings at sunrise and I'm alright with a long sleeve shirt, full finger gloves, and long pants. It will warm up quick here.

Good look and have fun!

[Fredwina]

Road? we don't need no stinking road!
The pavement dissapears. The sand can be deep, this is the second crossing
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~sandiway/bike/eltour2005/0001.jpg
and the first
http://www.bikingbis.com/_photos/tucson.sized.jpg
this should give you a good idea.
As long as you aren't trying for a time, They should'nt be bad.
Also, You'll need to get to the CC Fairly early, I was across i-10, got there at 5:15 and halfway through the Silver section.
The sections are
Platinum(need to pre-qualify, miust do 109 under6, Males and mixed tandem must be under 5 )
Gold(must do 109 under 7 hours(for us, guys have one less hour)
silver(7-9, if i remember right)
Bronze - everyone else

[mimitabby]

I think we're in Silver, what's CC?

[Fredwina]

I think we're in Silver, what's CC?
doh!:rolleyes:
Convention Center - Start finish
Sliver is probably the best I've heard too many Horror stories of folks who got crashed out of gold/Platinum by "racers" (count on seeing folk grasping their collabones:( )

[mimitabby]

There's not much chance of me being in with the racers nyuk nyuk.
thanks Fredwina, i wish you were going to be there!

[slmdunc]

Yay Tucson! I'll be there too!

Mimi, I wish you well - I'd say I'd look for you, but apparently there are going to be upwards of 10,000 riders there!!! :eek:

I have arm and leg warmers that will just get peeled off as the day warms up. Whoooo hooooo!!

[mimitabby]

Slmdunk,
i will be riding a distinctive orange bike with red trim and red shoes to match.
(no fenders though)

[slmdunc]

Slmdunk,
i will be riding a distinctive orange bike with red trim and red shoes to match.
(no fenders though)

Cool! I'll totally keep my eyes open for you! I - on the other hand - will not be nearly so distinctive. I'll be in my Team in Training jersey - on a blue bike. :rolleyes:

[Dogmama]

So? Results??

I'm nursing a bad hamstring & two separate disk problems, so I'm living vicariously through you guys!

[Triskeliongirl]

Mimi- how did it go? Did you have your bikes built with s/s couplers, or did you have to pay to get them there? FYI, its too late for this ride but folks asked what you do with the layers as they are removed. If you don't want to discard them, you can use an under the seat bag with an expandable zipper. That is what I do since temps vary a lot where I live over the day. I also have a jacket with zip off sleeves, and use glove liners that can be removed as it warms up. Like today, it was in the low 40s for my ride to work and low 80s for my ride home! -e