Focus to Usery and Back

There was a really good group for the shop ride on Saturday morning. Perhaps the largest number of riders we have had to date. I'm pretty sure everyone got in just the right amount of suffering and scorching.

Check out the ride by following the link below.

Focus to Usery and Back by michael.barbour at Garmin Connect - Details

The Heartbreak Hundred-Event #3 in the King of the Mountains Century Challenge

It was another glorious day for a bike ride in Southern California and we took full advantage of the weather, the stunning scenery and the difficult climbing. I rode with my friend and fellow lunatic Eric Rice who made the trip down from Boulder Creek, CA. There were also two other riders, Alan Hamberlin and Nathan Frank, from our local bike shop, Focus Cyclery. The weather was perfect and the support for the ride was superb as always with a Planet Ultra event.

Check out the link below for a view of the ride through the eyes of the Garmin.

Heartbreak Hundred by michael.barbour at Garmin Connect - Details

Heartbreak Hundred

I'm off to Lebec, California tomorrow for the last ride in the Planet Ultra King of the Mountains trilogy. I did this ride last year with my buddy Eric Rice, and Eric will be joining me again for the torturous yet stunningly beautiful 100 miles and 8,500 feet of climbing.

Focus to Usery and Butcher Jones

Another glorious Arizona day and quite perfect for a ride. We had the folks from Lifetime Fitness join the group and much suffering was had by all.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the day came just before the climb up the front side of Usery when we spooked a couple on horseback. More than a few of us thought for sure there was going to be a tangle of horse and bike but we all somehow managed to keep from plowing into each other. We were thinking we shouldn't call out to let them know we were there lest we scare the horses. It looks like just the opposite is true.

Check out the ride through the Garmin GPS by following the link below.

Focus to Usery and Butcher Jones by michael.barbour at Garmin Connect - Details

Focus to End-of-Pavement

It was a glorious day for a bike ride. Temperatures were a bit chilly in the morning but not too much to complain about. Then there was the headwind we rode into all morning but we got past that. Oh and then there was the 4200 feet of climbing, but what is a bike ride worth if there is no climbing.

I'm pretty sure we could have done without the multiple flats and the headwind we faced heading home (an old trick Mother Nature loves to play on cyclists...switch the direction of the wind mid-ride). Like I said a glorious day for a bike ride...

Check out the ride through the GPS by following the link below.

Focus to End-of-Pavement by michael.barbour at Garmin Connect - Details

Tour de Phoenix 2010

It was an epic day for a bike race. The temps were perfect and the wind was tolerable until at least the climb up the Beeline Highway.

Richard DeBernardis, Founder & Executive Director of El Tour de Phoenix, announced that this year’s event, dedicated to Mesa resident Sterling Baer, welcomed 1,400 registrants – beating the 2008 attendance record of 1,308. In addition, moderate temperature and wind conditions helped cyclists in four divisions set new course records – the women’s and the mixed tandem divisions of the 72-mile event as well as the men’s and the women’s divisions of the 26-mile event.

Clay Murfet of Youngtown, Tazmania nipped Mesa resident Joe Susco for the 72-mile men’s title, with both times being listed as 2:51:28. Chris Fusselman of Phoenix rounded out the podium in a time of 2:51:30.

Pro-cyclist, Erica Allar from Charlotte, NC, claimed the women’s 72-mile title for the third year in a row in a time of 2:52:42. Finishing tenth overall, Allar broke her own 2009 course record by five minutes and 2 seconds. Mildred Lopez of Calexico, CA earned second place with a time of 2:58:15 and Heidi Melendez of Chandler came in third with a time of 3:01:09.

Team Focus managed to place five riders in the Platinum division, with Mark Bibbey and Matthew Braselton breaking the three hour mark with a time of 2:58:10 and 2:59:03 respectively. Jim Haugen finished in 3:01:07, Allen Blackhurst and Michael Barbour with a time of 3:01:25, and Mike Hershauer rounded out the group in 3:09:30.

Windy Pre-Ride

Well...the Tour de Phoenix pre-ride this Saturday proved to be long tough slog into a brutal headwind much of the day. The worst section proved to be the Beeline Highway where the wind pummeled us from straight on. Certainly the wind was tough, and although we didn't try to set any land speed records our time of 3:32 was respectable given the conditions and traffic. It was good to see that some sections of the route had new pavement and there didn't appear to be any construction. If race day proves to be as windy it will be very difficult to break the platinum time barrier of 3:05 for the 72 miles.

Pre-ride the Tour de Phoenix

The Saturday morning ride is back on for this weekend. We will be meeting in the parking lot of the Red Mountain High School in Mesa on Brown Rd. to pre-ride the Tour de Phoenix route. The parking lot is located on the SW corner of E Brown Rd and Sun Valley Blvd. Since the sun is rising earlier and the mornings are warmer we are moving the start time of the ride up to 6:45 am with wheels on the ground by 7:00 am.

