Tour de Scottsdale

This last weekend, while visiting family in Scottsdale, AZ, I had the opportunity to ride in the Tour de Scottsdale which is a 70 or 30 mile ride around the area. I did the 70 mile version and when I had the opportunity to look around it was really quite beautiful. I say when I had the opportunity because most of my attention was focussed on the wheel in front of me or on the guys on either side of me. It was a pretty intense race. But the funny part is that it wasn't a race. It was a fundraiser. If you ever want a fundraiser to turn into a race, log people's time.

Here is a quick snapshot of the ride:

My brother-in-law, who rode in the race-er-ride with me, and I left the house at 5:45 am. Yes, you read that correctly. The starting line was only a mile or so from his house and parking was supposedly a nightmare so we rode our bikes. It took no time and we showed up in plenty of time to get him registered for the 30 mile ride and find our respective corrals. I was placed in the first corral because I stated I intended to ride faster than 23 mph when I registered. I honestly had no idea how fast I would ride, I just threw that number out there but hey, 1st corral is good, less people to pass.

The clock struck 6:30 and the horn announced the beginning of the race/ride. we shot off like a dart along a narrow street that had several sections of cones as it winded to the main road. There was lots of shouting "CONES!" as people did their best to ride fast and not hit them. One person ignored the cones and rode on the other side. in a race this probably would have been a bigger deal but again, this is a fundraiser, not a race. once we hit the main road everyone really picked up the pace. I stuck with the main pack for about the first 10 miles until I just couldn't keep up that speed. We were going up hill at about 22 miles per hour. seriously.

I dropped down to about 19 miles per hour and waited for the next group so I could grab on. When riding in a group there is a huge draft benefit. the people in front are getting hit with the direct force of the air, the people behind them are able to work a lot less because the air is being shifted to the sides and you are riding in the front rider's draft. It's like a mini vacuum just for you. This is the logic behind pelatons. The only problem with this is that you have to stick right to the guys tire in front of you. The more distance between you the less draft, the harder you work. So here you are, riding some guys ass that you have never met or ridden with before. You can only imagine how dangerous this can be and there were a number of times where one person braked and the wave of braking behind them almost caused several people to crash. when you are going 20 or even 30mph, this is a pretty scary moment.

Nevertheless, there I was riding draft for 60 or so miles of the tour. The second group lost me around the 30th mile and the 3rd group started to break up into smaller groups once we hit some serious rollers. around to 50th mile. Then I could start to look around and it was really a nice area to be able to take in the scenery. We were int he foothills so there were times when the views were more panoramic and other times when all you could see was a lush desert-scape on either side of the road.

Overall the ride was pretty great. I finished in 192th place out of over 827 riders (not bad for a guy who has only been on a road bike for a little over a year) and my average time was 21.7 mph (also not bad considering there was 3000 feet of elevation gain).

I am also super stoked that I got to spend time doing something fun with my brother-in-law. He is a great guy and we usually only get to bond in the kitchen (He is an awesome cook).

And if all that wasn't enough, I got myself a brand new bike while I was in Scottsdale :) I bought a 2013 Cervélo which I have been eyeing for months!

This is it at the store :)

All in all, I would say it was a fantastic trip!