6:10 minutes..........you were cooking!!!! Had you stuck around 4 more hours we may have met :)

I actually love this ride and look forward to bombing through it next year. While we were on cruise mode this time we were stopped dead in our tracks for 3 Javelinas (sp?).....I had no idea what they were at first. I asked Lara are those huge dogs, aardvarks or wild hogs........They are nasty and mean looking -- they probably thought the same of us. But they trotted across the street and we were able to proceed.

haha.. thats funny.. Javalina are just part of the desert, I raise cattle dogs and one of them actually fought one a few weeks ago and had to go to the hospital. They are generally peaceful but if cornered or protecting their young they can be pretty brutal.. even though they look like pigs, they are actually rodents. huge fangs..

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/nature/images/Javelina-tpwd-sm.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c360/momod/CIMG3502.jpg

6:10 minutes..........you were cooking!!!! Had you stuck around 4 more hours we may have met :)

dang, I dont know whats worse, riding harder with my legs cramping or sitting on that dman saddle for another 4 hours.. sheesh.. It really kicked my ass.. I had a fever rest of the day and my wife said I was twitching all night in my sleep.. :D

WOW........that's crazy. Yeah I read the sign in the Natl Park that said they are NOT PIGS. Those have to be the biggest rodents ever...........Did he rip your dogs stomach open or something........and were you there?

dang, I dont know whats worse, riding harder with my legs cramping or sitting on that dman saddle for another 4 hours.. sheesh.. It really kicked my ass.. I had a fever rest of the day and my wife said I was twitching all night in my sleep.. :D

I would think the leg cramping and hard riding would be better !!! Not sure about the late nite twitching though :p

lol at the Team In Training "Captain"

Someone should have taken pictures of him.

lol at the Team In Training "Captain"

Someone should have taken pictures of him.


He reminds me of Fred Goldman from the OJ Simpson ordeal......mustache and all.

He reminds me of Fred Goldman from the OJ Simpson ordeal......mustache and all.

NICE.

All is forgiven now that I found out he had an amazing mustache. Awesome.

WOW........that's crazy. Yeah I read the sign in the Natl Park that said they are NOT PIGS. Those have to be the biggest rodents ever...........Did he rip your dogs stomach open or something........and were you there?


actually, "sammy" is a dog I adopted to my father out of rescue, we are not certain it was a javalina but we've seen it before so it is likely. I guess my dad was walking him off leash (he lives on 6 acres) and Sammy ran off into the brush, squealed and returned bleeding with his tail between his legs.. it was a puncture wound that made it between his ribs and into his chest cavity so they opened him up to make sure he wasnt bleeding internally.. He acted like he didnt get hurt to be honest, real tough guy.. :)

blatant plug..... http://newhopecattledogs.com if anyone wants a heeler..

http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/nature/images/Javelina-tpwd-sm.jpg
[/IMG]

:eek: Okay. THAT is an animal for which I have zero desire to pet.

:eek: Okay. THAT is an animal for which I have zero desire to pet.

they are practically blind but smell real good.. When I had my wedding there on the property 15 years ago we strung up lights and ran extension cords to everything so it would be nice for the post party.. damn pigs ate the extension cords.. normally though they are mild and pleasant to be around and you can walk right through them. My guess is that Sammy went after one before really thinking about what he was getting into to.. the big fear out here for Dogs are rattlesnakes and coyotes. Most our dogs go to rattlesnake aversion training.

normally though they are mild and pleasant to be around and you can walk right through them.

Um. I'll take your word for that, momod. ;) Knowing my luck, that four inch fang would end up hooked in my butt. Mild, pleasant animals with fangs are really not on my list. :p

they are practically blind but smell real good.. When I had my wedding there on the property 15 years ago we strung up lights and ran extension cords to everything so it would be nice for the post party.. damn pigs ate the extension cords.. normally though they are mild and pleasant to be around and you can walk right through them. My guess is that Sammy went after one before really thinking about what he was getting into to.. the big fear out here for Dogs are rattlesnakes and coyotes. Most our dogs go to rattlesnake aversion training.

