http://connect.garmin.com/activity/159951215
The first scheduled ride of the PAC Tour Century week was from Tucson to Sierra Vista, where we would be based for the week. Several days prior to the start, the weather forecasts were not looking favorable for the start of the week. Having had such a great day on Mt. Lemmon the previous day, I didn't mind too much that today would be a long wet slog. ... little did I know.
Morning temps were quite comfortable at around 58 degrees, however, these were expected to fall througout the day. Winds were also expected to be a challenge out of the southwest at between 20 and 25 mph. We would be heading to the southeast, so would either have a cross headwind or quartering tailwind. We were off by 7:30 under cloudy threatening skies. The sun was still visible, at least for the first mile, and then it began to rain. At first it was a light drizzle, but by mile 5 it was coming down steadily. Many of us pulled ot the side of the road to put on rain gear.
By mile 10, I was completely soaked but still was keeping relatively warm, at least in the core. Fingers and toes were starting to go numb. We were also gaining altitude, from about 2,600 to over 5,000 feet, so it was getting colder as we went up the first set of mountain passes.
Climbing was slow and labored. There was about an 8 mile climb to the second rest stop of the day. By the time I got there, there were already a number of riders who were in the vans trying to get warm or who have already quit for the day. I made my stop quickly and got right back on the road to avoid getting too cold.
I was now riding some pretty nice rollers at just above 5,000 feet. By now the rain had turned to snow. I didn't realize it at first because I was just trying to focus on the road. The snow and ice became much more evident as it began hitting me in the side of the face from the blowing wind. There were some fast downhills into the town of Sonoita which made for good speed, but was also bone chilling with the increased wind and stinging ice crystals hitting me in the face. Glasses were no good at this point, so there was little protection from the elements. The forecast only called for temps to drop to the mid 40's. In the mountains, I was later told temps boottomed out at 33.
Thankfully, the route turned to the east as I reached Sonoita, which made for a ripping tailwind until the scheduled lunch stop at mile 56, about 6 miles up the road. I was pretty trashed at this point and was looking forward to getting off the bike and getting something hot into me. As I clicked off the milage, I was also descending a bit again, so things warmed up ever so slightly. I got to the scheduled lunch stop and there was noone to be found. I pulled to the side of the road to check my cue sheet to make sure I wasn't missing anything. A car pulled up beside me, to ask me if I needed assistance but I waved them on. As it turned out, they were with our group, and were driving out to Sierra Vista for the camp.
I realized at this point, there would likely be no lunch today, given all of the craziness of the day and a lot of riders who were dropping out, there may have been a change of plans with respect to scheduled rest stops. I pressed on into the town of Whetstone where I found a Shell station at the corner, this was the last turn to the south for the last 15 mile leg into Sierra Vista. Got something to eat and drink and also got some hot chocolate to hopefully warm up. I started shaking uncontrollably, to the point I was nearly dumping the hot chocolate all over myself. During this stop, another rider in our group, Steve, came walking into the Shell. He was equally cold and looking for a place to warm up for a few minutes.
Steve and I finished the last leg into Sirra Vista into a headwind and uphill. It was slow going. I hate when they put the town signs out too early. We saw the "Welcome to Sierra Vista" sign, thinking we were home free, the bike computer still said we had another 6 miles to go. At our pace, another half hour or so. Bugger!
When Steve and I rolled into the parking lot, everyone was there, cleaning bikes, and getting gear bags sorted. We were greeted by cheers. We later found out we were probably less than 10 of 60 on the tour who weren't sagged in. The hotel lobby was pretty chaotic, with dozens of wet shivering bike riders milling about waiting for room keys to be assigned. It took another half an hour or so to get our room keys and finally a long hot shower, to begin recovering from a pretty dismal day on the bike. PAC Tour organizers later stated that of about 500 days they have run these camps out in Arizona, today was among the worst 5 they have ever experienced. I believe em!
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