Michele & Greg French Ride Report

Lee & Dean Marvin Ride Report

Vicki & Rick Thompson Ride Report

Greg and Michele's great ride!

I'm not much of a writer but our account of the tour can be summed up with: warm weather, stay upright and away from the crashes, hold on to the leaders as long as possible. I did not get a chance to look around much from the start to the first river crossing as we were in the middle of the peloton and I was desperately trying to keep our front wheel clear. Several times when I did glance around to see who was next to and in front of us I found that we were drafting Kent Bostick and Jeannie Longo was right beside us. We kept in the middle of the group to the river crossing where we stumbled as we tried to re-mount the bike in the loose sand. I had stopped in too low a gear to get us going again. We were spit out the back of the lead group and found ourselves chasing to catch back onto the second group. Freeman Road proved to be the crux of the ride for us. We worked our tails off and seemed as though we would be in no man's land for the rest of the ride. The chase group slowed when they reached the steeper uphill rollers and we clawed our way back on. That Calfee paid out dividends on the uphill pursuit as I doubt we could have caught them with 12 lbs more of bicycle. We recovered in the group for some time then went to the front where another tandem was pulling. We pulled around them, pushed the pace to 27-30 mph and pulled the group to Congress Road. The ride got interesting after the detour around the second river crossing as we were leading and didn't have a clue as to the new route variation. We tried to get someone from the 30+ singles and one tandem behind us to pull around and lead but no one would come up. When we finally reached Irvington Street for a hard, fast cop initiated "left turn!" it must have looked like a game of "crack the whip" as about the last third of the paceline didn't make the sudden maneuver. Oops, I tried to tell them. By the time we reached Congress for the final turn, the tandem who had been drafting for the last 27 miles felt refreshed enough to sprint ahead of us to finish as the fourth tandem overall. They thanked us for being so good and pulling and stated that they really hated doing that to us. No hard feelings, but they won't get to do that again. We were happy that the race went well since about everything else didn't. Our hotel reservation was messed up and we spent the night in the motel 6 next to the freeway with some other folks who looked like they got their high from someplace other than a bicycle. They were really interested in seeing what I had in the truck as I unloaded it so we kept an eye on it all night. We arrived late into Tucson on Friday with my family in tow. My sister and brother in law were going to ride their tandem and my father was going to the start line to collect clothes. My dad didn't have much to do that morning since we repacked our truck, checked out of the motel, ate breakfast and arrived at the start line just 13 minutes before the start. All I had time to give him was my arm warmers.

No, we did not buy the Calfee although we wanted to. The bike performed very well. It was very stiff and did not flex at all when we stood to climb or sprint. It was my first experience with a carbon fiber road frame and I was very impressed. It seemed to soak up quite a bit of road vibration and neither of us was nearly as wasted as we usually are after a century ride. It was by far the most comfortable 114 miles that I have ever done riding as hard as we did. And it was very manageable at the river crossing. The only drawbacks were getting used to the slightly shorter wheel base ( quicker steering) and the lightness in a crosswind. We rode the bike several times in LV on windy weekends and found it to be a challenge in some gusts. We didn't get to weigh the bike and have been told that it weighed 27 lbs. If we get more serious about racing tandems, then I would consider getting one but I don't think that it is 2.5x more bike than our co motion as reflected in price.

Glad it is over for another year. Next year we will ride as tourists, stopping at the great rest stops and enjoying the beautiful desert scenery. Yeah right.

Happy Holidays, stay safe.

Greg and Michelle

El Tour de Tucson 17 November 2001 by Lee Marvin 

It was a dark and stormy night….  Oops that was last year.  This year was absolutely gorgeous with temps down to low 50's at the start and at least up in low 70's at the finish.  What a change from the windy freezing ride of last year.