I will take your word on the good smelling rodents because I will not be getting that close...They are HUGE, but they were moving fast across the street and they looked straight ahead the whole time like we weren't even there. But I sensed they sensed me :eek: or smelled me or something :(

Um. I'll take your word for that, momod. ;) Knowing my luck, that four inch fang would end up hooked in my butt. Mild, pleasant animals with fangs are really not on my list. :p

Mary likes them more aggressive. :p

Mary likes them more aggressive. :p

look at the cute little baby..


http://www.fepco.com/img/NotchieWithNewBaby600px.jpg

I will take your word on the good smelling rodents because I will not be getting that close...They are HUGE, but they were moving fast across the street and they looked straight ahead the whole time like we weren't even there. But I sensed they sensed me :eek: or smelled me or something :(

Well, honey, I've smelled you. You're like a spring day, splash of lavendar, a little cinnamon, exotic rum with undertones of a rich berry pie. If I'd been that rodent, I'd headed straight for your leg. :D

look at the cute little baby..


http://www.fepco.com/img/NotchieWithNewBaby600px.jpg

Hmm I might be able to take the baby........but the parents -- thats a whole nother thread.
"Nygirl mauled by javalina's in Tucson"

Mary likes them more aggressive. :p

No. I like 'em with a thicker fang. :D

look at the cute little baby..



:rolleyes: Rattlesnakes have babies too. I don't find them cute, either.

Well, honey, I've smelled you. You're like a spring day, splash of lavendar, a little cinnamon, exotic rum with undertones of a rich berry pie. If I'd been that rodent, I'd headed straight for your leg. :D


I was with you right up to rich berry pie :eek:

I was with you right up to rich berry pie :eek:

haven't you ever smelled a berry pie just out of the oven? :)

haven't you ever smelled a berry pie just out of the oven? :)

See........I think you scared our new friend with the Javalinas from Tucson away :(

You mean momod? Oh, I don't think so. That man thinks those rodents are "pleasant and mild." Compared to those, he has to find me adorable and harmless, don't ya think? :D

You mean momod? Oh, I don't think so. That man thinks those rodents are "pleasant and mild." Compared to those, he has to find me adorable and harmless, don't ya think? :D

Hmm now that you mention it......you're right. Except for the harmless part.

You mean momod? Oh, I don't think so. That man thinks those rodents are "pleasant and mild." Compared to those, he has to find me adorable and harmless, don't ya think? :D

two beautiful ladies cant scare me away, im desert hardened... :)


nice crack about the thick fang btw... :LOL

two beautiful ladies cant scare me away, im desert hardened... :)


nice crack about the thick fang btw... :LOL

Oh, you and I are going to get along very well...;):D

Oh, you and I are going to get along very well...;):D

nice...


are you girls out of NY I take it or SoCal?

nice...


are you girls out of NY I take it or SoCal?

First of all Mary is no girl.......she is a full fledge woman :p outta So. Cal

I'm from NY and living in Las Vegas and hanging in So. Cal :D

First of all Mary is no girl.......she is a full fledge woman :p outta So. Cal

I'm from NY and living in Las Vegas and hanging in So. Cal :D

It takes a full fledge woman to know one...:D

First of all Mary is no girl.......she is a full fledge woman :p outta So. Cal

I'm from NY and living in Las Vegas and hanging in So. Cal :D

thats what I like to here... ive been a man my whole life..;). yea, right... :rolleyes: :D

Ill catch you nice ladies later.. *mo tips 10 gallon hat*

He's vacationing.......he won't be around til after Thanksgiving. I think he was headed elsewhere after Tucson. I know he wasn't headed back to Cali.
But that dude was just straight weird. But then again after over riding around those training groups for the last 30 miles you better know I was watching them like hawks...they were all over the place and some of their leaders think they run the entire event.

edit: I am not bashing Team in Training because the overall support they have from other teams and members is incredible. However with that being said - THEY ARE NOT THE BEST RIDERS!!! If I hear on your left one more time -- ...... the entire team announces it.......rider coming up on your left..on your left...rider coming up on your left............OMG.

