Desert Camp Day 0 - Mt Lemmon

Click below for route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/158889893

The Saturday before the Sunday start of PAC Tour Desert Camp Week 5, I had the absolute joy of riding to the top of Mt. Lemmon in Tucson.  Actually, to the town of Summerhaven which sits near the top of the mountain.  This almost wound up being a no-go, due to a forecast of high winds in Tucson, and especially on the mountain.  Weather reports called for 25 to 30 mph winds with gusts to over 40 mph, which can tend to be a bit dicey at higher altitudes.  At one point, I had decided to call it off ... but looking at the mountain in the distance, and conversations I have had about it from friends, I couldn't resist the temptaion to go check it out.

Unfortunately, I could not find any other "takers" among riders who came out to Tucson early, so this would be a solo endeavor.  I rationalized that once I got to the base and started climbing, I could make the decision on what the actual conditions were, and whether it would be safe to continue.  Besides, I came out here to ride, and I certainly wasn't going to sit around the hotel all day.  Additionally, today was to be the last nice weather day of 80+ temperatures prior to record cold and rain coming into the area beginning on Sunday.

The start of the climb begins at the northeast edge of the city.  We are staying by the airport in the southwest corner of town, so just to get to the start was a 20 mile ride across the city - both ways.  This was kind of a drag, as the early Saurday morning roads were busy and were in crappy shape.  When I reached the road which leads to the climb, there is a cafe, "Le Buzz", which I was told is a cycling hangout for those riding up the mountain.  Sure enough, I rode by and there must have been 50 or more cyclists milling about.  I also saw many already coming down off the mountain, with others heading up.  This put me more at ease about the wind forecast.  Certainly, they can't all be as foolish as I?

I filled up on liquids and began on my way.  It was a 25 mile climb uphill to Summerhaven and I knew I had to ration the two water bottles I was carrying, as I heard mixed reports about the availability of water on the way up.

After a 3 mile or so gentle grade, the real climbing began.  In just a single turn, you could already begin to see far across the city.

It was great to feel the warm temperatures of Southern Arizona, even though we have had one of the mildest Chicago winters on record.  This was going to change over the next 24 hours, so I was determined to enjoy it.  I probably started climbing at too quick a pace, but was enjoying the effort.  Every now and then, I would slack back a bit to recover a bit and remind myself it was still a long way to the top.  I was told to plan on 3 hours as a guideline. 

The base of the climb is at about 2,800 feet, with a top out at about 8,200 feet, making the climb just over a vertical mile.  In the first hour of climbing, I reached to just under 6,000 feet, so was proceeding well.  Thusfar, wind had not been a factor at all.  There were a lot of turns which had walls that buffered the wind.  Temperatures by now, were starting to cool.

Above 6,000 feet, things started to open up a bit on the mountain.  You could again start to see the city at the floor far below.  Winds were also starting to get stronger because of the increased exposure.  I was entering a section with some amazing rock formations and where you could see the road twisting ever upward. 

Above 7,000 feet, temperatures were in the upper 50s or lower 60s, but was having no trouble keeping warm because of the effort.  Winds were really starting to gust at this point.  The last 1,200 feet to the top were tough,  Unfortunately, once I reached 8,200 feet, there was a pretty steep 2 mile descent, followed by a 1 mile climb and another 1 mile descent into Summerhaven ... so ... there still will be work to do after departing from Summerhaven.  Above 8,000 feet there was still plenty of snow on the ground.  With the wind blowing off of the snow pack, it was really starting to get cold.

It took me about 2.5 hours to reach Summerhaven, including several stops along the way to shoot some pictures.  I stopped off at the Mt. Lemmon Cookie Factory for a bite to eat.  The place was buzzing with cyclists and tourists.  I met two riders in front of me who were also out for PAC Tour Century Week, although they had the good fortune to have had a car and drove to the foot of the climb.  After asking them how long it took to get a slice of pizza, I opted to go with a cookie the size of my head!  That, along with more fluids for the ride down would be the extent of my caloric intake.  As it turned out, timing was good.  As soon as I got my food, a huge crowd showed up.  Nowhere to sit inside, I frozed sitting outside scarfing down my cookie, so I got on my way quickly ot heat up again.

Once I climbed back out of Summerhaven and that second 2 mile climb back to 8,200 feet, a thrilling descent ensued.  I broght my GoPro helmet cam and recorded the entire 40 minute descent on video.  Fortunately the descent is not terribly technical as most of the turns are very gentle.  The grades overall are not that steep, probably at an average of 5%, so it is really difficult to get things too far out of control.  I also had to wrestle with the wind in a number of sections.  I had to put a lot of effort into the pedals to go as fast as possible.  Even then, I think I only hit a maximum speed of 48 mph.

Here is a 4 minute excerpt of the video on YouTube:

It was all smiles all the way down!  A must-do if you are in Tucson.