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 ) 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?!?!