Shannon and Denise (her mom) arrived from Oklahoma and Texas late on Friday afternoon. We rushed over to the Tucson Convention Center and spent an hour in lines picking up our tour instructions. There are over 6,000 cyclists in "one of the premier organized rides in the United States" so it was well-organized mayhem.
The next morning we got caught up in snarled Tucson traffic because of El Tour road closures, but made it to the starting line in good time. It was amazing to see the crowd about to take off, and these were just the 1398 cyclists for the 60 mile distance. The El Tour circuit is a route around Tucson, with different distances joining the circuit at various places. The longest distance, and the complete circuit, is 111 miles, so we joined about half-way.
It was amazing to join a line of cyclists that seemed never-ending. There were always cyclists ahead and behind, even after aid-station stops there was never a lull. We rode our speed, passed people and were passed, but kept ourselves in safe situations, and only saw one accident. Hats off to the Tucson police and the many volunteers who made sure we were well protected from traffic, and who made sure we had a good time riding.
I had already said before the ride that this would be my last El Tour because there were so many cyclists, but I think that Dan missed not riding this event so we may do a repeat performance together next year.
At the finish.
1 comment:
Sixty miles is nothing to sneeze at! I think I may have done 50 .... once ... but more likely it was only 35! A long day in the saddle all around.
Glad you were able to finish safely and had a good time - nice jersey, too. Kudos!
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