help me stop obsessing about the forecast for El Tour de Tucson Saturday

[azfiddle]

Thanks Owlie and Dogmama,

I think I'll manage.

BTW- I raised over $1000 for Tu Nidito and I won't get a trophy for speed but I WILL get one for fundraising :-)

[Dogmama]

AZfiddle - congratulations on the fund raising! That's fantastic!

BTW - they predicted 80% chance of rain for right now. It isn't raining. Hopefully they'll be wrong tomorrow too!

[Owlie]

Thanks Owlie and Dogmama,

I think I'll manage.

BTW- I raised over $1000 for Tu Nidito and I won't get a trophy for speed but I WILL get one for fundraising :-)

Congrats! I think the route goes right past my apartment complex. I'll wave.

[azfiddle]

Hello all and thanks for the many suggestions.

The grim weather prediction was right- in fact it continued to get worse until the day of the event. We had rain and quite cool temps (49-51) for almost the entire day. I had riding companions for about half the way but one abandoned less than 30 miles in (was not dressed well) and I got separated from the others later on. It took me much longer than I had planned: 9 hours, 52 min. Part of it was the weather, part of it was the detour I had to take (see below) and part of it was having to stop more times than planned.

I managed to organize the layers pretty well and stayed warm enough but not dry through the first 35 miles or so. Shorts and jersey, arm warmers, merino wool sweater, knee warmers work-out tights over the shorts and knee warmers and of course the brand new raincoat. I also had on a wool beanie and a baseball type cap under my helmet, Cyclone gloves with waterproof latex gloves underneath, plastic bags over my gloves and a plastic shower cap over my helmet. By the first big descent around mile 35, the rain got a little heavier and then we had several big puddles to pass through where washes crossed the route. The hands and feet were totally wet by then but not as cold as I thought they would be.

The route normally has two dry wash crossings where you pretty much have to get off of your bike and walk. They had to skip the first one because the rain had seriously filled the Santa Cruz River bed and we stayed on paved roads. In my opinion, they should have gone with the alternate route for the 2nd one, which was at risk for flash-flooding from the mountains. One reason they didn't change it earlier is the the event director lives right next to that creek crossing and he likes having the cyclists come by his house. However, they didn't switch to the alternate route. That is, until I got there. I was the first person they would not allow to cross the creek, which was running about 8-10 inches deep and about 15-20 feet across. So after about 10 minutes of standing around, all of the cyclists there realized they would not be allowed to cross and we had to take an unmarked detour to get back on the official route. This added more walking back to the road plus 7 extra miles

The detour started around mile 48 or so. I was doing generally okay, although I lost one of my buddies at the crossing and the other about 10 miles later. By about mile 60 or so, the temperature was below 50 again and the rain was getting harder. I hit my low point and considered abandoning but kept thinking about all of the folks who had donated to the charity, a group called Tu Nidito that supports kids going through grief from death or illness in the family. In particular, I kept thinking about the girl I was "riding for", who is one of my students this year. She lost her father to cancer 2 years ago, and has had more than her share of difficulties due to her own medical issues. I thought- I can make it through one day for her.

Fortunately, my team had a SAG stop where my dry clothes were. I made it to the car, and then started getting cramps as I tried to change to dry socks, gloves, etc. They mixed me electrolyte drinks (I hadn't been drinking enough) and got me warm in the car with the heater and just gave me a lot of TLC. 22 miles to go - and into a headwind. A nice guy I met on that section pulled me the last 16 miles and probably kept my speed 2 mph faster than it would have been.

The sun was out the last hour and a half
It was really a challenge and I would rather not ride in those conditions again but I am really proud I met the challenge.

Very sad end to the day though as one of the folks who was at the start with me (had not met him before) was struck by an elderly driver who did not obey the traffic cones on the last southbound section (freeway frontage road) and was killed. A friend of a friend, who also started at the beginning with me, was right behind him when it happened. So tragic....

[Owlie]

Good for you for finishing! I wondered how you fared. It was nasty yesterday. I'm glad the SAG stop took care of you. J

Sad to hear about the cyclist who was killed. Is it just me, or does this seem to be becoming more common?

that's the scariest thing about riding on the roads around here. tons of elderly people who probably shouldn't be driving...

[zoom-zoom]

AZ, one of our JDRF coaches and several of our rider were on this ride. I cannot imagine how miserable that was, especially as a lot of people would not have brought the appropriate clothing for a ride in AZ!! Today's CX race in the 20s was wonderful…in part because it was only about 35 minutes and I was dressed properly. Kudos to you who gutted this out!!

[Susan Otcenas]

Congratulations on finishing in conditions that were so outside of your comfort zone. It's a mark of true strength that you were able to draw on things to motivate you when the going got tough. (You'd clearly make a great randonneur. ;-) )

Someone in customer service forwarded to me the note you sent in about the Canari Niagara Jacket you purchased from us. Really really happy to read that it worked out so well for you. While I don't wish you rainy conditions on many rides, I do hope you get plenty of life out of it! Incidentally, I find that on very cold days, my rain jacket makes a very effective lightweight wind blocking layer. So you may get more use out of it than you expect! I have family in Tucson and have ridden there in late November. It was surprisingly chilly in the pre-dawn hours!

Again, congratulations on your riding and fundraising successes.

Susan

[ny biker]

Congrats on the ride and the fundraising. You dug deep into that suitcase of courage, as they say.

I agree with Susan -- a good windproof rain jacket is also useful for sunny days when it's cold and/or breezy. I also sometimes wear my Showers Pass jacket when I go out for a long walk.

[Crankin]

AZ, take care of yourself. I was more affected than I thought, by being on a ride where 2 people got killed. I *saw* them, standing in the line, waiting for our packets. The way I felt had nothing to do with the crash I had later that day. We had all intentions of doing the ride in its entirety a few weeks later, but I found myself really not wanting to be anywhere near that route.
Congrats on finishing in what sounds like horrible conditions. One thing I know is 1) Arizonans don't know how to drive in the rain, and I imagine the same goes for riding, and 2) yes, I agree with Owlie's comment. Too many people who just should not be driving.

[Dogmama]

Glad you were able to finish but would not have blamed you for quitting. It was nasty all day. You are a warrior!! Could not believe they didn't detour Sabino Creek at the beginning of the race but now I know why

Very sorry to hear about the man who was killed on the frontage road. There are no words. Glad you are safe!

[emily_in_nc]

Oh no -- that is so tragic. I did not know there had been a death in this event. What a horrible shame.

Kudos and humble bowing down to you, though, azfiddle, for surviving what sound like brutal conditions. Don't know that I could have done it. Sounds similar to the Seagull Century we rode in 2004. We did the full century on our then-tandem, and the heavy rain started partway through. We were cold and miserable (and underdressed) for the final 50 miles. My DH's lips were blue and teeth chattering by the end. The Weather Channel had been calling for the rain to start a lot later than it actually did; otherwise we would have gotten our clothing closer to right. Quite a miserable experience though probably warmer than what you faced -- I can't recall now.

I just read a blog of an RVer who is also a cyclist, and she did a report with some photos of riders along the route. She didn't ride as she's recovering from foot surgery, but they are in Tucson in their RV for the winter. I was astonished by the amount of water in her photos:

http://retiredbicycle.blogspot.com/2...ts-of-old.html

Congratulations again, azfiddle, and thanks for the report.