Just a few other bike stories

Tour de Tucson 2006-- Taylor and I on a Tandem

I'm glad we happened to get into the platinum area before 6 am, it was packed later. The platinum area was way too small as usual and later arrivals had to really pack it in (I felt like Nemo at the bottom of the fishing net). Alot of riders had left their bikes lying on the ground so we picked them up and moved them over to the fence. I noticed at least 5 of those riders who came in for those bikes at about 6:45 were Bicycle Ranch clowns. Good start, no crashes that I saw, and everyone seemed polite. First river crossing, yikes, deep fine sand, now I know what a cow feels like in a cattle drive. I'm still coughing up dust particles. After the river crossing, what I believe to be the second group came together with us in it. There was a pretty good head wind going east and sadly, we fell off. Rode w/ a small group for a while until a group caught us that contained the Raymonds and Hummers, both on tandems. I think we fell off that pack just before Freeman. It may have had someting to do with climbing, for some reason, whenever we did that, we went slower.
Going down Freeman was fun, Taylor and I cruised along and picked up quite a few riders. It was along here that I began this little thing called "cramping", some of you may have heard of it. I hadn't experienced that in a few years and didn't appreciate my body putting me through it again. So, we fell off again and I began forcing the water and salt pills.
Dan McGehee came upon us before the second river crossing and offered to bridge us up to the next pack. Much appreciated, but we couldn't hold on for very long, I kept cramping. I asked him why he was so far back and he just pointed to his rear wheel, I never found out how it happened, but it was warped. I guess maybe to avoid a potential catastophic failure and keep from hurting anyone, he chose to be more isolated. Awfully nice of him to make offer to pull us along though.
We were caught here by quite a large pack and we made sure we worked hard to stay in front of them right into the second river crossing. We actually rode quite a ways in but the sand there was deeper this year and alot of walking riders forced us to do the same. Grabbed a banana for the cramps and we made it through to the parking lot for some cleat banging action. About 2 hours later we were able to click in and we were off. I know the Snyder climb is steep, but it was fun having all those people there to encourage us and joke with. Uneventful riding up to the top of Rancho Vistoso and was surprised when the group that caught us there contained the Raymonds and Hummers again. I guess the Raymonds had a flat coming out of the second river crossing and along with the Hummers had led a chase to that point. I can verify that because I noticed it was usually one of those two tandems who pulled for most of the remaining race. I felt like a frightened little mouse near the back of the pack for most of this time because I was on the verge muscle seizure. Going down Tangerine on a tandem is a nice little pleasure, but that is soon replaced with a sobering headwind as you turn southward along the freeway. The Hummers had been pulling as we crossed the freeway and made a wrong turn up the on ramp. Chad thought of maybe taking the freeway back but realized it was illegal so they quickly turned around and the packed slowed until they caught back on. This pack stayed together for nearly all the rest of the way.
I love it when you're riding along, not paying attention to the pack ahead of the rider in front of you and when you do look up there's a gap of about 20 yards. The guy couldn't wave us around? Needless to say, we were too pooped to bridge and a small group that included the Raymonds and two other tandems were getting further and further away. I kept thinking there goes any hope for a platinum time but our little group hung in there somehow and as we turned East our despiration turned to anticipation of actually making it. Got a little choked up making that last right turn, I felt like we had done all we could and had left it all out there on the course.
It was interesting to see that I had only drank 3 bottles of water, 4 GU's, and half a banana for the race. I know, not enough, I guess if you store enough body fat anything's possible.
I can't say enough about how proud I was of my little stoker, I tell you he never, ever, complained about anything, not a word. He had to visit the bushes a couple of times but only informed me of the need to do so. He was openly vocal to other riders during those last 5 miles about how we could make platinum, kept telling his old man over and over to "push-it, we can do it!". I don't know if they'll give him platinum status or not, and maybe he might not be able to make the time on his own, but I swear he has the heart of a platinum rider.
So, all in all a good time. Tough race, but we told ourselves we would try and have fun which I believe we accomplished.

