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Tour de Tucson Recap
Nov. 22nd, 2010 12:15 pmSo, I don't think I've blogged about this much, but I have been spending some time and energy preparing to race in the Tour de Tucson again, which happened last Saturday. I've been trying to think about what to share about the experience. At this point, I feel like I've done enough of the super-long rides, and enough of the Tour de Tucson route, that I don't find it as interesting to give you a blow-by-blow account of how the ride went. Instead, other things are becoming more salient. One thing, it was such a pleasure to get to do the ride with my good friends DM and CG.
I have immensely enjoyed getting to watch the two of them get more and more into bicycling, probably because I feel like their experiences and philosophies are much like mine - their bicycles are primarily a form of transportation, and secondarily a form of recreation, with an emphasis on enjoyment over competition.
Anyway, CG was pretty excited about a chance to complete the full 109-mile Tour de Tucson this year. The two of them rode in the MS 150 last spring, and I think they enjoyed that first taste of long-distance bicycling. DM, on the other hand, was kind of feeling like she wasn't quite ready for the full distance - at the end of some of their longer training rides, I got the impression that she was going, "That's enough." And you know, I admire that mentality - wanting to ride for as long as it's fun, and not turn it into a grueling battle of wills. So she planned to do the 79-mile ride.
So that covers my impression of how CG and CM were feeling as we drove down to Tucson on Friday night. As for me, on the other hand, well, I decided to turn the ride into a race last year, and decided to make it a race for myself again this year. Competition, ha. Overall, I felt better this year, probably because I didn't have a cold (last year, that cold made it hard to breathe during the ride, and then it lingered all through the week of Thanksgiving). S was wonderfully patient with my foolishness, and kept me company and provided support through the ride again. And despite a rather nasty headwind towards the very end, I managed to finish a full 15 minutes faster than the previous year. Mission accomplished! I'm happy to be finished with that challenge, as it means I can go back to riding around at whatever speed feels comfortable, not worrying about whether I'm fast or slow.
And I think I can say that DM and CG had good rides as well. On Friday night, DM decided she might as well give the full 109 miles a shot. Although it took her a long time to finish, she was very upbeat when she came across the finish line, and seemed to have enjoyed herself. The best sign of all, to me, is that she said she was happy to get back on her bike this morning for her usual commute in to campus. What an awesome, inspiring friend.
I have immensely enjoyed getting to watch the two of them get more and more into bicycling, probably because I feel like their experiences and philosophies are much like mine - their bicycles are primarily a form of transportation, and secondarily a form of recreation, with an emphasis on enjoyment over competition.
Anyway, CG was pretty excited about a chance to complete the full 109-mile Tour de Tucson this year. The two of them rode in the MS 150 last spring, and I think they enjoyed that first taste of long-distance bicycling. DM, on the other hand, was kind of feeling like she wasn't quite ready for the full distance - at the end of some of their longer training rides, I got the impression that she was going, "That's enough." And you know, I admire that mentality - wanting to ride for as long as it's fun, and not turn it into a grueling battle of wills. So she planned to do the 79-mile ride.
So that covers my impression of how CG and CM were feeling as we drove down to Tucson on Friday night. As for me, on the other hand, well, I decided to turn the ride into a race last year, and decided to make it a race for myself again this year. Competition, ha. Overall, I felt better this year, probably because I didn't have a cold (last year, that cold made it hard to breathe during the ride, and then it lingered all through the week of Thanksgiving). S was wonderfully patient with my foolishness, and kept me company and provided support through the ride again. And despite a rather nasty headwind towards the very end, I managed to finish a full 15 minutes faster than the previous year. Mission accomplished! I'm happy to be finished with that challenge, as it means I can go back to riding around at whatever speed feels comfortable, not worrying about whether I'm fast or slow.
And I think I can say that DM and CG had good rides as well. On Friday night, DM decided she might as well give the full 109 miles a shot. Although it took her a long time to finish, she was very upbeat when she came across the finish line, and seemed to have enjoyed herself. The best sign of all, to me, is that she said she was happy to get back on her bike this morning for her usual commute in to campus. What an awesome, inspiring friend.
