2007 El Tour de Tucson
 

Howdy all,

We're just about a month away from the 25th Annual El Tour de Tucson. I just signed myself up for the 109 mile route. This will be my first time at the tour, as well as my first large organized ride. Just this last sunday was my first group riding experience. I can't wait to be there riding with thousands of other cyclists. I was a bit surprised however that my race number is 2946. I thought there'd be more riders signed up by now. They were predicting close to 10,000 right?

Anyways, just wanted to get this thread started. Anyone else signed up yet?

Matt

Tour de Tucson
 

I'm signed up and loking forward to the Mt Lemon challenge on Thurs. Also looking for a carpool from San Diego.

Oh Yeah! My favorite ride is coming up! http://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/eltourtime.html

Hotel's booked, dinner with friends on the books, selected route into town carefully planned (because the I-10 construction closes all exits on an 8-mile stretch - you might look this up. It's pretty clean, I was through there last week, but it's going to monkey up a LOT of people trying to get to the TCC).

It's a GREAT ride! I'm sure we'll hear from the pundits but it's still my favorite. And I've been doing a fair number of rides out-of-state to compare.

remember the simple things like "on your left" and don't-draft-too-close and cleat-covers, you'll likely agree with me in 44,770 minutes or so

I'm super stoked... first time doing the ride.

Lol...nice countdown. Quick question - Do the timing chips record when I cross the start line? I don't want to be stuck in the back of the line waiting for 2 hours to cross the start line while my official start time is accruing interest.

When's a good time to line up for the 7 AM 109 mile start?

Is there a place that counts how many riders they have registered yet? I'm 2946, but expected more by now. Only a month left, ie 43593 minutes.

Calm down kidz!!!
This will be my 24th El Tour. Missed one because boss would not let me off work.
There are different colored numbers/sequences for the different distances.
My number is 14069, but I will be riding it as Bike Patrol, not racing it.
Raced it the first 2 years and yes, there were only about 190 of us that first year, and placed 26th, if memory serves me right. And it did then include a stretch of dirt road asides from the crossing of the washes/river.
Remember: sunscreen/drink/eat/pee!
Now projected to have about 11,000 riders.
So be careful out there, don't want to have to stop and take care of you in a pileup!
Timing chips being used automatically record your leave/finish time. So the first one over the finish line 'may' not be the winner (but usually is), but timing chip will tell.
So matters not where in the group you start. Heck folks tend to line up way before daybreak, but that's not really necessary with timing chip.
Still one of the best organized one-day rides.
My wife has ridden it about 15 times with me on our tandem as Bike Patrol.
Remember: YOU will not be first! . . . so go out and ride it and enjoy El Tour!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

WOW 24! Awesome.

Do you know how the numbers are working? I'm 2946 and you're 14069, but you're a bike patrol person. Was I only the 2946th person to register?

Know what the elevation change is gonna be like for the ride?

Generally speaking, we don't find out how the numbers worked until afterwards. Blocks of numbers do things.

The timing chips all start on a given time. Try not to wait two hours to cross the line. But guess what, you will be OK no matter what. I usually get out at 20 mins. and don't cry about it = my computer gives me my real time.

Elevation is on the website. Your only real problems are, one cools down at the sabino-creek stop and is not ready for the climbs, and one burns up and is not ready for oracle climb - and of course, one is not fueled up for the last 20 miles. Sounds like every other centry ride, huh?

Do not know quite how the number system works. But each distance gets its own color and does not start up from number 'one' all over again. You will be getting your bib/number when you pick up your registration packet.
With Bike Patrol have had number as low as 4 (last year). Registered at beginning of September the past half-dozen years . . . so no real pattern there.
Altitude in Tucson runs around the 2200' mark and up (Oracle Road/Sun City area +/- 2640') and yes there's a few hills to climb, but no mountains. If you've been doing hillwork and miles for the past few months and don't come from sea level, altitude is not an issue.
Depending on your climbing ability/fitness, you'll be doing a fair amount of shifting, but there's also some great long/fast descents that you can either coast or get into your 54/12 gear and pedal (your choice!).
#2946 does not indicate you were the 2946th rider to register . . .
A lot of folks come to this event and 'want to be first' . . . it only happens to one person! If you can pedal a sub 4 1/2 hour century then its only 'maybe!'
The main thing is to enjoy the ride; pedaling in a huge pack can be dangerous so be aware of your surroundings and make no sudden maneuvers. Have always found the first 20 miles to be the most problematic as everybody is hustling and all pumped up and maybe not as careful as they can be.
By the end of the century some folks are a bit pooped and loose concenration.
Having said that, crashed only once on El Tour when someone changed their line suddenly on a fast curve. Leaning way too hard to avoid crash, bopped my pedal on pavement and went down with only minor road rash.
So we'll let you young ones do the hardnose stuff; at age 75 am glad to be still out there!
Pedal on!
Rudy

Supposedly the hardcore riders (but not quite Platinum-hardcore) get there at 3 am...

im signing up next week. The 10k estimate was based on total show for all rides so maybe yours just represents the 109 distance. Im kind of bummed cause my kids have soccer so my wife cant drive me down there and ill have a 10 mile ride to get there. Id hate to try to park down there anyways, thats a real congested area.

Mt lemmon challenge? that sounds cool, I really love that ride..

How do the rest stops work? Is it usually a pain to stop and wait for other riders to fill up their water bottles? Do they just hand you a poland springs bottle or something? How does it work?