Remember, the Tour de Phoenix is April 10th so this is a perfect opportunity to pre-ride the course. For those of you who are planning to ride the Tour de Phoenix and have yet to sign up you should probably register soon.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Cochise County Classic

Despite wind a record number of cyclists registered for the Dependable Health Services 22nd Cochise County Cycling Classic. Dan McGehee of Mesa, Arizona placed first in the 252-mile event for the ninth time in event history. While most participants use bicycles with many gears, two people completed the 157 and 252- mile events on single speed bicycles. Gerry Blondeaux from Tucson, in the 252-mile event finished in17:02:17 and Beto Villegas from Sierra Vista finished the 157-mile event in 7:42:01. Also, 11-year old Allan Kimball of Tucson completed the 92-mile event in a very respectable time of 7:02:04.

Hardest ride I have done to date. I was on pace to get in under 8 hrs. I finished the first 100 miles in 4hrs. 57mins (that includes the climb through Bisbee), but it was at mile 78 that things began to get nasty. I turned east at that point onto I-10 for 16 miles directly into a 20-25mph headwind (gusts up to 35mph), and all climbing. The wind shifted from the east to the southeast so when I made my turn to head south I continued directly into the wind....and I had no group to ride with. I hooked up with a group for a couple of small distances, but they came down to do the ride together and were coordinated with their own support vehicles. When I had to stop to get fluids and food I lost the help. I spent almost the entire ride out in the wind by myself… I finished the first 100 miles in 4hrs. 57mins and it took 2hrs to do the last 25 miles...I was crushed, hammered, and whimpering...

I learned a bunch about how to approach something like this again and I am going to have to figure out some better system (a.k.a. bring more folks to ride with)...and some better food for keeping myself fueled up on the ride. 9hrs. 59 mins. 58secs. 157 miles...

Pre Tour de Scottsdale

Well about 20 insane cyclists decided to pre-ride the course for the upcoming (October 4th) Tour de Scottsdale this past Saturday. Most rides here in the Sonoran desert are...well...dry, but Saturday was quite the exception. The remnants of Hurricane Jimena provided driving sideways rain...lots of lightening...and water on the roadway up to 6-8 inches deep. It was a brutal and glorious day in the saddle...an epic ride.

OUCH

Was out riding the Santan Mountain loop on Sunday and having a great time suffering but had a small problem on the return home. I ran over some glass coming down Gary Rd. from the Santan Mountains. The front tire blew out, washed out on me, and I crashed. No real road rash and the bike (the blue cyclocross) was okay. I’m very bruised and stiff. This week of riding should be interesting.

End-of-Pavement

Deb and I took off from the Needle Vista this morning and tackled the ride out past Tortilla Flats to the End-of-Pavement. It was just as painful as I remember it. All in all we had a good ride and our times were not too shabby. The temperature was not too horribly hot and the scenery was sublime. One of the best rides in the east valley without a doubt.

Welcome Back Jim

Saturday was the welcome back ride for Jim after his six weeks off after surgery. Just as suspected by most of us mere mortals he returned with a vengeance. Allen managed to keep up with him early in the day while the rest of us clawed our way up La Sendas, and the front and back side of Usery in the rear. The second pass through the Usery torture fest was less kind to Jim and he rejoined the ranks of the mortals...this too shall pass.

Death of a Tree

Our beautiful Desert Museum Palo Verde growing out in front of the house was broken in half by the wind during our most recent set of monsoon storms. Luckily it did not hit the house or anything else of value, but it was a lovely tree and it will be missed. It was very depressing to saw it up and cart it off...

Morning Ride - Two Flat Tires

So the morning ride out to Wagon Wheel ended up being more of an adventure than I had counted on. I had a flat on the front about 7 miles out and realized when I went to replace the tube that I only brought one tube. Sure enough on the way back I got another flat and had to patch it on the road. First time in more than a year that I have had two flats on the same ride and of course one of the first times in recent memory that I didn't have two tubes. Lesson learned...again.

Usery Torture Fest

The group (Allen, Jeff, Deb, Jake and me) had another epic double torture fest over Usery and back...and back again yesterday. Deb said she saw saw a tee shirt with the new Nike slogan on it, "Just do it....then do it again!" and it reminded her of the ride yesterday. A good day in the saddle despite the heat with 3700 feet of climbing and 60+ miles. I went out again this morning at 5:30 a.m. at a much slower pace and with much cooler temperatures. About 30+ miles and temperatures in the mid 80s.

iTunes iMix Flaw

So I discovered a flaw in the iTunes iMix listing. If iTunes doesn't have the same album your song is on it won't list the track when posting the iMix. As an alternative I took a screenshot of the playlist and posted it as a jpeg. Just click on the image to enlarge it.

New iTunes playlist for your dining and dancing pleasure

Cycling Mt. Lemmon

A beautiful and difficult day in the saddle. Jim, Deb, Rafael, Jeff and Michael took on the 6000+ feet of climbing on a very windy Saturday June 13th.

Mt. Lemmon Here We Come

This is the ride we are going to do this weekend. I want one of these cameras...how cool.