Herriott Sports Performance

Last week I took what has become my annual trip to Tucson, Az. to ride in the 109 mile El Tour de Tucson. If you don’t know, El tour attracts close to 8,000 riders every year, riders of all abilities, who flock to the mild/warm temps of Tucson each year to try and best their time from the year or years past or more simply, just finish the ride. It’s not a race, though the event does attract a lot of top end riders who are just getting their engines warmed up again after a long road season. But I would say that for many, El Tour is very much a race. At the end of the day, when you have thousands of people trying to get from point A to point B in the fastest time possible, it’s racing. There is no prize money at stake, only pride and goal for many of the experienced riders is to finish the 109 mile trek in under 5 hours. If you make it in under 5, you are considered “Platinum” and that will allow you to start near the front of the group the next year, just behind the VIP’s – which can really make a difference if you are trying to get out of town in the front group. This was my 5th El tour and by FAR the most fulfilling. This post may get longwinded but the fact of the matter is that there were many levels to this years’ adventure and all of them went into making the trip into a lifelong memory.

Quick TH El tour history: I did my first El tour in 1992, the first year I traveled to Tucson to train during the Winter months. I was living in a studio apartment near campus with 2 of my teammates at the time from Iowa City. Our rent was 500.00 a month and I remember not really being able to afford even my share and having to be very creative when it came to being able to eat. I road El tour on a local team- Health Horizons I think it was. I did the event again a few years later and then I quit the sport for few years. I never “won” but I did finish 7th? Once.

For the past three years, a good friend, DB, has been renting the house at the Tucson Inn for the weekend of El tour and has invited me to come down and be a part of his riding tribe. Who could say no to warm weather riding when the weather in Seattle has turned to Winter weather? Another gent, Chuck D, has also been a part of this tribe for the past three years but has been coming down to do El tour for five, maybe six years. He and DB, have been close friends for more than 20 years. My role during the riding portion of the weekend has been and was again this year “wing man to Chuck D”, a role I totally embrace and one that I take very seriously and it’s what this entry is about.

This year we had 5 in the house. I shared a bedroom with Richter and M. Sayers. DR and I showed up first and claimed the beds, Sayers was stuck on a roll-a-way! Both Richter and Mike are close friends and make the weekend that much more fun and have been with the tribe for 2 or the last 3 trips down (we already have the house reserved for 2010). DR and I work together, race together and plot to take over the cycling industry together and Mike and I were teammates years ago and have continued on as friends after the fact. It’s always nice to be able to meet up with him in Tucson, he used to live there and it’s actually where I got to know him. Mike has a really exciting year coming up in 2010 as an assistant DS for the new and improved BMC racing team- but that is another story altogether. The three of us had a great time sharing a room, it was ALMOST like being back on the road racing…… but not really. D Potts was in the living room on the couch and DB and Chuck D shared the other room. The house makes the trip really relaxing as we aren’t crammed into hotel rooms. There’s plenty of room to build and store bikes outside in the big spread of a yard. There’s plenty of living space and a pool and a swanky bar just across the road. PRO. We arrived on Thursday late day and departed on Sunday mid- afternoon. The ride started at 7 am on Saturday and the entire Tribe made it in under 5 hours. Sayers was 3rd overall and Richter was close behind.

Those are the basics, one level of the weekend. The next level is all about my 109 mile day with Chuck D.

Chuck D is 60. He’s NOT an old guy but certainly his age does not qualify him as a “young guy”. He’s been racing his bike for close to 10 years now but has been an athlete his entire life, hence his looking NOT 60. Hopefully I am not offending any of the “older” guys reading this….. Chuck D does not come to Tucson year after year to win El tour, he comes down to best his best time. His bonus goal this year as we discussed on the flight down was not only to come in under 5 (we JUST missed it last year due to a mechanical) but to be top 3 in his age category: riders over 60, he just made it in to the top 5 last year. The key to a fast time at El tour is to get oneself into a group that moves along smoothly and of course quickly. There are 8000 riders, 700 or so of who are pretty fast and ending up in a group from 25-100 that books it along at 22-35 mph depending on the terrain helps to insure a time under 5 hours. Jumping form group to group is the way to go if you can make that happen but you might also get caught out in no man’s land and end up losing big time- that happened to us last year due to that mechanical. We had a great start this year.