Full disclosure, I've ridden w/ TnT, and I'm current a mentor for the Solvang team (my fundraising link is below for anyone who'd like to throw a couple of bucks my way, I'm going for $3k this season )

The one's coming in that late are inexperienced riders and/or slower riders who are hurting at the end and not always doing the right thing due to exhaustion. Put yourself in the shoes of those mentors, they're responsible for guiding these riders through those rides. I can tell you from very personal experience, it's stressful. It's best just to give them all wide berth.

I know no one here is knocking it, so no worries.

Here's a link for those of you who'd like to throw me a few bucks :)
http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?KEY=tntglaRJohnso1

Full disclosure, I've ridden w/ TnT, and I'm current a mentor for the Solvang team (my fundraising link is below for anyone who'd like to throw a couple of bucks my way, I'm going for $3k this season )

The one's coming in that late are inexperienced riders and/or slower riders who are hurting at the end and not always doing the right thing due to exhaustion. Put yourself in the shoes of those mentors, they're responsible for guiding these riders through those rides. I can tell you from very personal experience, it's stressful. It's best just to give them all wide berth.

I know no one here is knocking it, so no worries.

Here's a link for those of you who'd like to throw me a few bucks :)
http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?KEY=tntglaRJohnso1


Nice! :beer: You are a very good mentor, Ron. :)

You are a very good mentor, Ron. :)

Hippies are very nurturing.

Hippies are very nurturing.

You all go back to talking about animals. I'm going to take my H2 for a needless spin around the block and maybe do some off roading through environmentally sensitive areas.

Hippies are very nurturing.

He's going to take you out next time he sees you. And I'm going to laugh my ass off watching. :D

You all go back to talking about animals. I'm going to take my H2 for a needless spin around the block and maybe do some off roading through environmentally sensitive areas.

Don't forget to play with matches while you're at it.

Roflmao

Full disclosure, I've ridden w/ TnT, and I'm current a mentor for the Solvang team (my fundraising link is below for anyone who'd like to throw a couple of bucks my way, I'm going for $3k this season )

The one's coming in that late are inexperienced riders and/or slower riders who are hurting at the end and not always doing the right thing due to exhaustion. Put yourself in the shoes of those mentors, they're responsible for guiding these riders through those rides. I can tell you from very personal experience, it's stressful. It's best just to give them all wide berth.

I know no one here is knocking it, so no worries.

Here's a link for those of you who'd like to throw me a few bucks :)
http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?KEY=tntglaRJohnso1
On a serious note, I hope I didn't give anyone the wrong impression. I have the utmost respect for TnT riders et al. They do a wonderful job for others, and accomplish some serious personal milestones.

You rock, Ron!

He's going to take you out next time he sees you.

Is that the "free love" thing I've read so much about?

Speaking of Topanga Hippies and 'free love', anyone remember Twin Poles?

Speaking of Topanga Hippies and 'free love', anyone remember Twin Poles?

"Free Love" from Torrance can be seen for a mere $49.95 sign-up fee. BF special rate.

Does that come with chili spaghetti? I know, I know,,,,almost

"Free Love" from Torrance can be seen for a mere $49.95 sign-up fee. BF special rate.

Heck, you never responded to me about this on the fav movies thread....