Jim Auwen




Tour de Tucson 2007 report from my good friend Barry Thomas. I didn't even write up a story about the race that year because Barry did such a good and descriptive job at it.

First thing I remember thinking as I woke up at 3:55
 a.m. on Saturday was, "we really got lucky with the
 weather". Forecast called for about 50 degrees at
 race time and about 75 degrees and moderate winds by
 the finish. Kimberly and I dressed and pulled out
 of the hotel (Super Ocho) at 4:35 a.m. and rode to
 the start line. Of course the race begins at 7:00
 a.m., however if you don't arrive early you will be
 stuck starting behind four or five thousand riders -
 many of whom are just looking to finish - not race. 
 When we arrived at the start line at about 4:45 a.m.
 we were behind about 100 people in the gold line. 
 By the time the race started we would be behind
 about 500 or 600 people total between the platinum
 and gold. This is much better than in prior years
 when we arrived at 5:30 or 5:45a and we were behind
 two thousand riders.


Fortunately we remembered to bring warm clothes to
 wear while waiting in line. This helped a bunch
 because being cold drains energy. We also brought a
 blanket to sit on while we waited. We met up with
 our friends Lorie Tucker, Jim Auwen, Sterling Baer, and Jim Sullivan. Our intention was that we would
 try to ride together the entire way with a goal of
 five and one half hours. It was really encouraging
 to have Jim Auwen riding with us as he is such a
 strong rider. With his pacing and experience, I
 figured we had a good chance of achieving our goal. 


The last 40 minutes before the start we all were
 getting anxious. We needed to take our last minute
 potty breaks, stripped off our warm clothes, and
 slathered on the sun lotion for the long ride. When
 gun went off I was excited to see that it only took
 93 seconds for us to cross the start line instead of about seven minutes when we started in Silver in
 previous year. There were approx. 5,000 riders
 behind us and two riders right next to me who collided and went down just as we reached the start
 line. 
 


Jim A. lead our group out and we were up to about 26
 mph within one minute. The whole idea in the first
 two miles is to be extra safe and to stay away from
 erratic riders. Turning south on the I-10 frontage
 road there were lots of water bottles strewn as the
 riding surface was quite rough. This added to the
 confusion. 


When we reached southbound Mission road we were
 riding strong and fast. Jim continued to set the
 pace and did a great job of keeping us out of
 trouble. After 7.5 miles we reached the first (dry)
 river crossing. We dismounted and carried our bikes
 down into the Santa Cruz river bed. It was quite dusty - and I imagine quite a sight as thousands of
 riders trekked about 300 yards. When we reached the
 other side we stomped out our cleats and got back on
 our bikes. Quickly we were back up to speed - however when we turned south onto the Nogales
 highway we saw one of our fellow Brumby riders
 crashed and on the side of the road. It is always
 sobering to see a bike crash. 


Heading East in El Tour is never my favorite. It
 seems that whenever we ride East that the road is
 both uphill slightly and into a steady breeze. This
 year was no exception. We took protection from the
 wind by riding with a larger group - and also
 sending our workhorse Jim out to the front on
 Hughes, Alvernon, and Los Reales. I remember
 thinking that we were making good time and I also
> noticed at that point that Kimberly seemed
 noticeably stronger than in prior years. 


When we hit the I-10 frontage road however, a report
 came up to the front that Lorie had fallen off the back and was gapped. Just two week prior, she had
 completed a full Ironman and was still recovering. 
 I worried that she may not be able to recover and
 join the group. In talking with Jim, he said he
 would fall back and see if he could help her. 
Kimberly, Jim S. and I moved forward and I took over
 the duties of setting the pace. 


Heading north on Kolb is good fun. There is one
 climb and there is a good amount of road slightly
 down hill. It is also wind quartering from the rear
 which is a nice relief. I felt strong and Kimberly
 was riding comfortably and confidently at a high
 speed. We were over 30 MPH for long stretches. I
 noticed that at this point our average overall speed
 for the race was 21.2 - pretty good. I knew there
 was some tough times ahead, but if we could bank
 some time now it would help us later. 


