Day 2 - El Tour

What a great day! Let's take it from the beginning. This morning Bob and I departed about 7:15 a.m., a team of two among the estimated 10,000+ cyclists participating in the 25th Annual El Tour De Tucson.

It was a veritable "sea of humanity" with every color jersey imaginable. Quite a sight at the downtown start!

We rode the 109 mile stretch which took us on a broad, perimeter ride around Tucson. Tim and Bo, two colleagues from REI in Tempe, joined me. Another friend - a second Tim - rode with us, too. The two Tims and Bo had a GREAT time, as did Bob and I. It was Bo's first century ride and he was pretty psyched!

The day was perfect...sunny, clear and a high around 80. Tucson rolled out the red carpet for all the riders. At mile 55, firefighters at one of the firehouses were offering an endless supply of pancakes for hungry cyclists. Well, you can imagine how that went. Last I heard, they were ordering more batter as U.S. supplies had been depleted. Kidding! They really hit the spot.

Ya know, Pizza Huts really should offer pancakes, too.

The only downside was to my backside. I was riding on a new Brooks saddle which...while of the highest quality...just doesn't break-in very quickly.

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Well, that's day 2 of CycleQuest Arizona. 109 miles and time in the saddle was six hours and 50 minutes. We took it easy, wrapping up the course around 2:30 p.m.

Back to Enoteca for dinner! They have really good desserts there, too!

Thanks so much Tucson. You really know how to throw a party!

Tomorrow, we turn the bikes north and ride home.

Brad (and Bob!)