Oro Valley to Oracle

It's getting chilly out there!  Well, chilly for Tucson.  We sported long sleeves for this 42 mile Saturday ride with Tami and Nancy.  The BTE yard sale is this weekend.  So the four of us headed out a day early in order to make big fundraising bucks tomorrow morning.  We started at the Home Depot up in Oro Valley.  A lot of other groups were meeting up there as well.

Look at that 20 mile climb!  So much fun.

The ride out was a steady uphill schlog with no places to rest out of the saddle while coasting in order to rest one's backside.  However, I am probably a little too pleased to announce that I FINALLY figured out how to comfortably stand and pedal while standing.  I rock!  See, I told you I was too pleased.  It may sound like no big deal to you, but seriously folks, before, I would try to stand and climb, take two wobbly and weak pedal strokes, and pretty much fall back down into the saddle...pathetic.  But not anymore.  The trick for me was shifting into a higher chain ring in the front to increase resistance...oh and going to all those spin classes to build up my leg muscles.

The ride back was crazy fast.  I think Greg and I were coasting at about 25 mph most of the way.  We both felt like we could have ridden another 20 miles easy.  Bring on the Tour!