Tucson Wrap Up

After 9 days and 34 hours of glorious riding Dave and I found ourselves back at the Phoenix airport ready to head home on Tuesday afternoon. If I had to sum up our trip down south in one word, it would be PERFECT. The purpose was to ride lots which happened... and then some. However, it was also a chance to recharge "the battery", take a much needed break from work, spend some much needed quality time with David and most importantly, use some time for myself. While away, I had no issues with my stomach to speak of. My left hip was working like new (thanks to Jack's brother in law Kelly who seems to have performed a miracle, in the way of deep tissue massage, on my hip joints and back) and I seemed to find an inner peace within myself. For the first time, ever really, I was content to wake up, decide what ride the day would hold, ride it and then just come home and relax. There was no anxiety (well maybe that one time we ended up on the I-19 to Mexico), no worries. Even thinking about it now brings a sense of peace.

All in all Tucson included the following highlights:
- 25 miles up Mt. Lemmon
- 12 miles up Kitt Peak
- That roley 8 miles through East Saguaro National Park... Reid was right, imagine a crit in there
- Riding the I-19 towards Mexico, only to discover after we turned around that bicycles are prohibited on the hiway
- Getting lost in their imperial system (darned lbs at the deli counter)
- Five flat tires and two tires
- Learning what it feels like to be stress free and enjoy the moment!

Now for a few days of much needed rest and low key training!

Kitt Peak

Rode Kitt Peak today.... It was AWESOME!

Today we loaded up the car and headed out to Sassabee Road where we planned to leave the big white tird (aka our Dodge Caravan) and ride to Kitt Peak. Typically this ride is done from Tucson and clocks in around 200 plus km. With Dave still getting his cycling legs back and a five and a half hour ride scheduled for tomorrow, we opted to keep the ride to three hours. The Ajo hiway which is the road you take to Kitt Peak was a cultural experience. The shoulder disappears pretty quickly which left us sharing the road with numerous boarder patrol vehicles, the reservation's police vehicle and lots and lots of rubbish at the side of the road. I don't want to stereotype but given the number of road side memorials we passed and the number of beer bottles and cans we noted, I started to wonder if the latter lead to the former. An hour later we found ourselves at the base of Kitt Peak with 12 miles standing between us and the white dome at the top. The climb was phenomenal. My legs felt great given I haven't many outside/hilly rides in them this winter. We had a quick snack at the top then headed down. We ended up having to stop on five separate occasions to get the feeling back in our hands. It cooled off quite a bit towards the top so the ride down proved to be quite cold. The ride back the base to the car was a nice "false downhill". We passed through a boarder patrol but were just waved through... apparently they didn't think we were storing any illegal Mexicans in our spandex. We ended up back at the car 3.5 hours after we started. All in all a great day.

Today we were planning to head to Phoenix for some shopping, however, after determining that it would amount to 4 plus hours of driving, we opted to stay close to home and went to the local malls here in Tucson. We found a Nike Factory outlet which proved lethal to my visa. Such wicked deals compared to what we pay at home.

Tonight Dave and I are making dinner for Dave (of Dave and Pauline our gracious hosts), and then plan to hunker down and watch some CSI. Tomorrow is Mt. Lemmon and we are aiming to make it a 5 hour ride. I will be sure to bring my camera along for some good pics!

Farmers Burn and the Hiway to Mexico

Well the last two days have been filled with more adventure.

Yesterday we attempted to ride the infamous "Shoot Out". We headed south into a blasting head wind sure that we had our directions correct. After two hours of riding and no cross road in sight we opted to turn around and retrace our steps. It turns out that we were only 2 miles away from the turn off, doh! However, just so that we don't forget yesterday both Dave and I are sporting quite the farmer tans. All I can say is that I am going to look dang funny when I get back home and head to swim club!

Today saw us head out with the intention of riding part of the El Tour de Tucson loop. Not wanting to do the full 104 miles we pieced together an abbreviated version. Well we did make a wrong turn today which put us onto hiway I-19 which is the hiway to Mexico! With about 10 boarder patrol vehicles in about 10 miles, after we couldn't find the cross road we needed we opted to retrace our steps. It turns out that we turned south too soon and completely missed the Nigales Hiway. To get back to the car we needed to head straight through Tucson. That was an adventure. First we saw fighter jets, found ourselves in the ghetto and saw the Campus which is beautiful. 4 hours later we were back at the car ready for some down time!

The Tour of California is on at the moment and the American OLN, VS has decent coverage. Needless to say not only are our days filled with cycling but so are our evenings! GREAT!

Tomorrow we are heading to Kitt Peak, Phoenix for shopping on Thursday and Mt. Lemmon on Firday. Let the climbing begin!

Another A&D Advneture - Gates Pass Style

Well today was yet another adventure for the books.

