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It was 4 beer ride!

This was a tough ride, despite the fact there was only about 2700 feet of climbing, and is about the best way to describe how I felt after completing the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson bike ride.

The toughest part of the ride were the two dry river bed crossings, one at the 8 mile mark, and the other at the 46 mile mark (conservatively estimated at 200+ yards each), which had to be traversed on foot, carrying your bike on your shoulder. [Fortunately my bike weighs less than 16 pounds.]

Plus, by 11 AM the temperature was in excess of 84oF, making the ride that much more difficult.

Still, we (I was riding with a group of 5 other Team in Training participants) managed to complete the ride in 7 hours and 12 minutes, which doesn't take into account the fact we didn't cross the start line until 15 minutes after the official start time. (This is a mass start race, and there were about 4000 cyclists in front of us at the starting line.)

So when you take in to account the two river bed crossings, which took a minimum 10 minutes to navigate each, our time was well under 7 hours. [A very respectable time.]

But for me that wasn't the end.

Remember I am the honored teammate for the greater Los Angeles TNT chapter, so while I was tired, and would have preferred to go back to my hotel and rest, I still needed to cheer on all the other participants on my team. After all, they were riding for me.

So I "sucked it up" and returned to my hotel only to take a quick shower, before retuning to the finish line to cheer on the other Team in Training participants, as they crossed the finish line.

This was followed shortly after (the last group finished around 5:30 PM) by dinner, and a trip to the Frog and Firkin bar, next to U of A, and our hotel. By the time we left, it was 12:30 AM, and I realized I had downed 4 pints of Guinness, which is a lot for me. (Those who know me best, know it typically only takes one pint before I feel bloated.)

At that point even though I was tired, and definitely ready for bed, it was still a great day. I'm not sure I'd want to do it again, but ................

Oh yeah, and I wanted to give a special thanks to Irwin, Alfred, Justin, Wesley and Curt, my riding buddies, without whose support, I might not have finished, and all the other greater LA chapter participants, for making this a truly memorable and yes, an enjoyable ride.
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