Tucson Training Trip (Feb 14, 2007)
Eight days of below zero temperatures and a wind chill that will freeze your eye lids shut is a good reason to seek the relief of a warmer climate. On Thursday, February 8, I hopped on a flight down to Tucson Arizona, in search of warm temperatures to bike and run in for 6 days. My Brother, Brent, and neighborhood friend, Will, rent a small two bedroom bungalow just south of the University of Arizona. In Minnesota, Tucson seems to have the reputation of a biking paradise: good roads, epic terrain, and other cyclists.
After a two hour delay at Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport, Brent and Will where still waiting to pick me up in Tucson, and as soon as I could assemble my coupling bike. I rode off to explore Tucson before the sun set. Navigating Tucson is fairly easy; the city is an expansive grid. Almost every other street is marked as a bike route, but all the major thorough fairs are 6 to 8 lanes, making left hand corners difficult and exhaust hard on your lungs. Thus, my first hour and thirty minutes in Tucson were disheartening, but I now knew how to get to Mt. Lemon, which I had high hopes for.
On Friday morning, I set out for Mt. Lemon, which is 30 miles from the base to the summit. Excitement and relief fueled my legs after suffering through the 45 min cross-town exhaust gauntlet. Feeling good, I rode a solid 250 watts on Catalina highway to the base of the Mt. Lemon climb and started the climb averaging 350 Watts. I flew by a couple of fellow cyclist and at about mile 7 or shortly after, I realized this climb was going to go on for awhile as my Wattage slowly started dropping. However, the continuous trickle of cyclists coming down the mountain gave me hope that the summit was just around the next corner.
Mile 14 and 2000 Calories in, I had emptied two 20 oz water bottles and two gel packs. I pulled over at a viewing area with substantial structures, hoping to refuel. No luck, I only found gravity fed toilets. Now over two hours in, my brother should be driving to meet me on the climb. I decided to ingest my last 180 Cal of gel, rest for 20 min, and then ride easy until he caught up with supplies. I had clearly bonked and could only ride at about 170 Watts, half of what I had previously been doing. As started to cross into colder thermal layer at mile 20, the BT arrived. Water, a banana, and chocolate cake did the trick, I was off for the summit again. This time pacing myself and riding comfortably over 250 Watts. We stopped for a couple of gorgeous photo opportunities, but continued on surrounded by snow to the end of the road at the Mt. Lemon Ski Area. (4 hours 25 min in the saddle including the descent, avg. Watts 256)
Saturday, I headed out West of Tucson, which is much easier to ride to from the University of Arizona area. Riding only 3 or 4 miles puts you on good roads leading to Old Tucson and Saguaro National Park. By good roads, I mean two lane roads with no shoulder, but the cars drive slow and wait for safe opportunities to pass. Minnesota drivers could possible learn something from these folks. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I rode these scenic routes West of Tucson, riding about 3 hours each time. The Saguaro National Park has great views and plenty of huge cacti to stare at. Despite the epic climbing of Mt. Lemon I never made it back. The amount of pollution you have to breathe in to get across Tucson almost negates any fitness gain.
Trip Stats: Average High 70 deg, Average Low 40 deg, Number of Rides 6, Number of Runs 6, Number of Hours riding 19, running 7
