Tuesday morning was the weekly mid-week Shootout ride. It is the shorter brother of the famous Saturday morning shootout here in Tucson. It is only about 35miles, and half as long, but most people say it is harder. Lou, Chad, and I met at a gas station to hook up with the 100+ rider group. This ride heads out Mission Road to Ajo to Kinney to McCain Loop and up over Gates Pass for the final sprint. As soon as we hit Ajo Road, the bomb exploded and we were off. A few of the Real Cyclist Pro's hit it hard, and we were heading at 30+ mph. Lou, Chad, and I were able to stay near the front and not miss any splits, other than the attempted breakaway's. Coming into the McCain Loop (TT from TBClassic) I knew the hills at the end would split whoever was left up. This is exactly what happened, and I stayed on the group until we exited the group and continued up another mile long climb. I wasn't able to maintain the pace of the 20 or so riders who did, and I was in the second group on the road of about 10. We rotated well all the way to Gates Pass, and it blew up here. I probably ended up 24th or so out of the 100 who started. Lou was second again to Michael Sencenbaugh (Zealous) who is flying right now.
Here we wait, with Chad disliking the 50degree morning temps, and totally on the non-style team! Haha, he did take it off before we rode.
On the way back to downtown Tucson, I chatted with Evan Hyde (Real Cyclist) and we chatted for a while, and he offered some tips. A real nice guy! Was cool to pick the brains of a pro for 5-6 miles. Lou, Chad, and I grabbed a Starbucks and cruised for another 30min to reach 2 hours for the morning. Got home, grabbed some lunch and relaxed.
In the afternoon, we joined teammate TJ Tollakson for a ride into the desert. This ride was characterized by the sun and long, straight, rough blacktop highways that went on and on. Much different then climbing around Tucson. It was a great ride, and we ended with 3.5hr and 65 miles in the afternoon. With our calculations, this gave Chad and I our first 100 miler of the year, and another 5.5hr in the bank. That is 11.5hr in 2 days and 200 miles! Great training out here. We cooked a great dinner last night (Grilled Chicken, Salad, Sweet Potato)
Ready to put in some good work these last few days, but I will be ready to come home. I miss my girl!!!!
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