Cochise County Cycling Classic 252, Southeastern AZ
October 13, 2007

Description and Maps

The Cochise County Cycling Classic is a bike race in southeastern AZ, starting and ending in Douglas, AZ, on the US-Mexico border. The longest route is 252 miles and actually extends a bit into New Mexico. Matt Chamberlain and I decided to give it a shot. He had done the ride 2 years earlier (pics here), but this was the first time I had done it. My longest ride previously was 150 miles, and was basically my last major training ride before this.

The ride began in Douglas, AZ at 2 am, so we rode the first ~4 hours in the dark. It followed US Route 80, climbing up to Bisbee, AZ, then descending through Tombstone and on to Benson, where we took Interstate 10 east to Road Forks, NM. There we joined Route 80 again and followed it back to Douglas. Here's a map and satellite image from Google Maps. My bike computer has an altimeter and data recorder, so I made an altitude profile of the route.

Joe Plassman and Curtis Cooper drove a support vehicle and met up with me and Matt near Benson just before sunrise. Joe Spitale and Ingrid Daubar-Spitale drove a second vehicle and met us in Willcox, about 110 miles into the race. Around that point, Matt pulled ahead. Joe P. and Curtis followed him and Joe S. and Ingrid followed me. There was a decent tailwind for most of the way along I-10, which was nice, but once we reached Road Forks and began to head back towards Douglas, it picked up to well over 20 mph and was pretty much in our faces. It was definitely the worst headwind I had ever biked any significant distance in, and I was fighting it solo for 40-50 miles, averaging under 10 mph at times. Matt managed to catch up with a rider ahead of him, and they were able to draft one another through that section. As the Sun began to go down, the wind subsided a bit and I began to see signs for Douglas only a few tens of miles away. Despite the fact that there was a series of climbs between me and the end and it was getting dark again, I got a pretty good burst of energy and was able to power over them. Once I came over the last climb, the final ~10 miles into Douglas were all downhill. An official vehicle met me just as I entered Douglas and led me over the finish line, but only after getting a red light at an intersection just a few blocks from the end.

Matt pulled into Douglas at 5:34, just before sunset (total time 15 hours, 34 minutes). I got in at 6:55 (total time 16 hours, 55 minutes). Matt placed 7th out of 24 finishers, and I placed 13th. As my primary goal was to not die, with a secondary goal of finishing in under 18 hours, I was pretty happy with the result!

Photos

	Medium Large	Heading along Route 80 towards Benson just before sunrise
	Medium Large	Matt at the Texas Canyon rest stop along I-10
	Medium Large	This should totally be in an advertisement for zinc sunblock
	Medium Large	Curtis taking notes on our progress
	Medium Large	Joe S. and Ingrid putting our rider numbers and "Cyclist Ahead" signs on the car in Willcox
	Medium Large	Me on the long stretch of I-10. The support cars stopped at every exit along I-10 and we were in communication by radio if the riders needed to stop and resupply. || || \/
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	Medium Large	Joe P's car just before crossing into New Mexico
	Medium Large	Matt and the other rider he teamed up with near the end, heading back towards Douglas along Route 80
	Medium Large	Matt's fan club
	Medium Large	Me on Route 80 beginning to head back towards Douglas (and into the wind). Joe and Ingrid followed directly behind me on this part, and this view of my ass plus road and mountains was basically the view that they had for the last 80 miles of the race.
	Medium Large	Matt at the finish line || || \/
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	Medium Large	Me at the finish line || || \/
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	Medium Large	The official clock just after I passed the line
	Medium Large	Joe and Ingrid eating tacos
	Medium Large	Yeah I'm eating tacos, you got a problem with that??
	Medium Large	Me and Support Crew 1 (Joe P. and Curtis)
	Medium Large	Me and Support Crew 2 (Joe S. and Ingrid)