Nice to read you SoCal folks (mis)adventures on El Tour XXV!
Being a Tucson resident and this having been my 24th El Tour (missed one in the mid-90s as boss would not let me off work) here's a couple notes:
First El Tour de Tucson started at Sabino Canyon in 1983 with 190-some folks registered and about 168 riding. We did not have great police and sag support then, but heck we did not need it.
Raced it on single bike and placed either 26th or 29th (forget which). Not bad for one of the 'old guys' (was only 50 then!).
We did have the river crossings and there was a 6-mile stretch of real dirt road to navigate (yup, saw several wipe-outs 'cause them skinny tires/sewups don't do well in sand).
The second year we actually had flooding in Tucson and those river crossing were full of water. Took off shoes/sox, put 'em in jersey pocket and hoisted bike and waded across. Dried feet with cycling cap and bandana and jumped back on bike.
After that, rode it for 15 years with my wife on tandem as Bike Patrol (BP was started on El Tour III).
Been riding it on my single after that as things were getting a bit hectic in the lineups with a tandem. For about 7 or 8 years the ride started at El Conquistador and then moved to downtown. Ride was ridden in 'reverse' for several years, then turned back to it's present configuration.
Ride distance varied, up to 111 miles one year. Have ridden all distances at one time or another.
The ride got bigger each year with a total of about 9,200 this year. The Expo and packet pickup worked
out smoothly for such a big crowd
El Tour used to be billed as a 'race' for a couple years, but due to legal issues is now a 'tour' (read less liability and hassles with USCF).
As far as the mix of riders goes . . . very few of you are licensed racers; many are wannebees; some are really novices!
As Bike Patrol heard a father explaining to a 10 year old on what lever to hit when shifting, all this in a crowd of several hundred maneuvering riders! Folks with their ears plugged with sound are no help either! Have seen crashes, one due to dropping a water bottle and wanting to stop and retireve it! Have seen folks keel over for no apparent reason (hyperventilating). Saw lots of riders with leg cramps this year (not drinking enough/not in shape).
But all in all El Tour is a great event for everyone . . . the real pros, the wannabees, Team in Training, the League of American Bicyclists, the Parkinsons, etc. Hey, we are all cyclists.
As far as pack riding goes, only noobs 'pull' for m-i-l-e-s! When I pull, I do 100 pedal strokes and drop back and repeat as needed.
Even riding Bike Patrol I had a great time (again)!
When's the last time you had so much fun on your bike? Come on back next year . . .
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Great report! I was planing on doing this ride with a friend but the scheduling didn't work out. Hopefully next year!

Thanks for the history Rudy, and congrats on your long association with El Tour. It is a great ride, and I'm sure many of us will return to do it again next year.

After the ride I spent Thanksgiving week with my parents in Phoenix. Their computer and internet connection were just not reliable for posting in this thread. Then this past Saturday, I did the Baldy Lite ride. Thanks Herb. This is the first chance I have had to report on the El Tour de Tucson ride. No pics since I was doing this ride for time. I had set a goal of platinum, but that would have only happened if the stars, the planets, and everything else was in line, maybe a 5% chance, but I still planned to give it my all and see how well I could do.

Friday nite before the ride you pick up your packet at the expo at the start line. I know I had told many of you that I was riding with several people from around the country. That nite I had a chance to get together with them to discuss the next day. They are people from BikeJournal.com, I know we utilized the website to track our mileage, etc. The website has a lot of great people posting on their threads also, and much like bikeforums, there is a core group that posts there. Out of that core group there were probably about 15 to 20 of us doing the ride. Instead of everyone being from one region, like SoCal, this group was from all across the country, Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Pennsylvania, and a couple from Canada. Quite a crowd.

11/17/07 @ 4:45AM -- Got to the start line. We were about 150 yards behind the start line. Two hours and 15 minutes before the ride starts and there is that many people in front of you that got there earlier. By the time the ride started, there was about 6,000 people lined up. I think 9,100 was the total for the ride, the others did shorter distances. About 5 minutes before the start, a spouse of one of the forementioned BJ crew took our cold weather clothes.

11/17/07 @ 7:00 AM – The start, it took us a couple of minutes to get to the start line. For the first couple of miles I was able to keep one of the BJ members in my sight, I could not keep the up with 24-26 mph pace, that he was riding at without blowing up. Never did see Mark (mkadam68). At this point I just decided to ride the best that I could, and felt without any mistakes I should be able to finish in less than 6 hours no problem. I caught up with a fellow BJ rider (Zman) from Pennsylania. in the lite headwinds out south of the airport on Hughes Access Rd. We played tag all the way to the little kicker on Houghton Rd. he then sprinted up it and I ran up it, but most riders just slogged up it. I didn’t see him again until the end of the 2nd crossing at Sabino creek; he had just finished cleaning the sand out his cleats, and getting back on his bike.

Prior to seeing Zman again, I stopped at the SAG stop on the corner of Speedway & Houghton and refueled. Then on to the 2nd crossing at Sabino, after finishing the crossing I decided I need to take the shoes off to get all the sand out of the shoes and out of the Speedplays. Back on the bike, climbed the nasty little kicker on Snyder; saw some guy walking up the hill, pushing his bike with one hand and carrying his broken chain with the other hand. Bummer!!!! I was talking to someone else who said that while they were climbing the little kicker, that they watched a Tandem break in two. Ultimate bummer!!!!!