Chuck Dee has been preparing specifically for this event for the past 4 months and showed up in his best form he’s ahd since I have knows him. He’s a somewhat nervous gent due to his close attention to details but that is part of what makes him Chuck D. He has triplet sons who all started college this year so he’s been pre-occupied to say the least for the last month or so. I knew this ahead of time which made scheduling training rides that much easier. In the last month I sprinkled in a few long days and plenty of shorter intense rides to have him ready for the start of the big ride – which is very chaotic and very critical to getting established in a group. He followed the training protocols to a T. We did 4 hard training rides where I put Chuck Dee into the box early and forced him to ride himself sideways- as there are times in El tour where that is the reality when you are going for a PR, and I believe that those sessions really paid off during the last 10 miles of this years’ event. Chuck D got into the box with 10 miles to go and the wheels started coming off the bus. What I would call “one mans journey to the deepest and darkest corners of his on personal pain cave” ended up not only being that man’s best time ever at El Tour, but also a confirmation of spirit, a game changer on a spiritual level if I may say so- and I just did.

I met up with Chick Dee about 20 secs after the start gun went off and from there he glued himself to my rear wheel as we made our way towards the front group of about 300-500 (a lot of people). At one point we were literally 5 riders back from the front but I thought it would be wise to save as much ammo for later in the ride as there were plenty of fast younger guys (and CERTAINLY older guys too) stomping on the front. After the first wash things were looking good as we settled into a solid group of about 50 riders. Chuck D was in a good rhythm and I kept on his to keep drinking and to keep moving towards the front of the group as riders were coming un glued as the miles ticked off. We had a few close calls where gaps in the group started opening up and we were not on the right side of the opening. Some “strong encouragement” on my part was put into play and we clawed back in but for the most part is was smooth going. I almost took myself out a few times as I had to go the bathroom badly on three different occasions. I used my “off the bike” skills to my advantage but ended up having to chase back onto the group, a few times way harder than I would have liked. Details. My engine is down a few cylinders since my first El tour ride.

Things went pear shaped with 10 miles to go. I had gone to the front of our group to encourage riders to ride steady instead of taking short hard pulls and blowing themselves up. I ended up staying for about 10 minutes, trying to establish the “steady” and realized that it was not going to happen and that just riding it in would be good enough- we were on course for a sub 4:40 ride, over 24 mins faster than the year before and that would certainly be enough to get Chuck D to one of the top spots in his age group. But I had left Chuck D to fend for himself when I rolled to the front and when I went back he was no longer in the group. Red Flag. My bad.

I slowed up and watched the group disappear up the road and about 20-30 seconds later, Chuck D rolled up on me. I saw him coming up and he was not moving as fast as he was earlier in the day and I will admit to looking down at my watch and thinking that we might not make it in under 5 hours – 10 miles can be a looooong way when the lights have started flickering. When we connected I urged him to drink and reminded him off those rides we did back in Seattle where he suffered as much as he said he ever had a on a bike and we forged on. Those last few miles seemed like an eternity. We were rolling as fast as Chuck D could go and we will still making good time. I kept thinking that another group would roll up on us and carry us to the line but that group never came. With a mile to go, Chuck D was starting to look like a man that might not be able to ride for another mile but I continued to cheer for him and reminded him of how close we were and that he had in fact bested his best time by a LONG way. His head started drifting to one side and he mentioned that he might pass out – we were within 250 meters of the line and I was hoping that he would NOT pass out. We crossed the line, he stopped, hunched over his bike and did not move for a few minutes- he assured me that he was “alright”. Amazing. We did it!

When the times came out over the internet later that evening we learned that not only had Chuck D ridden the best time he ever had, but also that he had placed 2nd in his age group behind cycling legend, John Howard. John Howard, aside from winning many national road championships, also won that first Iron Man Triathlon in Kona and set a land speed record on a bicycle. Bottom line, besting John Howard would be a tall order for any man over 30! BUT, having a goal is important and by nights end I believe that Chuck D had his sights set on John for 2010- a few cocktails will do that. We should probably start preparing now.

Being a part of Chuck D’s triumph was a big high for me. Not just because he rode his best time but because he was able to dig as deep as I have ever seen a bike rider dig to complete a ride and knowing that I had a part in that experience was incredibly satisfying for me. I’m already planning for 2010.

Best,
TH