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Tour de Tucson-Logistics question

950 views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  azpeterb 
#1 ·
OK... I did this last year for the first time with a friend. She did the 67 and I did the 109. She dropped me off for my start @ 7am and then drove to her start a little later at 10:30.... I finished at 12:00pm and she finished about 3:30pm, by the time we took the shuttle back to the car at the 67 start and back to get the bikes we were able to see the very last offical bicycles cross the line before they shut down the finish!!! So I ended up in my bicycle clothing for many, many hours!! I would like to avoid this again... as we will probaby just have one car again.

This year she is just doing the 35 mile ride which doesn't start until 12:30pm..... So here is the question to those of you that do this ride on a regular basis..........

Would it be frowned upon if she started the 35 mile early, didn't use the chip and she would wait well after the faster riders had gone by to get on the course... We were thinking about an 11:30 start.... I past that point about 10:30 last year, and I was in a fast pack, but not one of the super fast packs... so I was thinking 11:30 will get her out of the way of the super fast riders... What do you guys think? Is this a bad idea and if so any other suggestions? I guess I can drop some clothes somewhere and hope they are there when I return? Maybe try and ride to the 35 start myself, but I don't know the city and would be pretty tired, but that might be an option if I can find a safe route.... Also if she doesn't use the chip can she just not pick it up at registration? Hope all of this makes sense????
 
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#2 ·
For some reason this thread is making my head spin, trying to figure out how the 2 of you can coordinate your finish times. I'm not sure what the PBAA's position is on riders leaving early from the starting point but knowing them and the types of rules they have, I don't think they would be supportive of her leaving early. It's probably worth checking out the PBAA website or even calling their office to inquire. If you call, you don't have to identify yourself so you can still end up doing whatever you want and know that they won't be "out to get you".
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the replys.... We are visiting/staying with an older aunt of my friend, so we won't get a hotel... and makes my head spin too!!

Just kind of wanted to get an idea of what you regulars thought of the start early on the course idea which would make things easier, but wouldn't want to be frowned upon...

Last year 'I think' I could have left a little sooner 'if' we would have had two car keys (only one from the car rental last year) so... depending on when the shuttles start running, (which I can't find on the website and may require an email) I should be able to go and get the car with the shuttle while she is still riding.... that is probably what we'll do if I can get two keys.... but last year I don't think the shuttles started right away and may not go to the 35 mile start until late in the day..
 
#5 ·
I might have a solution for you. I usually finish the ride in the 5:30 - 5:45 range, meaning I would be done by 1:00 PM. I live on the far northwest side of town, not too far at all from the 35-mile ride start. I usually don't hang around when the ride is over, so if you think you might be done and ready to go around 1:00 or so, I could give you and your bike a ride to the 35-mile start. I could bring my Honda Element so there would be plenty of room for 2 bikes and 2 people in the car. If you think this would work, just send me a private message and we'll figure out the details.
 
#6 ·
azpeterb said:
I might have a solution for you. I usually finish the ride in the 5:30 - 5:45 range, meaning I would be done by 1:00 PM. I live on the far northwest side of town, not too far at all from the 35-mile ride start. I usually don't hang around when the ride is over, so if you think you might be done and ready to go around 1:00 or so, I could give you and your bike a ride to the 35-mile start. I could bring my Honda Element so there would be plenty of room for 2 bikes and 2 people in the car. If you think this would work, just send me a private message and we'll figure out the details.
Wow..... that is a very nice offer. thank you... We may not need the help afterall, (I'll pm you closer to the date) but it would be cool to just say hi to a fellow rbr poster, looks like we will be there around the same time!!

Another question.... about Tucson in general... I'm really impressed with the city and we will be staying until late Tuesday this time and would like to see a little more. Last year we went to the desert museum and that was really cool. What else would you regulars recommend as a must do in Tucson? I think we are going to drive up Mt. Lemmon.
 