First, congratulations to Greg and Michelle French who won the mixed tandem class this year in a blistering 4h34m.  Michelle was the second woman over the line after Jeannie Longo (4h24m).  This is the second year a Chile Pedaler-associated tandem team has taken the mixed category.  Laura and Michael Kantner were last year's winners.  Since the Thompsons will be doing PAC camp in 2002 in time for the Tour,  I suggest it's their turn next year.

Second, many thanks to "Tricky Tech" Thompson who tuned up the Marvins' new rear wheel.  Turns out it had not been properly tensioned for a tandem, and it was not dishless as we had all assumed.  Linseed oil and several trips to the truing stand resulting in a wheel that stood up to the rigors of the roads in Tucson.

The ride this year was not 111 miles as advertised but 113 miles.  Personally I clocked 113.94389 miles.  The half-bike riders this year were squirrelly - especially the first 25 miles over Anklam and Silverbell.  There were two crashes we saw on that part of the course (one up close and very personal, but we managed to avoid hitting anyone) and the paceline ying-yanged with lots of slowing as riders moved back into the peleton from across the yellow line.  We knew every time we saw a police motorcycle there would be the usual "slowing" called out.  Kudos to our captains who did an excellent job keeping the rubber side down through all this nonsense. Unfortunately, our plan to have Vicki do traffic control failed due to the large number of riders who got in line at 3AM and put them far back at the start.

The Marvins started towards the front of the platinum group.  The Frenches were further back and theThompsons were in the middle of the gold group.  Greg and Michelle caught and passed the Marvins on Anhklam who waved them on to a good ride at the back of the lead pack.  Trying to keep reserves for the rest of the ride, we awaited the arrival of the Thompsons who caught us at the bottom end of Silverbell. By this time we had identified the squirrelly riders and had settled in with a group who knew how to keep a line and how to treat a group of tandems (R-E-S-P-E-C-T).  With the arrival of the Thompsons and another mixed tandem from San Francisco we again picked up the pace and had a rolling pace line - of course followed by lots of klingons - onto Tangerine, where we all got to experience rail freight at its finest hour - waiting what seemed like minutes at the crossing for the <extremely slow moving> train to pass.

Still in a group we all kept a good pace up Tangerine.  We had slight head winds here so being able to ride surrounded by singles was great.  It was at this point that we lost the Thompsons.  Lee sensed they were gone but didn't really know why.  It turns out their tube bag had swung off Vicki's seat and onto the side of the road (Vicki you were working too hard!).  Rick was in a quandary on whether or not to stop since it held their spare sewup for the Lew wheel they had put on for the race.  Fortunately they stopped and retrieved the bag.  They flatted a little further up Tangerine and found themselves all alone for essentially the rest of the ride.

While I cannot recount their race, they were either alone or pulling groups of singles for the rest of the ride, BUT their long solitary hours in the saddle training for the Cochise Classic paid big dividends in that they kept a good pace and finished at an average speed that would have had them complete an 111 mile course in under five hours (see 113.94389 miles mentioned above).  We missed having them in the last 40 miles of the course, as we are used to doing fast pace lines with them and we keep each other's spirits up.

Meanwhile the Marvins found another tandem with which to bridge the various groups going up Tangerine and into Rancho Vistoso.  Periodically Lee would tell Dean they were falling off their pre-arranged average, so they would go up and bridge another group or take the front of the line.  Most of the rest of the tour they pulled groups of singles with two other tandems coming and going.  On Freeman Rd. - the serious climb in the race - they decided to climb at a set heart rate occasionally sitting in with a group to rest for a few seconds.  Only in the final 25 miles did we find two singles who would do a rolling line to give us a little rest (15 seconds or so) before we  reassumed the lead.  About 10 miles out, Dean began to get cramps in his calves so we were unable to do the usual sprint to the finish.  Taking advantage of this, several riders from the group of singles we had been pulling for over an hour, sprinted to the finish ahead of us as did another mixed tandem.