East on Irving is not one of my favorites. Really
 rough road and uphill, and it seems this is where
 many people seem to lose their early momentum and
 faster groups passing them can create tense moments.
 Our little band of three was able to fall in behind not one - but two tandems. It was almost like
 cheating! This gave us a great pace for about three
 miles, however when the road tipped upward more
 steeply, I was once again in front setting the pace
 with Kimberly and Jim S. close behind. Over the
 course of the ride we had picked up several other
 riders who liked our pace and it seemed like we were
 with them all day. 


At about the 40 mile marker we headed North on
 Houghton. This is one of my two favorite parts of
 the race. Up and down - but mostly down. We joined
 with a larger group - maybe 35 or 40 - and rode the next seven miles at breakneck speeds, finally
 reaching the second river crossing at Sabino Creek. 
 We dismounted out bikes and started the nearly 1/3
 mile trek. Kimberly stopped to use the porta-pottie
 and I used a tree. She was still paying the price
 for some spicy food the night prior at Café Poca
 Cosa. We quickly refilled our bottles and Kimberly
 mixed in some Perpeteum that she had used to good
 result throughout the race. Again we had to stomp
 out our cleats, then wind our way up and finally
 over Snyder - which is a nasty little climb. 


Soon we were heading West/Northwest on Sunrise and
 Skyline. Whereas I had been feeling really great
 prior to the river crossing, I now was feeling
 sluggish and not as strong. Surprisingly we found
 that Lorie and Jim A. had passed us while we were on
 our extended restroom break and were now ahead of
 us. We finally came up on them and soon Jim S. I
 was really impressed how Lorie had rallied. I had
 all but given her up for dead 25 miles back. Jim S.
 seemed to be laboring and seemed to be sweating
 quite a bit, but gamely continued on as we all fell
 in behind Jim Auwen's elevated pace.

At mile 68 we turned north on Oracle. This
 traditionally is where I have struggled as it
 gradually heads upward for eight miles. What is
 worse is that it tips up more steeply at the end. 
 Kimberly however seemed to be in more of a rhythm
 and looked quite strong. I remember she had some
 frustration with some of the riders who had
 collected behind us. Some were riding erratically so she speed up and pulled in right behind Jim A. 
 About this time Lorie seemed to fade a bit. As word
 reached the front that she was gapped, Jim A. said
 he was going back for her again and that Kimberly
 and I should head off the front on our own. I felt
 uncomfortable with this but knew that Jim would
 watch out for her. 


Heading West into Rancho Vistoso I was feeling
 gassed to the point that I needed to back off for
 two or three minutes. It is quite a climb and I
 worried that if I pushed it to much that I would
 blow up. Kimberly and Jim S. Were good with that
 strategy so we lowered our speed about 25% for
 several minutes. One big group of maybe 30 riders
 blew by. I did not think this was going to be a
 problem because with 10,000 riders in the race,
 there is always another group of riders coming. 
 Except this time. We rode alone for the next 12
 miles. Fortunately Kimberly and Jim S. shared the
 pace setting duties and this gave me some respite. 
 Still, I was shocked that there were not other
 groups coming along and I started to get discouraged
 - I mean, 12 miles?!. Finally, as we started the
 long seven mile downhill on Tangerine we were swept
 up in a huge group of maybe 100 riders. We just
 camped in the middle of that group all the way down and hardly had to pedal at all - literally. It was
 good rest and really lifted our spirits as we were
 over 30 mph the entire way. 


