rdtompki

My wife and I are considering driving down to Tucson for this ride (109 mi. version). Hard to say what our time might be on our Tandem, but probably 7 hours. it's certainly not a race for us and my inclination might be to start in the back, but I'm thinking there might be a lot of slow single bike riders back there and picking our way through a pack might be a problem. Our flat land cruising speed is probably in the 19 mph realm, darn slow for a tandem. Any suggestions out there?

gcottay

I think you will be fine wherever you end up starting.

There are a few slow riders, but can be readily sorted out. Your speed is just about perfect for catching on with a similar group. Doing the 109 will give you a few minor grades to conquer.

Parking around the starting line can be an issue, so you want to give yourselves plenty of time.

Unless you are serious about speed and time, take it easy on the ride to have plenty of energy left for the festivities.

rdtompki

George, thanks. Also got good advice on the tandem forum. We're not serious about speed or time, just trying to improve at a faster rate than we age.

zonatandem

Ride it and enjoy!
We have ridden it 15 times on our tandem.

vigilanthony

I found this link the other day I think you might find helpful. I'll be doing the 109 myself for the first time.

https://www.livestrong.com/loops/tucs...10-DgADxS9bm6/

zonatandem

Hope you all enjoyed/survived the WINDY El Tour de Tucson.
This is the toughest winds we've had for the El Tour (especially the last 40 miles), and I've ridden it 27 times.
Head/cross winds gusting up to 42 mph . . .
Temps were great, up 77 degrees.
One rider near the finish line described the event as . . . "Brutal!"
Come back next year?!

kf9yr

Today was my first El Tour. I'm glad to hear the wind was an aberration this year!

It was a great event, I'm planning on coming back next year...

StephenT 

My first El Tour and it was a very good experience. Those winds were tough but the weather was perfect. Many thanks to the city of Tucson, Police, volunteers and the fans for keeping us cyclists moving along. Ill be back next year.

ratherbpiping

SEcond El Tour,

Did the 79 miler this year. Did the 66 miler last year.

We had trouble getting to the start. It is difficult for the instructons on the web because they depend on where you come from. With help from the police, we arrived at the start line with 2 minutes left before the start, but it took us six after the start to get on the route. That is okay though. Shuttles back to the start were a little difficult to get. And this year the bike storage was closing at 6, last year it was 7 I think. Made for some stress at the end. But every one was so great. The volunteers, the police, the shuttle driver and the riders. IT was really fun. Next year we are going to try to bring more people with us including some drivers to get back to the start without need for shuttles. Also , I want to do the 109 so I start and finish at the same spot.

This was fun, even with the wind.

I heard there were a lot of accidents. I noticed a lot of breakdowns but not alot of injurys. I hope noone was too badly hurt.

rdtompki

We finished! The last 25+ miles were tough with the headwind, but my stoker put in some extra effort to overcome the wind and my cramps. Plenty of police to control intersections and lots of folks along the course cheering the riders on. I can really see how the city gets behind this ride. The mass start is definitely a kick. Lots of flats in the first 20 miles. What are these folks using for tires? If your coming from a distance (as were we) I don't know that I would do it every year as one of the masses, but for those closer folks it definitely is fun. Definitely more rolling than I expected which made for plenty of work on the tandem, but certainly an easy course for the younger and/or single-riding crowd.

kabersch

Rode El Tour for the first time this year, the 109 miler. Did really well, in spite of the wind, until the final turn onto the frontage road from Ina. I didn't see the the bad transition from asphalt to concrete and went down. Broke my helmet so I decided not to continue. Averaged about 15 mpg, wich is what I was hoping. I think I will finish faster next year. This is a great ride!

gcottay

Congratulations to the first time riders. The wind made it a different ride this year.