Last Saturday, we headed down to Tucson, Arizona for a big bike race there called El Tour de Tucson. There were 4 distance options:
111 miles (3692 finishers)
81 miles (255 finishers)
66 miles (876 finishers; 996 starters)
35 miles (801 finishers)
5624 finishers in all. Our unicycling group was:
Scot Cooper - 66
Beau Hoover - 66
Nathan Hoover - 66
Megumi - 35
Plus Scot’s girlfriend Dez biking the 35 and my cousin Becca biking the 66.
The course would seem to be relatively easy since there isn’t much climbing (only about 1000’ in 66 miles). But actually miles and miles and miles of flat riding is not that great on Coker. Beau and I had to stop at all 10 rest stops plus a couple of times in between. The unfortunate thing about the timing is that the 66 mile race doesn’t start until 10:30am so you only have about 7 1/2 hours of light to complete the race. Beau and I just barely made it, finishing in 7:19. As we were nearing the end, a sag vehicle pulled up and the guy told us we’d have to stop riding in 20 minutes and we still had 12 miles to go. It sounded impossible but he checked his chart and it turned out it was only 7.3 miles. From that point, we rode all out, blasting along for those 7.3 miles. We were never passed by another bike and stopped only 30 seconds at the last rest stop. The start of the 66 mile race was the best: almost 1000 riders all together, with our side of the 4 lane highway completely closed to cars - beautiful warm weather and everyone in such a great mood. Throughout the race, except the last few miles, there were multiple traffic officers at every intersection, waving us through and stopping the cars.
All the unicyclists got so much positive feedback from the bikers that it was amazing. The organizers said that they would love to add a unicycle category if we get a few more people next time. Megumi received the best comment: a marriage proposal! I was a little worried before the race since we had done so little training beforehand, but it turned out ok. Beau was the best riding partner I could have, cheerful and strong, the whole way.
Megumi made up 2 more wheel bags so we could travel in style together. This time, I added a couple of refinements. We cut out thick cardboard circles, just the size of the wheel, with a hole in the center. To protect the hub and bearing, I slit a tennis ball and stuck one on each side. This worked perfectly and adds almost no weight. Airline people have no trouble with these and barely give them a second glance. Scot used his usual method of a bike box, slightly modified to fit the 36" wheel. He was lucky and didn’t have to pay the bike fee, but this is hit or miss. My backpack was pretty heavy with 3 frames and seats, 6 pedals and cranks, plus tools, but it works out fine.
My photos
El Tour De Tucson website
2004 Results
—Nathan
