109mi lead pack
As my dear friend Cindy Sage says – when the wind picks up…”Just be one with the wind”. That was definitely the mantra during Saturday’s El Tour de Tucson as we were heading north on Oracle with a nice tail wind and still averaging over 20mph. That mantra got harder to pull up as we hit the cross winds and head winds turning into Rancho Vistoso for the final 40 miles.
But I ride with two hardy and determined cycling clubs – SynCardia and Cactus Cycling who posted some amazing results. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Maria Nunes at 80mi start - yep she is ready to ride to the first place women's finish!
Tulio (4th place) and Doug (13th place) at start of 80mi
Bro Gordon Hyatt flew in from Chicago for his first El Tour - and finished 55th overall men - 80mi. Nice riding Gordon!
Jack, Gwen, Jim and Tim at 66mi start
We are soooo happy to be off the bikes!
Tim supported Gwen every mile of the 66 for a 4th place overall women's finish. You are the best Tim!!!
SynCardia team at the finish - hey there were many more of us out on the road!
SynCardia team rides El Tour in memory of team member Rodger Hanft who passed away earlier in the week.
So why do we do this El Tour thing? Maybe if you asked Rodger he would say – because you can, because you never know when you won’t be here any longer, when you won’t be able to do this El Tour de Tucson.
A special congratulations to Tom and Evelyn who won the 66mi tandem, Candace – platinum, Robert – 20th in the 109 and all the SynCardia and Cactus Cyclists who finished safely and successfully with strong rides! Great work out there!
Great photos Gwen!