Today’s ride started at 7 AM with Ralph Phillips of Fair Wheel Bikes give us a little talk before the ride. Last week the group had a little run in with a police officer that decided to drive head on toward the lead group of cyclist to get them to pull over. Consequently, it caused a chain reaction within the group and a few cyclist went down hard. Although there were no major injuries there were a few trashed bikes and a few people pretty banged up.
So Ralph started out by telling everyone to ride safe and obey the traffic laws. Plus inform us about an upcoming meeting. There is a meeting about the incident with the police officer that drove head on toward the Shootout on 1/1/2008 this Wednesday March 13, 2008 from 6 to 8 PM at Himmel Park Library conference room. The meeting is located one block south of Speedway and one block east of Tucson Blvd. Please come to voice what happen.
Today’s ride was steady and fast. It is the first Shootout in many years where I did not stop to take a drink until the top of the sprint hill. There was no time for hydrating during the ride. There were a group of about 10 guys in a rotating pace line hitting it hard on the front of the peloton.
Some of the big guns out on the ride today were Rob Alvarez, Gord Fraser, Jimmy Ricatello, and Matt Cooke.
The Sonoita Pass road ride is a beautiful out and back ride that takes you to the Sonoita junction. There is a good climb that starts off gradual then gets much steeper for the last 10 miles before getting to the top of the pass.
The starting elevation is about 2,800 feet and when you crest the top of the pass you are at about 5,200 feet.
There is a good shoulder on the road with plenty of room, but be careful because cars are traveling at high speed.
Just get on Hwy 83 and go! If you are looking to do a century ride from Tucson, you can easy add 10 more miles and turn the ride into a 100 mile day.
There is plenty of food and drink at the junction where hwy 83 t-bones with hwy 82. Plus the junction is a great place to take a bathroom stop.
This weeks Shoot Out commentary was written by Jon Chadroff.
Let me preface this commentary by thanking all those of the Tucson cycling community that have been sowelcoming and friendly. Since moving down here in October, I have made countless new friends and learned valuable lessons both incycling and life. Again, I thank you for your accommodation!
Before the ride took off, Ralph (Fairwheel Bikes) warned riders that when you see “flashing” lights, you pull your bike over and obey the officer. Apparently, during last week’s Shootout, some riders thought they could out pedal the “popo?” Carsare faster than bikes. Period! After the stern warning, a fair sized group of around 150 cyclists took off down University.
Just after the Valencia light, Jonathan Chodroff “Yaley” (Empire) madean effort to bring the pack up to race speed, but, unintentionally, ended up starting the decisive split of the day. Following along tow was Kyle Akin (Team Rhino). Securing a noticeable gap, several riders began to bridge up to the front group. Making the split were Chad Beyer and Guy East from (VMG-Felt, U23 USA), Mike Mathis and Sheldon Deeny (Empire Cycling), the legend Gord Fraser (CTS), John Parrish and Kyle Ward (Waste Management), and four or five other strong local Tucson riders.
The breakaway group worked somewhat cohesively together. But, as themiles ticked by, the unrelenting pace combined with the gradual uphill grade wore into some rider’s legs. About two miles before the bridge, Chodroff (Empire) and Beyer (VMG-Felt) rode off the front. From what I’m told Mathis (Empire) and some young whippersnapper made a valiant effort to bridge across to the front two but were unsuccessful. Read the rest of this entry »
The older my children get the more cycling becomes a seasonal sport for me. Especially in the late summer and fall. Coaching and shuttling them from sporting event to sporting event leaves little time for training and unfortunately the shootout.
However, once January comes around my family knows it’s “bike time” as Ralph says. My 4-5 month absence does provide me with a unique perspective to note the changes I observe in the shoot out.
First, I’m amazed how many people have been turning out for the shootout these days. I’d guess 200+ riders showed up yesterday. In the old days you would only see numbers this large in the weeks before El Tour. It doesn’t look like the professional drug scandals are hurting the general cycling community’s enthusiasm for the sport. Read the rest of this entry »
Above picture is the GST Racing team climbing up Gates Pass. It is steeper than it looks!
In Tucson everyone is always talking about the Shoot Out as the best group bike ride, which it is. But there is another group ride in Tucson called the Tuesday ride which, in my opinion, is just as fast and hard. If you want to get in shape do both the Tuesday ride and the Shoot Out.
The Tuesday ride is short and fast with a some climbing. This ride has a little of everything: flats, rollers, and a short killer climb.
The ride starts from University and Park on Tuesday mornings. The ride start time varies from 6 AM in the summer, 7:00 AM in the spring and fall, and 7:30 AM in the winter. Call Fair Wheel Bikes @ 520-884-9018 for start time.
It seems as though the Shoot Out during January and February keeps getting bigger and bigger from year to year. Professional cyclists and Triathletes from all around the world are discovering what a great place Tucson, Arizona is to train during the winter months. Todays ride was one of the bigger Shoot Out packs I have seen.
The cool thing about training in Tucson during the winter months is that the temperature change from the morning low to the afternoon high can be a temperature swing of 40 degrees. Today just happened to be one of those cold mornings in Tucson. When the packed rolled out from University and Park at 7:30 AM the temperature was in the low 30’s. Most people would wait to ride in the afternoon when the high for the day will be in the mid 60’s but not when it comes to the Shoot Out because it is such an awesome group ride!
We are really lucky to have a bike ride like the Shoot Out in Tucson. The ride is a very unique group ride. You would be hard pressed to find another ride in the country like the Shoot Out, if so comment below.
