Great ride today: ride report
It's just a regular Saturday ride, but I had so much fun.
Today's ride was a 98 mile ride from Tucson to Mammoth Arizona. It starts with the climb from Tucson (2400 ft) to Oracle (4500 ft according to the sign, 4300 according to the altimeter) over 30 miles. It's a steady climb but seems to go on forever. Just after you pass Oracle, you encounter a sign that says "7% grades, next 12 miles". This is the part where you think "hmmm....if I ride down this now, doesn't that mean I have to ride back up?" Hah, silly question. So we descend down to Mammoth and end up in this tiny town with a Circle K and pretty much nothing else. We stop for water and restrooms and I eat a banana and Clif bar, and then we turn around to head home.
I'm not a great climber by any stretch of the imagination. The climb back up made me glad that I have a) a triple and b) a riding partner who rides a recumbent so I'm not the only one going 6-8 mph for an hour and a half. My other riding partner, Will, is a racer and is a much much better rider than we are. But apparently he has a hard time finding riding partners willing to do crazy rides like this one. (We saw at least 60 cyclists on our ride, but no one else between Oracle and Mammoth) So Will climbs the 12 miles twice while we do it once, and he pulls up beside me to tell me when I'm halfway there (he's lying, but so nice about it) or that I only have 20 minutes of climbing left. We reach the top and then cruise back home to Tucson averaging 20+ mph, thanks to Will, who always makes sure he doesn't drop me when I'm drafting him.
I remembered to drink enough and eat enough, and could have kept going when I got home. I consdered swinging past the bike shop to make it a century, but just headed home instead. I love my bike!
http://psy1.psych.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/megahurtz#M (scroll down a bit for "Mammoth")
