Spring Training in Arizona

Jordan leads the Cat 3 field in the Tumacacori Road Race
On the Mount Lemmon Climb in Tucson, AZ

It's been a long, cold winter. For the 2nd year running, Scott Flanders and his family hosted us for a week of warm weather training in Sierra Vista, AZ. Tom Pletcher and Steve Gaertner were there too.

Jordan decided to test his legs in a tough road race south of Tuscon, called the Tumacacori Road Race. The course is a 6 mile circuit, with 500ft. of climbing per lap. It featured 3 steep 20% ramps in a row, that wore on the riders over the course of 10 laps.

Jordan raced the cat 3 field with 21 starters, and rode patiently. I watched from the feed zone at the top of the last climb. He was always near the front, and started attacking past the halfway point of the race. 6 laps in, it was a 4 man race, with Jordan making the selection. However, the temperature had climbed to 80deg, and Jordan faltered in the unfamiliar heat. He struggled through the last 2 laps of the race, and finished a courageous 10th. Very proud of you Jordan.

The rest of our trip, we rode with Scotter and Pletcher. The 3 of them put me into the hurt locker for most of the trip. I was pretty beat down by the end of the trip. We climbed Mount Lemmon twice, which ascends 6000ft from the desert floor over 25 miles. Jordan completed the climb in under 2 hours. It took me quite a bit longer. At the top there is a Cookie Cabin in Summerhaven, which serves cookies the size of a pizza, as a reward for making to the top.

8 days, 29.5 hours, 490 miles, 31,000 feet of climbing. A big thanks to Scott Flanders and his family for the hospitality!