Today’s ride had some big named riders in the peloton. Native Tucsonan Phil Zajicek who rides for Navigators Professional Cycling Team recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. Phil flew in for the weekend to get out of the cold for some training. I think he just missed his mommy. So to our surprise Phil Zijicek was out on the ride.
Phil had a great ride today and put the hurt on the peloton along with other pros in the group Curtis Gunn and some Canadian triathletes.
Phil took the sprint at the top of the hill. So if the Shoot Out would declare a winner it would have been Phi Zijicek. Pictured above Phil Z.
For the most part today’s Shoot Out was fast and steady with not many aggressive attacks. It took the group a little while to warm up. For us Tucsonans 30 degrees is cold.
Coming back into town there is a sprint at a city limit sign. By this time, many of the pros had turned off to do Madera Canyon adding miles to their day. So it gives the local amateur riders a chance at the sprint coming back into town. Waste Management and GST Racing lead the sprint out. Scott Baker and Peter Brown of GST Racing did a couple monster pulls off the front along side the Wast Management train. Unfortunately other GST Racing team members could not pull off the victory and Tim Doud of WM won the sprint.
Cycling up the Mt Lemmon Hwy in Tucson, Arizona is an epic ride and will rival some of the best rides across the country.
You start off at about 2,557 ft surrounded by saguaro cactus and mesquite trees and climb as high as 8,198 ft to pine tree vegetation and cool air.
The road is in great shape with a bike lane for most of the ride. On the way down there is no need for a bike lane because you will be keeping up with traffic.
If you love to climb and descend this is the ride for you!
Lance Armstrong in his winter training months in preparation for Tour De France rented a cabin on the top of Mt Lemmon and would climb up the mountain to top of a long days ride. I know because I saw him on more than one occasion and even got the chance to talk to him.
To add 2.89 miles and 760 ft of climbing to the ride you can climb up to the Mt Lemmon Ski area. Just before Summerhaven toward the top of the ride turn right on Ski Run Rd.
1/12/08 Shoot Out commentary by Scott Baker of Tucson, AZ. Scott Baker pictured below.
The pack tends to be huge this time of year, and this weekend looked to be over 125 riders.
Soon after Valencia a pace-line developed containing about 15-20 consistent riders and a handful of others who would jump in for one or two pulls, realize they were in over their head, and drop back to the comfort of the pack. This kept the pace fast, and likely discouraged many riders from trying to go off the front. Near the bridge, some of the stronger riders really started driving the pace, eventually shattering the pack into three or four groups. The lead group contained about 20 riders, who appeared to represent 19 different teams. I only noticed three local teams in the break (GST Racing, Rhino, and WM) and all three of those riders were at the tail end, doing their best to suck wheel and not get popped.
This time of year there is also a large contingent of riders who veer off toward Madera Canyon in order to up their mileage for the day. Many of these riders are the out of towner’s who come to Tucson to train in the winter and punish us during the shoot out. Therefore, the Madera split helps everyone. They get the extra miles they need, and the in town sprint on Old Nogales can be contested by the weekend warriors.
As was mentioned in some of the posts last summer, a new light has been added on Old Nogales about 800 meters before the sprint sign. Today it was red, so everyone started from a standstill. My stellar bike handling skills required unclipping, so when the light turned green I was forced to watch the sprint unfold from about 100 meters back. Miguel Folch (Unattached) took top honors, followed by Matt Jones (Eclipse) and Tyler Ford (GST Racing).
Every time I ride this ride, which is frequent, I wounder why I seldom see other cyclists on Marsh Station Road. It is rare you see another rider. I had been riding for ten years before I ever did this ride. I think it is because people just don’t know about it. It is worth the ride.
This is one of my favorite rides in Tucson for the following reasons:
There is always little or no traffic once you get on Marsh Station Road. There is about a 30 mile out and back stretch that has little traffic. Look at the pictures - NO cars!
Marsh Station Road is about a 20 mile out and back section of the ride which is a great section for a time trial and putting the hammer down.
If you start the ride from the east side of town you can do the whole ride without one traffic light.
In Tucson you are either riding the flats or climbing Mt. Lemon. There is no in between. Marsh Station is one of the few rides with some good rollers.
It’s a beautiful ride. Great mountain views with cotton wood tree groves and mesquite tree infested desert.
Once on Marsh Station Rd. there is a train track that parallels the road. If you time it right you can race the train to the Marsh Station overpass at the turn around point.
There is one negative to the ride. There are a few sections of the road with some big pot holes and bumps, so just be careful. When passing the Cienega Wash bridge be careful because the bride is bumpy. As long as you pay attention to the road you are fine.
GST added Peter Brown to the team for 2008. Peter Brown will be great addition to the team for 2008. Peter being a Cat 1 racer, brings a ton of experience to the team. Peter was the overall points leader in 2007 in the masters men 45-49 category in the state of Arizona.
The Sonoita Pass road ride is a beautiful out and back ride that takes you to the Sonoita junction. There is a good climb that starts off gradual then gets much steeper for the last 10 miles before getting to the top of the pass.
There is plenty of food and drink at the junction where hwy 83 t-bones with hwy 82. Plus the junction is a great place to take a bathroom stop.
This weeks Shoot Out commentary was written by Jon Chadroff.
This weeks 
Today’s ride had some big named riders in the peloton. Native Tucsonan 
The pack tends to be huge this time of year, and this weekend looked to be over 125 riders.