#7 ·
pedalruns said:
Wow..... that is a very nice offer. thank you... We may not need the help afterall, (I'll pm you closer to the date) but it would be cool to just say hi to a fellow rbr poster, looks like we will be there around the same time!!

Another question.... about Tucson in general... I'm really impressed with the city and we will be staying until late Tuesday this time and would like to see a little more. Last year we went to the desert museum and that was really cool. What else would you regulars recommend as a must do in Tucson? I think we are going to drive up Mt. Lemmon.
Drive up Mt. Lemmon? Why not ride up?

Kitt Peak Observatory is worth a look. What do you like to do?

I like San Xavier Mission a lot. It is a very cool building, and the restoration is nice. The painting in the chapel part is very cool. I like the Tumacacori (SP) mission as well. They are very different.
 
#8 ·
pedalruns said:
Another question.... about Tucson in general... I'm really impressed with the city and we will be staying until late Tuesday this time and would like to see a little more. Last year we went to the desert museum and that was really cool. What else would you regulars recommend as a must do in Tucson? I think we are going to drive up Mt. Lemmon.
Well, the Desert Museum is the best of the "must do's" in Tucson but you've already done that. The bicycling in that area is great.....Gates Pass, McCain Loop, and the roads in that area are beautiful and popular with bicyclists. A tip for you though: riding up the back (west side) of Gates Pass is pretty difficult, but going from east to west is much more gradual and enjoyable. There is always Mt. Lemmon but be prepared for it to be cold on top, usually about 30 degrees cooler than the temps in the city. A popular hiking/recreation area on the east side is Sabino Canyon and there are all sorts of trails away from the more heavily used common area. For nice scenic drives there are 2 Saguaro National Monuments, one on the east side and one near the Desert Museum....they have roads you can drive on with nice views of all of the saguaros and mountains. If you're into militaristic spectacles, we have the Pima Air & Space Museum and the Titan Missile Museum, but they really aren't that big a deal. Tons of great Mexican restaurants, but I suggest you not go to the most popular one, El Charro, because it is overpriced for what you get. A great place to eat is in the downtown area, Cafe Poca Cosa....excellent Mexican food that is elegantly presented, not cheap but not so expensive that it will break the bank. And of course south of downtown there are all sorts of Mexican places on 6th Ave. and 4th Ave., but you need to keep your wits about you after dark because that area also tends to have a fair amount of crime. Further north on 4th Ave. (between Broadway and 6th St.) is a stretch of funky shops and clubs, kind of the young & trendy section of Tucson. This should give you a few ideas but let me know if you need more.
 
#9 ·
My Own Private Idaho said:
I like San Xavier Mission a lot. It is a very cool building, and the restoration is nice. The painting in the chapel part is very cool. I like the Tumacacori (SP) mission as well. They are very different.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the missions. They could go to San Xavier and then continue south on I-19 to Tumacacori. I also like the one at Tumacacori, not quite as fancy as San Xavier but I like it better than San Xavier. Also, not too far from Tumacacori is Tubac, the artsy community that's kind of fun to check out with all of the art shops, crafts from Mexico, etc. And shoot, they could just drive a few miles further south and go to Nogales, Mexico. Pretty gritty down there, lots of people trying to sell you stuff, but kind of fun if you're not intimdated by aggressive street vendors.
 
#10 ·
I really like the Pima air and space museum. The titan missle museum, not so much. Just north of the missile museum is a mining museum, on the Duval mine road, just west of I-19.

If you want to go to Mexico, make sure you bring a birth certificate or passport. Mexico will let you in with nothing, but the US won't let you back in without documentation. A driver's license is not sufficient.
 
#11 ·
Thanks so much for the ideas.... I'd love to ride up mt. lemmon or gates pass instead of drive(I even have a workout dvd that does these rides!!), but part of the trip is for visiting... so the riding will be Saturday.. All though we might go do a easy city ride.