At 10:30 we loaded up the van and headed down to Tucson. The drive takes about 45 minutes but it was worth it. We parked in the parking lot of Performance Bike hoping they wouldn't mind. We then headed west, through the University, then that forever dreaded "pop - ssss" sound came from Dave's wheel. No worries, we stop, change it and get back riding. About 15 mintues later just as we are starting the ascent into Gates Pass another "pop - sssss" from Dave's back wheel. So in the first 10km ride we have used both of our tubes and our only CO2. Rather than waiting for the third one to come, probably out in the desert with no tubes, we opt to turn around and find a bike store. We bascially double back and end up at Free Wheel Bicycles, when the nice counter people give us 15% because we have such "awesome kits". Oh yes, I should mention at this point. I had another "I AM CANADIAN" experience. I asked whether they had a "washroom". The girl gives me a funny look as says (insert sourthern accent here) " you mean a bathroom"? Yes, a bathroom. I am thinking next time I will ask for a washcloset or the loo and see what look I get. So almost 90 minutes since we started we finally hit the road with CO2s, patch kits and extra tubes. Gate Pass is beautiful. We climbed from the easier side but the roads through Suguaro and up through Morana were great. No issues with cars, not other flat tires and thankfully no head wind. The ride back into the city took a while as we actually ended up quite north of Tucson. But with the nice wide bike lanes that seem to be everywhere riding through town was a piece of cake.

So I am now sitting here, with a full tummy of chicken stir fry and home made orangic strawberry crumble, getting ready to hit the hay. Tomorrow we plan to do the Shoot Out loop (south of Tucson). We are looking to do Mt. Lemmon on Tuesday, take it easier on Wednesday, then hit up Kitt Peak on Thursday.

Thanks for checking in.

From Saddle Brook "Adult Living Community", I am signing off :-)

Living It Up Tucson Style

This post is coming to you via the lovely community of Saddle Brook about 18 miles north of Tucson. The dad's best man (and partner in crime from another life time) is kindly playing host to Dave and I for the next 10 days. We arrived yesterday after an uneventful flight, yes, uneventful. No panic attacks during take off, no tears of fear when we hit turbulence. I think I may have reached a turning point in my fear of flying! The people at Dollar Rent a Car were quite pleasant. Two hours after we arrived in Phoenix we hit the highway heading south. Having never been to Arizona before it is amazing to take in the landscape, people and crazy drivers! A huge THANKS to Dave who piloted our Dodge Caravan as I am too scared to drive such a large vehicle that isn't mine (let me just say the Woodward's don't have a good record with stationary objects in parking lots!).

Saddle Brook is a funny place. It is like a gated community, but without a gate. According to Dave it is a far cry from the "ghetto" style Best Western he stayed in the last time that he was here!

Today we headed out for a 3 hour ride. We went north to this Biosphere 2, http://www.b2science.org/. We couldn't get close to get a good pic so take a look at the link. Tomorrow I think our plan is to head to Morana Park... from where we are staying we will probably end up driving to the starts of most of our rides as Saddle Brook is a good 25 miles outside of the Tucson city limits. So far, and I know it has only been two days, this vacation has been blissful. With nothing to do but ride and relax, the days seem to last longer, the sleeps are better and my stomach is quite content!

I hope that everyone back home is staying warm (-20 I believe it was today... yeah, it was a balmy +16 down here).

Amy

... Lesson Learned: At the grocery store today I walk up to the counter and the woman asks "how much" I want. I say "250". This is reciprocated with a look of confusion and as I turn to Dave he is killing himself laughing. Yeah, note to self, they us LBS down here!

A humbling moment

So today after a sluggish swim session and a crummy day at work, I had to pull the plug on my evening ride. Needless to say it takes a lot for me to miss/skip a workout, so of course I "asked" Jack whether I could, and of course he said yes. It was at this point that it struck me. Having 6 years of solid cycling under my belt I figured I could jump in and handle the two a day work outs no problem. I mean heck, I used to be one of those snooty road bikers who shunned triathletes and figured what do they know about hard training. Well needless to say I had a very humbling moment today. For all you roadies out there, the next time you see a triathlete out there on the road, given them a friendly wave. If you pass one, don't poke fun but rather acknowledge that they, just like you, are out training for an event... an event very difffernt than your own, and it could just be their second work out of the day!

The humbled roadie turned triathlete signing off!

Driven 5 Press Conference

So the last two weeks seem to have been a whirl wind. With work being as hectic as ever, fitting in all scheduled training session and trying to spend some time with Davy, Christmas now seems like a distant memory that happened ages ago! All that being said, I wouldn't change a thing (well maybe the whole running into the corner of the pole in our basement with my head, that's a whole other story).... well maybe if I could get paid to train and race, and not "work" then that wouldn't be so bad!

This past week was the official Driven5 press conference. Each athlete got a chance to share their story, and each coach got the chance to give some words of inspiration. It was really great to meet each of the other athletes and learn what their goals are (Calgary 70.3 seems to be a common thread). After the press conference the sports guy from Shaw asked to interview me and on of the men of the Driven5. It was a really cool experience, definitely had to think on my feet, however, I think I spoke really well and said what I wanted to say! We then had to do "sporty" things like stretching, running etc so that they could get some clips for the piece. It was just so much fun. It was as I was changing back into my work clothes that it struck me.... this is really happening! I am so vrey excited to journey through the next 8 months. I know that it is going to be tough, but heck, didn't someone once say that "pain is weakness leaving the body"??? I seem to be eating, sleeping and training 70.3... I even wander off into tri land while at work! I have never felt such a level of committment and focus to one event. YAY, what else can I say!

I would like to take this opportunity to give a huge THANKS to my parents, brother, Davy and the Wally dog. The last two years has been a roller coaster, however, it is thanks each and everyone of them that I am where I am today, embarking into the unknown and looking forward to every adventure that it may hold.

Until next time, DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE