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The ride began in Douglas, AZ at 2 am, heading west past Bisbee and Sierra Vista, up through Benson, east through Dragoon, and Willcox, then south past the Chiricahuas and back towards Douglas. There were only a few short stretches along I-10. My bike computer has an altimeter and data recorder, so I made an elevation profile of the route with times for the major waypoints. The official route map is here.
Jesse Stone and Jamie Scully drove a support vehicle and met up with me south of Sierra Vista a few hours before sunrise. From there we leapfrogged along the route, so they would always be up ahead waiting for me with food, drink, and a comfy camp chair. As compared to previous years, which all had horrendous headwinds for long stretches of the ride, the weather this time around was a godsend and the wind was hardly ever a problem. The total elevation gain for this course was less than for the previous 252-mile route, but for some reason the climbs seemed to drain my energy more on this course. I crossed te finish line at 5:50 pm (total time 15 hours, 50 minutes). I was 10th out of 10 solo finishers, and about 15 solo riders started the race. Alternatively, I could simply say that I finished in the top 10! There was also one tandem, which finished after me. There was only a ~45-minute gap between the 6th-place finisher and me, and ~25 minutes between me and riders 7-9, so I wasn't terribly far behind.
I had a Twitter feed going for the race this year under @cyclosaurus, and Jamie helped out by sending updates along the way.
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Getting ready to head down to Douglas |
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At the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas the night before the race |
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My Bianchi, all decked out w/ aerobars and lights |
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On Rte. 90 just before the turn to Benson, not long after sunrise |
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Finally warm enough to lose the fleece! |
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Heading towards Dragoon. I'm behind the guy in the fluorescent green, if you look carefully you can see a tiny sliver of my blue helmet. |
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Somewhere between Dragoon and Willcox |
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Snack! |
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Willcox |
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South of Willcox, heading towards the Chiricahuas. It was beautiful, but the long gradual climb really wore me out. |
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You do not want these hitting you in the face while cycling! || || \/ |
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Jamie wondering when I'll ever make it over the crest of the hill |
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OK, over the hill. The ride down this side was a nice reward! |
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Mmmm, synthetic energy food... |
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Jamie on the lookout for me |
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Mmmm, real food... |
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The final stretch back towards Douglas || || \/ |
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Crossing the finish line! I finished in just under 16 hours. |
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I won a medal! OK, everyone who finished got one... |
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Me with my support crew, Jesse and Jamie, who did a great job of keeping me alive during the ride |
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Me 'helping' as Jesse and Jamie packed up the car |