Making the southern turn underneath the I-10 we
 found ourselves in the back third of the pack. The
 front 2/3 surged and we were gapped. I tried to bridge our back third to into contact but could not
 make it work. We then worked with about 20 or so
 riders for the next four or five miles. I was able
 to sit in behind two or three of them and really did
 no time at the front. As we reached the last
 mountain pass, I continued to talk to Kimberly and
 was truly impressed with her strength and her high spirits. This is where she really started to
 struggle in '06. She and I climbed together and
 came over the top along with Jim S. ahead of the
 pack. At the end of the mile and 1/2 down hill, we
 turned East on Silverbell. This is always my LEAST
 favorite part of the ride. 13 miles slightly
 uphill, always into the wind, with REALLY rough
 roads. Over the next two miles we were able to form
 up with a group of about 12 beleaguered souls. I
 knew we were going to be really close to our target
 time of 5 hours 30 minutes and that we had to push
 hard the last miles. The problem was that we were
 moving faster than most of the other groups so they
 were no help to us and most of the others in our
 group were not cooperating. It fell to me,
 Kimberly, Jim S., and another lady rider (in a
 Verizon Wireless jersey) to trade off pulling the
 group. With about five miles to go on Silverbell I noticed that Jim S. was laboring heavily. I was
 glad that he was able to hang on - he had made a
 huge effort on the day - but looked to be in the mid
 stages of de-hydration. Even though my tail end was
 beginning to really smart, I felt a serge of energy
 and was able to take long rotations in the front
 (two and three minutes) - even to the point that the
 group asked that I slow down as I would create a gap
 on a couple of occasions. Again I was impressed as
 Kimberly continued to share the pulling duties and
 the pace did not suffer at all when she was in front. 


Finally we were able to see the Hospital at the end
 of Silverbell. That is a welcome sight as it means
 there are only about 2.5 miles left - it also means
 the road gets smoother! At 1.2 miles to go we
 turned left onto Congress. There dead ahead were
 the high-rises of Tucson - a full one mile of dead
 straight road. I remember commenting to someone
 that it was like Emerald City rising at the end of
 the yellow brick road. We all picked up the pace as
 it was going to be within a minute or two of making
 our time goal. I looked about every quarter mile at
 my bike computer watching the minutes tick away. 
 With a hard left on Granada and a sprint to the
 finish, Kimberly led me across the line - both of us
 timed in 5 hours 28 minutes and 50 seconds for the
> 109 miles. Whew! That was close. 


Kimberly was ecstatic with our time. She had
 knocked 24 minutes off her '06 time and achieved
 Platinum status for the second year running. I will
 have to check but I am quite sure she finished in
 the top 10% of all lady riders. I was so pleased
 that she was so happy. I was really satisfied with
> our ride. It was hard AND fun. 


Jim S. came across the line about a minute following
 us. I think he felt great about his result and he
 should - he was really digging deep and found
 something that kept him going. Jim A. led Lorie to
 the finish, yet let her come across the line in
 front of him - about six minutes following us. 
 Really an impressive effort for Lorie -- again, she
 had just completed an Ironman two weeks prior. She
 really has an ability to rally and suffer on. Jim
 A. - what a gentleman - what a horse! He has the
 personal ability to finish as much a 60 minutes
 ahead of us if he were riding for himself. However,
 on this day (and on many days) he was all about
 everyone else. 


We gathered with many other Brumbys at the finish. 
 It was great to see so many of our friends fare so
 well. Truly, we have some of the best riders in the
 state in our little club. Sadly we saw at least
 five or six crashes and we stopped counting
 ambulances. We were blessed with safety and for
 that I am most grateful. 


I can't believe how strong Kimberly has become. 
 There were times I had a hard time staying with her.
 I think her training intensity has increased this
 past six months and was especially evident on Oracle
 and Silverbell. Further, she has become more
 skilled on her bike and this has given her more
 confidence to take calculated risks. Finally, she
 has come to understand her on board fueling. She
 was disciplined in her hydration and her eating. 
 Again, she had good success with Perpetuem in her
 bottles and also Bloks (and Advil) in her bento box.
 She and I both benefited from the E-caps
 (sodium/electrolytes) to stave off cramping. Of
 course, our strategy to arrive early to the start
 was key. This allowed us to save about five minutes
 at the start line and allowed us to ride longer with
 faster/more skilled riders.


Three years of El Tour for Kimberly - six years for
 me. It is amazing how working toward this effort, and then riding the race together seems to bind us
 together - I cannot ever imagine riding El Tour
 without Kimberly. It is so great to have something
 recreational like this that we are both passionate
 about. It seems to be good for us mentally,
 physically, and emotionally.

Barry Thomas