tour de tucson - pix and "results"

Well, we ended up doing the 80 mile ride. The idea of having to dress so warmly and then having to undress just didn't appeal to us, nor did the idea of waiting in the dark and cold in line for 2 hours. besides, we'd heard that the 80 mile group was much smaller, and they left at 9 (be there at 8 and wait)

and we were off
http://www.sersale.org/bike/trio.jpg
we rode with MTKitchen, who apparently spends more time on bikejournal.

As we left, we joined the ranks of the slower 100 mile riders. we saw the fast ones go by; they looked like the tour de france!

and then we began to climb
http://www.sersale.org/bike/beginningroad.jpg

they had most traffic completely stopped for the event. there were massive lines of cars to pass. It was exhilarating to fly through stop signs and stop lights with police holding the cars back.

the first 10 miles were pretty hard for me. we were going 20 mph half the time! It was already hot (i'm from Seattle, home of the cool and damp, remember) and we had hours and hours to go. But i kept being able to put out that kind of speed! it was nuts, crazy really. We'd go up hills, and I slowed down of course, but on every hill I passed a lot of people. Donald cooled my ego trip by reminding me; this is the beginning of their season!

since we did the 80, I only had to cross one river bed. We walked about 1/2 a mile through sand. there was a refreshment stop in the middle of all that!
lots of water and good fruit. Oh, the watermelon was fantastic!

http://www.sersale.org/bike/river.jpg

for me an important part of every ride is the 1/2 way mark. and at 40 miles, that's when i started to believe i could really do it. I was still riding 18-25 mph on mostly my own steam (and some 1% grades)

The last 8 miles were tough, because i was tired, we were joined by all the 25 milers (and their lack of experience and fresh energy) so it became much less safe, surrounded by bikers of every kind of experience level.

Donald stuck with me for the last 12 miles, because he could see I was flagging (but riding 14-16mph!!!!). I started to feel chills (and it was 90) so i rode a bit more and at 3 miles to go, i stopped in the shade and drank everything i had. Then we finished.

http://www.sersale.org/bike/fireengine.jpg


We discovered thatthey handed out beautiful medals!!!
So we walked over to the booths where they were being handed out, but first the shoes came off, and oh did THAT FEEL GOOD! here I am with
one of Raleighdon's BJ buddies, GT
http://www.sersale.org/bike/barefoot.jpg

here's the three of us. MTKitchen was an incredible rider, even though she has not been in training, she kept up with Donald almost always, and I worked to stay with her. She was a safe, pleasant, good riding partner; I'm glad I got to meet her.
http://www.sersale.org/bike/finishers.jpg


and last but not least, here I am with one of my new friends
http://www.sersale.org/bike/mimisaguaro.jpg

Awesome pictures - awesome ride! Congratulations Mimi - I knew you could do it!!!!!

Mimi, that is just fabulous. Congrats to you!

Great report and photos!! Good job!

Congratulations!!

Sounds like a great ride!!

CA

PS - Do you have a generator hub on your bike? Thought I spied a light:)

Thanks for the great ride report and pictures, Mimi! You forgot to mention how I mooched a bed off you guys the night before the ride, and I slept like a baby while you two didn't!
It was an absolute pleasure to ride with you and Don. I'm glad you guys made the decision to do the 80 miler. Looking forward to riding again sometime!

BTW, most Arizonans ride through the summer, so it's not *really* the start of our season. You were riding really strongly!;)

What fun!!

Mimi, that last picture could have been taken in my backyard when I lived there...those saguaro's are amazing aren't they?

Yay, Mimi and Don and MTKitchen!

Great pictures!

Queen you had a saguaro in your back yard?? I LOVE them!!


my stats:
15.8 mph average
2448 ft of climb,
in 5:13 hours

i drank NUUN for electrolytes, drank lots of water, had one energy bar
2 clif blocks and lots of watermelon and about 1 banana.

CA in NC i do have a generator hub on the wheel I left at home. no sense
carrying that extra 1.5 lbs for 80 miles through the sunshiny desert!

Mimi-

I have generator hubs too and love them, but I have thought about having another wheel made for the 2 bikes that have them for which I don't have regular wheels. It really does make a difference:) Hmmm....time for the Christmas list:) So, you just leave your light on the bike, and pull the wheel?

