Tuscon Tri Camp - Day 4

This was the most amazing day I've ever had on the bike, hands down!

So as I mentioned, the Mt Lemmon summit bid was hatched the night before at Dinner. Five guys, John, Norm, Manny, Joseph and I decided we'd leave the hotel half an hour ahead of the rest of the group, and ride to the top of the mountain.

the rest of the camp had planned to ride to the base together, climb as far as they could by 10am (about 90 minutes) then turn around and regroup for the ride home back at the bottom.

I had a couple of beers in me and figured I'd give it a go. That night, I was nervous about how I'd do. I was worried about how tired I'd be from the 3 previous days of riding, and how I would handle the altitude. I thought if I could settle in at some pace under lactate threshold (160 bpm for me) and keep it there, I'd be fine. but if the ride was a steep as Gates Pass was for even a little bit, I could not keep the bike upright without going over LT, and then I'd just be a time bomb waiting to bonk. I did not know what to expect.

By 7am we headed out for the 15 mile ride to the north part of Tuscon to the base of the climb.

We stopped at Le Buzz for some double espressos at the base of the hill, took some photos, and headed off to the climb.

Mt Lemmon is a 25 mile climb that starts at 2,500 feet of elevation and tops out around 8,200 feet. The average grade is probably in the 6-7% range. There are actually two peaks you go over that are about 4 miles apart, and in between the two peaks, you are in a bowl and give back about 400 feet of altitude before cresting 8,000 feet again, then you drop in to the village on top of Mt Lemmon.

Here is the map and elevation profile



Because our hotel was on the other side of town, the entire ride was 85 miles and over 10K feet of climbing.

Our plan was that we'd ride to the base together, then everyone was on their own on the climb. If anyone had to quit, they would text message the rest of the group to let us know they'd headed home, otherwise we'd wait for everyone to make it to the top before we headed back down.

As we hit the very first part of the ride, John, who along with Norm were the strongest riders in the group flatted. We were literally only 50 feet into the climb when it happened. Norm stayed behind to help John and the rest of us kept pushing on.

I very quickly settled in to the grade and pressure and got my HR up to a level it would pretty much stay the rest of the way up. I was usually in the high 150s when the hill was steep, and would get little breathers when the grade would relax a bit. I pretty quickly pulled away from Manny and Joseph, and within 10 minutes into the climb, was on my own.

I set up my Garmin to show me 4 displays, HR and Elevation on one view, and Speed and Distance on the other. I found that using elevation to mark my progress was how I choose to proportion the ride.

At 3,000 through 4,000 feet, the grade was steep, the air was still warm, and we had a headwind like you couldn't believe. I was afraid it would be like that for the entire climb, and knew I could not do that for 3 hours.

Luckily the winds died around 4,000 feet. 4,000-6,000 feet wasn't too bad. Just about an hours worth of really hard work. At around 6,000 feet, the topography started to change from desert to unique rock formations, and again lots of wind.

The grade would kick up for as far ahead as you could see, and you'd just slog through it, then right as you were about to break, there would be a nearly flat section, and rarely even a small down hill. I'd take this time to snap photos or take in some nutrition, though because of some lectures Bob had given earlier in the camp, I didn't really eat a lot. Just drank lots of water.

The stretch from 6,700 feet to 7,000 feet was probably some of the toughest. It was very steep, and very windy. This was also when you really bean to notice the air was thin.

At 7,000 feet, the topography changed again and we were in a Pine Forrest like you'd see in the California Sierras. It was truly amazing.

When I got through 7,000 feet and the steep grade subsided a bit, I knew I would make it. the last 1,200 feet of climbing was tough, but the euphoria of the accomplishment overshadowed the pain.

As I hit the first summit and started the 4 mile descent to the next peak, I picked up some serious speed and nearly froze to death. It was probably in the 50s, I was soaking wet, and I was going over 30 mph much of the time. Right at the start of the last climb on the second peak, John, who flatted at the bottom caught up to me. It was the first familiar face I'd seen in over 2 hours. We stayed together for the last little climb and rolled in to the village on top of Mt Lemmon together.

At the top was a cafe know for amazing pies and hot chocolate. John and I got our $5 hot chocolates, picked a table in the sun and began waiting for the rest of the crew. About 10 minutes later, Norm rolled in to town, and Manny followed him another 25-30 minutes later.

We all got Banana Cream pies, scarfed it down, and enjoyed the views and accomplishment.

We got word that Joseph had to turn around around mile 19 and once we knew there was nothing left to wait for, began gearing up for the hour long descent back to the base. We bundled up in all of the clothes we had hauled up to the top, top some last photos, then began the ride down.

The descent was nearly miserable. I was so cold, so windy, and so fast that it was a bit nervous for most of the way. Your hands would get sore from gripping the bars tight, you couldn't drink for fear of taking your hand off the bars, your shoulders got tense, and you couldn't enjoy the views without taking your eyes off the road and risking death. Some of the drop offs where frightening.

Eventually we all made it down safe. I shed all of my clothes a bit before the bottom to keep from over heating when I had to start working again to get to our next meet up spot before pace lining back t the hotel. 85 miles, and 5,678 calories burned on this ride.

The ride was amazing. I still get chills thinking about it. I think the guys I was riding with made it even better. I couldn't have asked to do the climb with a better group of guys. It is definitely a day on the bike that I'll never forget.

Here are some photos:

The Summit Bid Team (L-R) Manny, Norm, John, Greg, Joseph

The first sign that we were headed up

148 HR at 5,359 feet



I rode on the opposite side of the road to get this photo


Snow in AZ?


Bears?

154 HR at 8,009 feet


John, nearly at the top!


Mmmmm, banana cream pie!!!

The summit team - John, Manny, and Norm

Greg, John, and Manny

After we got back to the hotel, we wolfed down or lunches that the group had stuffed in the fridge for us. It was around 3:00pm by now. I took a shower, and within 15 minutes of finishing my lunch was in the car on the way to the pool for a swim.

It was just a drills session over at the U of A pool but it felt good to get in, and swimming in the U of A pool was a treat. so many legends have trained here.



Again, an amazing day. I'll never forget it!!!