Friday, March 30, 2012

November 19th 2011

This was the day that I rode my bike so long my muscles burned and my veins pumped with battery acid, then I rode some more. The reason was simple, El Tour de Tucson. I had initially decided to attempt the Tour de Tucson about 6 months before race day. Leading up to the event the goal was simple, to ride as hard as I could for as long as I could. I had been told by experienced riders that your last training session should be at least half the distance of the whole race. Total distance of the race was 111 miles, so my goal would be at least 55 miles for my last training session. Fast forward to November 15th 2011, my last training sesssion before race day. My total distance clocked was 66.43 miles in 5 hours 46 minutes including stops. I've included a map of that ride for those interested. I felt pretty good after that last training session and felt confident in finishing the event strong. November 19th 5:30am, wake up and begin to stretch out. 6:00am begin drinking water and eating toast with peanut butter. 6:20am load up the bike and begin the drive to downtown. 6:35am unload bike and install wheels. 6:45am arrive at starting line with literally thousands of people. 6:50am a group of men sing the national anthem and it sounds pretty awesome. 7:00am and we're off to the races. At this point my mentality was to get as far to the front as I could. The large packed exits downtown Tucson, through the turns lots of water bottles are lost and people are already starting to crash. After the drexel wash passing I remount my bike and as I start pedaling away I feel contact on my rear wheel. Another rider trying to pass me takes me out and I take a tumble to the ground. As I look up hes gone and nowhere to be seen, but I try to carry on. This is when i realized my front wheel had a broken spoke and was pretty bent. Sitting on the side of the road watching the race pass me by so early on was pretty devastating. Thanks to the bike patrol I was able to true my wheel and continue racing. The El Tour de Tucson was something I will never forget and I am incredibly glad I was able to experience it. I ended up finishing 2,982 out of 8,500, which I am content with for this year considering it was my first time and with the crash. Can't wait until this year's event

Getting the bike ready downtown

The pack


Yours truly #3851



And we're off


Leaving downtown


The starting/finish line

My racing partner, Jordan Estabrook

Damage to the handle bars during my crash