Since I needed to refuel one more time, I stopped at the SAG stop about 2/3 of the way up Oracle. Then got back on the road to finish the ride.

Rode in various pacelines through out the day, I would say about 70% if the time, I was in the draft of a paceline. The other 30% I was either leading a paceline or was out by myself. My biggest mistake of the day was trying to jump from one paceline to another at about mile 85, it took me a mile or two of maximum effort to catch the faster paceline, when I caught them, I was so spent that I couldn’t hang on. So for the next couple of miles I was out in the wind. Then the paceline that was the one I jumped from came by and I was able to reattach myself. The only problem was that after a few miles I started to cramp and couldn’t hold on. So for the last 9-10 miles I was pretty much out there on my own. I was overjoyed when I made the turn on to Congress, at that point I knew that I would have a sub-6 total time.

11/17/07 @ 12:56 PM – Crossed the finish line. In spite of the cramps I was able to finish with a Gold medal time. Here are my results for the Tour for the last 4 years:

Year..............Total Time........Total Avg Speed........Saddle Time.........Avg Speed

2004................7:24:40.................14.9.........................6:07.....................18 .1
2005.......DNF, crashed and broke arm out by the airport
2006................7:56:41.................13.8.........................6:30.....................16 .7
2006.......Rode with a friend who had serious bonk issues
2007................5:56:39.................18.4.........................5:23.....................20 .1
2007.......Personal Best

I learned a lot this year. My training & riding this year was non-specific, I did not train for this ride. I feel if I was to train for this ride, lose a few more pounds, catch the right pace lines, etc. that I probably could finish this ride in less than 5 hours. Two other things that I noticed compared to past attempts. When you are riding at a sub-6 pace, that the rest stops are virtually empty, no lines and that as long as you are part of a paceline, they will control traffic for you, so you don’t have to stop. I only had to stop at one traffic light and that was when I was out by myself, as soon as the next paceline came through the reopened the intersection.

Congratulations to those of us from BF that completed the ride. A special congrats goes out to Mark (mkadam68) for his Platinum time of 4:59:14. While this is not a hard ride, to basically do 109 miles total time of less than 5 hrs is difficult, Mark was in the top 10% of riders that finished that distance. One of my primary goals since I started riding centuries was to do a sub-5 century. At 5 hrs ride time, I checked my computer and I had traveled 101 of the total 109 and that meant that I had accomplished by goal of a sub-5 century. When you set a goal that to date has been unobtainable, and you achieve it, it is very emotional. The rest of the day I just grinned from ear to ear, just waiting for others to ask me my time. I'm sure Mark felt the same way.

This was a great ride and was glad that I got to meet so BJ members from across the country.

Asia, I was surprised to see you when I did, I must apologize for my wife's Team in Training group being in front of you at the finish. Apparently a couple of Team members bonked pretty seriously and they waited until they recovered so that they could all ride in together. Everyone finished. I know the coach that you were talking about and he's a great coach, I think he was protecting you as much as he was the Team, like I said several of them had issues with bonking, and like your friend that you rode with this was there first century.

No need to apologize for him Lee. He apologized and I respected that. He could of just walked away :) I am not above reprimand when I am wrong ( however rare that may be :p ) but since I was just sitting there I didn't understand why he was yelling at me. I'm harmless :D But no hard feelings -- he gained my respect by coming up, with a smile and apologizing. I'm easy :o

Congrats to you once again on such a great effort and time.

4:45 AT THE START LINE :eek:

Great job, Lee! :beer:

And, Asia, you are rarely wrong, and little did I know that you were easy...damn, I could have taken advantage of that. :p:D

This was a great ride and was glad that I got to meet so BJ members from across the country.

Asia, I was surprised to see you when I did, I must apologize for my wife's Team in Training group being in front of you at the finish. Apparently a couple of Team members bonked pretty seriously and they waited until they recovered so that they could all ride in together. Everyone finished. I know the coach that you were talking about and he's a great coach, I think he was protecting you as much as he was the Team, like I said several of them had issues with bonking, and like your friend that you rode with this was there first century.

thanks for the detailed report, .. nice job on the ride as well..