I have to admit I was disappointed.  I had wanted Dean to come in under five hours for a platinum.  Our average speed would have given us a sub five hour finish IF the ride had been the usual 111 miles.  But with 113.9 we came in at 5h7m.  Nothing to sniff at but I was sniveling. 

Next year, the Thompsons and Marvins will start together in the platinum group.   Barring flats, crashes by flakey singles and other acts of nature,  we will be able to turn in a sub five hour ride.

We all trained this year.  Michelle French said they had been training (it showed!).  Dean actually got a training book and followed it!  The training paid off as did having heart monitors to see who was working and how much (we stokers are unfairly accused of slacking off, but those monitors heartlessly tell all).  So folks, training really works.  This means that next year, we all will do the Moriarty time trial in under an hour and the Tour de Tucson in under five hours.  Tom Hendricks - when does your spin class start this winter?

Dean’s Addendum:  I have this vivid recollection from about 30 minutes into the race, when Rick and Vicki came by, working with another powerful tandem. This was announced by Vicki hollering something like “yee hah” as they flew by. We of course jumped on and proceeded to wend our way through groups of rather squirrelly singles on the flats leading to the Tangerine Rd climb. We were really cooking up the base of this, when R&V suddenly disappeared off the back. We managed to stay in a group of singles all the way to the top (a first!), and as we cruised down Oracle Rd., Dean was looking around for R&V. Stayed with our group of singles all the way out to the first river crossing. Dean’s neck had begun to get stiff from looking around for R&V. The south part of the ride was as usual, overtaking groups of singles who then jumped on the train. This year there were some strong singles willing to pull, at least until the final 20 miles or so when there was only one helper. Did I mention we were thinking of R&V? Anyway, it was a perfect day for a race, and as Lee said, training (not just riding) really pays off.

Vicki & Rick’s El Tour de Tucson

 Congrats to Greg and Michelle on a great ride. They finished in an astounding 4 hrs. 33 min.. I'm designing a rocket booster for our bike so we can draft them next year. What do you guys eat? I calculated a 20 horsepower motor would be required on our tandem to keep up with these guys. Maybe we will hide in the bushes a mile from the end and draft in next year. Wow!

 Lee and Dean finished in 5 hrs. 7 min.. We had planned to assist them in braking the 5 hour mark. Things don't always work as planned. This was a great finish for them as they pulled the pack along for much of the ride.

Vicki and I started near the middle of the group. With the help of Roger and Dawn from Sunnyvale Ca.we caught up with Dean and Lee about 10 miles into the ride. They were towing about 75 singles and a couple of tandems. The three of us worked together increasing the speed about 5 mph. This helped us to catch the train at the only crossing. I had a feeling every time we drove by that crossing that week, we would get stopped during the ride. This crossing is about half a mile short of the longest climb of the ride. Some singles passed us and we settled into let them pull us up the hill. We were moving and feeling good. Lee and Dean, and Dawn and Roger were just ahead. This was going to be a good year. The weather was perfect. A fellow cyclist yells out that we lost our bag. Velcro does not work forever. I considered leaving it but our spare tire was in it. It took a bit to work to the side of the road to stop. Vicki ran back and grabbed it as this pack blasted up the hill. Everyone our speed was ahead and only slower riders behind. We soloed the rest of the ride except when singles would get on our wheel. We were happy at the 50 mile point that the bag had been retrieved. We had a flat. About 5 miles from the finish as we sprinted away from an intersection Vicki got to see her first big crash. This group of 15 we had pulled the last 20 miles got tangled up. Vicki understood now why I was hanging out to one side. We pulled the ones that were still upright to the finish where of course they sprinted around us. We finished at 5 hrs. 26 min.. The computers showed 3750' of climbing and 113+ miles. Next year I think we will tour El Tour de Tucson. Stop laughing Greg, we didn't tour this time. We also saw Tom Hendricks this year. He was riding with the Leukemia Team.

 Rick T.