FYI I just replaced 2 LED's with the new B&M Fly. They're super nice, and they're less expensive than the regular oval one. Wish I could do the E6, but it's too blasted expensive...

CA

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

Queen you had a saguaro in your back yard?? I LOVE them!!

---

Yup, I lived on the west side about four miles out of town...they were everywhere! I always had to touch the cactus, and I kept getting stuck by them...I just don't learn. :p

Thanks for the great report and pix! You guys look great in your ROCn jerseys too. ;)

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time and rode strong. Good for you! :):D

Wonderful pictures and wonderful ride report- thanks Mimi for thinking of us!
Congratulations- great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mimi - the photos are great and thanks so much for the report, very cool. Wow!! you had a great day. Way to go. Too bad you didn't get to do the 100, you would've been all over it.

Mimi, you are a BEAST! And I mean that in a good way;)

Thank you for the post. I was at my daughter's soccer game (Phoenix), but the other rider there and I both were wishing we could be in Tucson!

Do you walk through the sand with your shoes on? Do you put on cleat covers? Does the sand get into your shoes and clips?
Nancy

Way to go, gang !

but I'm still awaiting the Pie Report ... :cool:

Hi! I'm not sure if I should post here or start a new one - but Mimi - I'm just gonna follow your lead and post my pics here... :)

El Tour was so much fun! This was my first century and I had a blast. I did it with Team in Training, and I tell ya - I'm hooked. I did the full 109 miles, and I am proud I finished, although my time is probably nothing to be impressed by with a lot of you gals! :o

I finished with an official time of 9:18:37 and place # 3709 - but at least I finished! I did rank enough to get a silver medal - so that felt great. The ride time shown by my group's computers showed that we had actual RIDE TIME of 7hours and 25 minutes, give or take. Between SAGs and river crossings... the final time was obviously more. (anything to make us feel better, right??? :rolleyes: )

MY computer (garmin 305) decided to STOP WORKING the day before the ride. Figures. I'm not sure what it was. I only got it this past July, but it was as if it was getting no juice from battery. Just... nothing... I am now trying to figure out if it was better or worse to ride without a computer. I couldn't count down the miles - I just asked at SAG stops where we were and held on and pedaled through the rest!

It was a hillier route than I expected. At first it took me offguard and as I struggled up the first of them, I had a cute gal from North Carolina pass me with a twang, hollering "wee got sum heeels in North Carolina, gurl!" It was all good natured, and I cheered her on. Later, I did quite a bit of passing of my own as I got my groove going up hills - and that felt great.

Here are some pics:
(I can't figure out how to comment under each one - so - 1-4 are as follows: My partner and I at the start line; Me at the first river crossing - Still Fresh!; Me at mile 85 SAG - the endorphins have me over the edge!; and finally - my partner and I happy and FINISHED! :D

P.S. - Mimi - I hate I didn't get to see you or meet you, but congrats on your success with the ride!

Hi Slamdunk
I am happy that you posted pictures here! DH took a picture of a couple of gals your age at the riverbed from team in training and for a moment, i thought it was you. (but then we checked and they're someone else.)
they;re great photos!!!

congrats on your first century! but you have to cut down on the off the bike time if the total count matters to you.
Bummer about your computer!

I'm sorry i didn't get to meet you either. I'll post a few more photos later myself.

(anyone else please feel free to post your photos here from TdT!!!


Wahine, I am very happy about doing a fast 80 instead of a worn out frazzled 109!

Zen, thanks

Thanks Mimi! I have to say, I've really found a love for this whole cycling thing. I do want to work on going faster and with fewer stops. I see you carry a backpack/camelback. I have one, but did not carry it with me for this ride. I think I may try that for my next century.

