Photos of this life: El Tour de Tucson 2012

It's interesting to think its been a whole year since last year's El Tour de Tucson but sure enough its gone and passed us. I can honestly say for me personally so much has changed this year I'll never forget 2012 for the good and the bad. With that being said I couldn't have had more emotions flowing for the race. I'll be the first to admit I was nervous, scared, anxious, and excited to roll up to the start line and begin my 111 mile journey around the city I love so much. One major difference this year compared to last is the amount of riding and racing I have done since the last version, also I'll be riding with a team this time around. Every year the Wednesday before the big race the El Tour de Tucson expo is held in the TCC downtown. It's always fun to go to the expo because that's where you pick up your race number a.nd all sorts of goodies. Walking around the expo is an exercise in self control as there is just so much stuff you wanna buy. I saw and tried on some truly amazing hand made Italian cycling shoes and now I'm convinced they are the shoes for me. One booth I simply had to stop at is the JDRF foundation to cure diabetes. Diabetes is common in my family so it's only natural I was intrigued by their cause and am looking forward to riding in one of their events next year. The weather on race day was simply amazing and you couldn't ask for better riding temps. I arrived at the starting line fairly early around 5:45 am to meet up with the team. After shoveling down some granola bars, energry chews, and water we took our place in the huge starting line up. The national anthem rings loud through the streets of downtown as a news helicopter circles the sky looking at the thousands of cyclists. We leave the starting line and the race is officially on. For myself personally, the ride couldn't have gone smoother in terms of no problems. This year I had no crash and flat tires to slow me down. It was amazing to see all the people supporting the riders through their very long day. Big thanks to my immediate family and Syndenn Harmon for taking photos throughout the day. As I rolled across the finish line completely exhausted, I found out my time was 8 hours 27 minutes. Although this is substantially better than last year's time I still cant help but feel a bit disappointed. After it was all said and done I am still happy I was able to enter El Tour with my friends and finish something not many people can say they've done. Until next year.