P.S. - This will be my first real timed century. Only other centuries I've done were on my heavy, loaded, touring bike where it took all day. That's why I'm worried about start timing. I want to see what I can do on my new carbon fiber frame.

For some reason I can't find the info containing the route and elevations. Mind sharing a link?

http://www.pbaa.com/!ETT/ETThome.html

Yeah, rest stops (especially the first ones) get crowded, but I expect we'll get through in just a few minutes. I rode HH100 this year (11000 riders) and one rest stop took a whole 5 minutes, somewhat worse than the average El Tour. But the cookies were worth it!

Rest stops are limited, but the crews are great - often there's people with pitchers of water out by the road, you just drift in, fill up and ride off. If you have any special requirements you'd best pack your own. Think fruit, water, cookies at the 30-mile stop, and really that's all you can count on. Maybe we'll luck out and get some gatorade, maybe not - maybe it'll be like STP and all they have is pukish-bananna sport drink that you're better off without! I also remember a moldy PBJ sandwich, and fresh fruit is just fine with me, no point in getting picky. (But I do like the pancake stop at mile 70 fire station)

As for the start - if you line up in gold/silver, you'll be over the line in just 10 minutes or so. Start your bike computer then and/or note the time on the clock as you roll by, because there's really not a lot else you can do. Unless there's been a change, all timing chips start at 7am. Every year it is debated - every year PBAA declares "it's a ride not a race" and that's how it is. Someday when you're truly fast, you'll qualify for platnium, and then you won't have to be like the rest of us - but for now it's a ride, not a race, and I wish you luck with your personal-best but please try not to hurt anybody.

Yeah it's congested down there (especially this year) but it's not hard to find parking at 6am. Don't pull into a parking garage with bikes on your roof! If you do choose to line up very early, be careful about watering the bushes there, that's a federal building. Those black things on the posts are cameras. They've had security out there before and I'd hate for you to get sent to gitmo!

Momod: Suggestion for you. Drive to TCC in car with bike the day before El Tour. Park car and pedal home. So, you'll have car waiting when you're done. Been doing that for years as finding a parking place on ride day is nearly impossible and having someone pick you is also a hassle . . .
Original El Tour started at Sabino Canyon for several years, then it moved to El Conquistador (Oro Valley) and now for years has been at TCC downtown. Lots more parking there, more hotels and lots more riders!

Rest stops are not much of a problem. Sometimes the porta-potty line can be a bit long; water stops do not hand out bottled water, but at some stops volunteers will hold your bike or bring a water jug/cup with water for refill. If stopping, do pull off the road surface as there's a couple more 100 folks right behind you.
If you are not used to riding in high desert area, be forewarned that you need to drink more than what you would elsewhere, due to usual very low humidity. It has only rained on El Tour once, so odds are aginst that.
Have had some colder morning starts. You could get chilled standing around for an hour or so before the gun goes off.
Here is a system that has worked quite well for me. Grab a couple pages of newspaper, fold it and tuck in between your chest and jersey; great insulator an disposable at a rest stop. Or, if you have them, use arm warmers/vest that you can peel off and tuck into jersey pocket/bag.
If you do not plan on using too many stops, bring 2 bottles of water or a large camelback. A good suggestion is to pack some of your favorite munchies (gelpax, fruit, p-bars) just in case what they have at rest stop is not to your taste/liking.
As for timed centuries, have ridden well over a hundred of them. Fastest was 4:45 in Canada with the next day's return trip century at 4:50. However was only age 39 then; now at 75 it takes a mite longer!
Main thing is, enjoy El Tour . . .
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

that sounds like a reasonable idea, the thought of riding home after the ride with all the cooling off was not very appealing.
great advice, thanks! I was thinking about getting one of those bottle cage mounts that attach to the seatpost. I could wear my camelbak but id like to keep my load light on my body

How are support vehicles with support to riders who flat or other mechanical problems?

No support vehicles allowed. However Bike Patrol will help with mechanical/minor accident issues. Required to bring your own repair/patch kit/pump or inflators. Most experienced cyclists can do most of their own fixing of flats, dropped chain, broken spoke etc. There will be a couple spots with bike shop personnel to do stuff if needed and EMTs/Ambulance are on call. Yup, stuff happens!
So keep your wits about you . . . and have fun!
Pedal on!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Momod:
We don't like carrying camelbacks/backpacks on our backs. Keep stuff on the bike frame. Seatpost mounted cage(s) is fine. I have one cage mounted on handlebars (with plastic straw for sipping) and one on downtube on my single. You can also carry spare full bottle in jersey pocket, but recommend keeping the spout pulled open . . . in case of a crash and doing a paratrooper roll over the bars, the water will be able to squirt out on impact.
On our tandem we have bottle cages on front and rear handlebars and room for 5 more on the frame.
El Tour is so well supported you don't really need to load up your jersey pockets with chow!
The only other ride we've been on that is as well organized/supported is TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley) in Ohio.
Will be doing part of GABA's Tumacacori Century this Sunday on our tandem.
Keep it rubber side down!
Rudy

I really thought about riding that, I need to get involved with GABA for sure. I have close to 5k but have only been riding a about 15 months and I hardly ever group ride.. I did the Tour De phx and felt real comfortable in the pelaton and I do handle my bike pretty well but I would like to get some group rides in. Im real close to Udall park and I they have some practice rides.. heading up north today I think, its beautiful as usual..:)

Pick up a GABA Update at almost any bke shop. Several rides listed for each week including El Tour training rides that start at Udall Park

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1192682243
You look really familiar. My friend is doing the El Tour I think...

Who ya talking to?