The last 10 miles did suck. Between the pot holes / messy road and the combined short-ride riders, kids, and exhausted long-ride riders - I don't know how I didn't bite it! I also got the chills at the end... ugh - dehydration.

nancy, on the dry creek bed crossings, most people just go across with abandon. i put my cleat covers on because i wear speedplays. last year i didnt and the sand just packs in around the spring and you cant clip in for nuthin. you can tell the speedplay users - we're the ones crowded around the entrances and exits putting on and taking off cleat covers!! i finally stopped at a SAG stop much later and actually took off my shoes and socks and emptied out the sand, and cleaned the sand from the cleats.

thanks so much for posting the great pictures guys. i posted my report on the 11/17 rides thread, but i'm still basking in the aftermath. DH just asked me this morning out of the blue what my speed was on tangerine, so he's still reliving it also.

next year . . . (sigh) . . . under 6 hours . . . hmmmmmmmmm

Nancy, I have spd's and they did not get jammed up or anything from the sand. i wear SIDI MTB shoes, so they are really pretty nice to walk in.
At the end of the sand I sat down and shook the sand out of my shoes. I also wiped down my wheels where the brakes drag because i did go through one muddy place (from the water they were giving us)

i did see some cleat covers IN THE SAND.. i guess they don't stay on that good.

Pinkbike/Laurie

I passed someone on a pink bike, but she was not wearing pink. Further, considering your time, i don't t hink i could have passed you and you not passed me again later!

so :( i guess i didn't see you.

You all are an inspiration. Next year I'm doing it!

Thanks Mimi and SD for posting pictures. It looks like a lot of fun. Congrats to you all.

I just want to say congratulations to who road and finished!

I was going to ride in this and had a crash shortly before and couldn't do it. Instead I was working at the halfway point (the Campfire girl stop) for the 109. If you happened to go by and get fruit or happened to get your bike looked at, I was there. My boyfriend is a mechanic at a LBS and he volunteered his time to help anyone who needed it (and it was a good thing he was there), I was there as his assistant. It was a great experience, but just made me bummed that I wasn't out there too. I saw plenty of friends (one of whom got 83rd overall).

I will definitely be riding next year!!
I plan on riding in the Tour de Tucson Mountains ride next year also.

....the post and the ride!

El Tour was my first big bike event way back in 1998 when I did the 50 miler with my two sisters. I was hooked after that and did the 111 the next two years plus a couple of other century rides in-between.

El Tour has to be one of the best century rides lots of variance in terrain and you never know with the weather, cold, rain, wind, sunny.....bag of tricks!

Anyway it was sure fun seeing all the pics put a real smile on my face, thanks!

~Kate

Would love to do this someday...
I don't think I could get through that very sandy wash in my Speedplays, even with the covers on! When I did the Tri-State Century 2 years ago, we had to walk over two metal bridges (one the kind of long one over the Piscataqua River between NH and Maine. It was damp and the bridges were wet. My covers kept coming off! The bridge master said he had found several covers the day before (this is a 2 day event that can be done on either or both days) and he had no idea what they were.
Anyone here do the Tour de Scottsdale? I could use that as an excuse to visit my in-laws :eek:or and my friends:)

Robyn

robyn,
i definitely do the tour de scottsdale, every year. it is tough. the climbs out of the river crossing are bad enough then they throw in this long slow one at the very end. but i love this ride! very challenging. i think it's a bit pricey at $75 tho.

tour de phoenix is april 5, that's a really good one, tour of tucson mountains is april 28. then it's just HOT for six months. we start up again october 11 with the tour de scottsdale, and el tour de tucson november 22. mix in some centuries and we have a full plate here in AZ. come on out.

actually, coming up next weekend is the laveen country challenge. this one is fun because the whole town of laveen pretty much shows up for a big barbecue bash at the town park at the end of the ride (metric century). we alternate years between the laveen metric and the picacho century in tucson. good thing this is our laveen year, i just dont think we're fit enough to do a full century right now.

I can't believe there's a tour of Laveen! I once applied for a teaching job there because I was desperate to get a job. The conditions in the district office were so bad I just wanted to get out of there! I guess it's come up in the world.

Thanks for the information. I'm probably going back to school in the fall, so I won't have the time free to do any of these, unless they are during Dec/Jan. break or spring break. Is the climbing in the Tour de Scottsdale steep climbs or long climbs (or both)? I've climbed 15-18% grades both here in MA and in Europe, but very slowly. I'm not a racer, just a rider who can get up anything, by just going slowly.

Robyn, former Zonie