Trail running race and cycling around Tucson

I got to spend a week in Tucson, Az with family over Spring Break...so of course I had to do some riding! Southern Az geography is basin & range, meaning lots of flat (or slightly rolling) and huge climbs. The ride I did up Mt Lemmon was pretty much the huge climb part. Low point to high point was 6600 feet! The grades of the Mt Lemmon Byway (also known as the Catalina Highway) are pretty moderate--usually about 5-6%. There are many, many viewpoints and the road surface is mostly good. The road tops out at about 8000 feet before descending several hundred and then climbing back to 8000 at the town of Summerhaven. To get to the very top, I turned onto Ski Run road which pitched up to a more aggressive 8-9%. After that, I went up Summit road which was closer to 10-11% in places...then around a gate for the last 1/4 mile or so to the U of A observatory at the very top--9157 feet. After lunch with family overlooking Tucson and miles of mountains/desert, I rode back home--from the 8000 foot level to the base was 40 minutes of uninterrupted (no brakes!) bombing downhill. The route is here: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1067013

My next Tucson cycling adventure took me across wide stretches of basin (like 40 minutes of flat!) then up Kitt Peak, home of the famous Kitt Peak Observatory. This was an even harder effort than Mt Lemmon for me--a hard flat 2 hr TT effort (with the monotony of straight roads through nothing but desert brushland) then a 3600 foot/12 mile climbing TT at about 7% grades. I needed to be at the top by 11:30 for a observatory tour with the family, so I gave it a really good effort on the climb--1 hr 10 minutes for an average speed of 10.9 mph and rate of climb of 3272 feet/hr. I elected to ride down the mountain, but not home! Route is here: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1069173.

On Friday night my brother asked me to fill in for him at a trail running race Saturday morning--he had come down with a flu bug. I hadn't run in 2 months, but what the heck! I had no real expectations for myself other than don't get injured. I started the hilly 10.35 mile trail race at a fairly mellow pace--running felt weird after all the cycling. After a few miles I started to feel a lot more comfortable with my stride, and my competitive side came out. I began reeling in runners on the climbs and bombing down the descents. I eventually latched onto a guy who really flew downhill...he tried and eventually succeeded in dropping me about 1 mile from the finish, and I duked it out with a guy sprinting for the finish of the 5 mile race taking place simultaneously. My time of 1 hr 17 minutes for a pace of 7:27/mile was good for 10th overall and 2nd in my brother's age group. Now my legs are really sore, but I didn't get injured so it was worth it!

I did have one more bike ride--pretty uninspiring highway ride up a constant grade of 2-3% for 25 miles and back down--it was fun cruising at 25+ mph for an hour though.