We will just do Tuscon area things.... I really love the area and would like to get to know the city and immediate surrounding areas, In fact I'd really love to move to Tuson at some point, but my job is good and the economy is so crazy right now, so maybe in the next couple of years.... I'm from Dallas and would really like to have more(any) nature.

The hiking sounds good... maybe just some light hikes up by mt. Lemmon and maybe a drive in Saguaro Park, also the Pima air and space museum sounds interesting...

And when we get there we'll have to see what the our host suggests, she is quite the Tuscon resident, she is well in her 70's now but has climbed all the surrounding peaks in the area.... When we were driving to the desert museum she was pointing at the tops of rocky hills that she had climbed back in her day, I was impressed. And... we did go to that mission last time, that was cool.
The mexican food sounds good... will have to try that.. I think we need a complete week at least for everything!!
 
#12 ·
109 mile start/finish

This Tour of Tucson is sounding a bit confusing and logistical! I'm coming down from Utah to do it for the first time. I will be riding it alone, riding the 109 mile route and hoping to leave with the Gold group (from what the website says I need to get their early just to leave in this group, which I am assuming is a "faster" group). My family will just be "hanging out" in Tucson during the ride and will be dropping me off and picking me up. I'm just curious how far a drive it is from the start/finish and if it would be realistic for family to follow along the route to drop clothes off, etc. Thanks in advance for any info.
 
#13 ·
MJCBH said:
This Tour of Tucson is sounding a bit confusing and logistical! I'm coming down from Utah to do it for the first time. I will be riding it alone, riding the 109 mile route and hoping to leave with the Gold group (from what the website says I need to get their early just to leave in this group, which I am assuming is a "faster" group). My family will just be "hanging out" in Tucson during the ride and will be dropping me off and picking me up. I'm just curious how far a drive it is from the start/finish and if it would be realistic for family to follow along the route to drop clothes off, etc. Thanks in advance for any info.

Sorry I'm the one sounding confusing!!! It is not really that hard, especially in your case with just one rider and a family for support, that is great! But yes you will need to get there early to get in the Gold group.

Last year I was there at 4:30am and ended up about a 1/3 of the way back in Gold group, which will help alot if you are going for a fast finish time.... All you need to do is get your bike inside the barriers, then you can come and go from the barriers. If your family is there they can watch your bike. I wore a North face parka to keep warm and handed it off to my friend just before the start. And you won't be riding alone!!!

One place your family could probably meet you is the 2nd river wash, I saw lots of people handing off stuff there, I'm sure one of the regulars could give some advice on this.

It is lots of fun, just watch out for squirrely riders, especially before the 1st wash and then enjoy the ride.
 
#14 ·
MJCBH said:
This Tour of Tucson is sounding a bit confusing and logistical! I'm coming down from Utah to do it for the first time. I will be riding it alone, riding the 109 mile route and hoping to leave with the Gold group (from what the website says I need to get their early just to leave in this group, which I am assuming is a "faster" group). My family will just be "hanging out" in Tucson during the ride and will be dropping me off and picking me up. I'm just curious how far a drive it is from the start/finish and if it would be realistic for family to follow along the route to drop clothes off, etc. Thanks in advance for any info.
You may not want to have your family follow you unless they really know their way around Tucson and are familiar with how badly the roads along the route can get congested for drivers, with options to bail off the route and rejoin it at a later point. While El Tour is great for bicyclists and the riders rarely (if ever) are forced to come to a stop at intersections, the ride becomes a nightmare for drivers. You may want to consider doing what I do. My wife (bless her heart) meets me at the start and takes my jacket and other things just before the ride begins. I usually just dress as I would for a warm ride...shorts and a short-sleeved jersey, and while it's a little chilly for the first few miles I quickly warm up and am fine for the rest of the ride. That way I don't have to worry about dealing with my clothes during the ride. A couple years it stayed cold until later in the ride and I just bought an old sweatshirt at a second-hand store and then ditched it when I was getting hot.
 
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