Spencer's friend Josh has raced the Tour De Tucson in past years, and convinced Spencer to race with him this year. Spencer bought a road bike off of
Craig's list while he was in Florida, and began training for the 109 mile race around the outskirts of Tucson. The day of the race, we woke up early and brought Spencer to the starting line around 5:30AM.
It is a good thing Spencer brought his phone with him so we could locate him among the 6000+ racers that were at the starting line. The weather promised to be a beautiful 75 degrees.
When we found Spencer and Josh they were waiting anxiously to start the race. There was a huge crane holding up the officiators so they could s
ee the whole group of racers. The national anthem was sung (a really beautiful rendition), and then they were Off........ well sort of.
When there are 6000+ racers it takes a long time for the start of the line to get going. The race officially started at 7:00 sharp..... Spencer and Josh were off and moving by 7:12!!! Everyone has a microchip that they wear and it doesn't start timing until they are through the arch at the beginning.... so I guess it wasn't a big deal that it took that long to get going.
The kids and I went up the route about 35 miles and waited for Spencer to pass us. Abby sat by me repeating the phrase "White shirt, red sleeves, black bike.....white shirt, red sleeves, black bike...." Someone would ride by with a white shirt and she would get excited.... then realize last minute that the were on a yellow/red/or green bike. We were excited when at about 9:15 we saw Spencer ride past.
He stopped for a quick pit stop to
tweak his shoes, grab a banana, use the port-o-potty and then head out again. He wasn't riding with his buddy Josh, and we found out later that Josh had to drop out of the race due to the stomach flu...... bad mental picture there...
Spencer finished the 109 mile ride in 6 hrs and 59 min. He averaged 15.6 miles per hour. (that includes stopping to help his buddy, two river bed crossings that were 1/4 mile each- on foot, and two quick pit stops) Great job Spencer!!!! What a fun first race.
Spencer finished in the "Silver" group, and has his first cycling medal to hang on the wall/ put in a drawer/ lose.... He told me that he will be wearing it to Church on Sunday and work on Monday.
It is a good thing Spencer brought his phone with him so we could locate him among the 6000+ racers that were at the starting line. The weather promised to be a beautiful 75 degrees.
When we found Spencer and Josh they were waiting anxiously to start the race. There was a huge crane holding up the officiators so they could see the whole group of racers. The national anthem was sung (a really beautiful rendition), and then they were Off........ well sort of.
When there are 6000+ racers it takes a long time for the start of the line to get going. The race officially started at 7:00 sharp..... Spencer and Josh were off and moving by 7:12!!! Everyone has a microchip that they wear and it doesn't start timing until they are through the arch at the beginning.... so I guess it wasn't a big deal that it took that long to get going.
He stopped for a quick pit stop to tweak his shoes, grab a banana, use the port-o-potty and then head out again. He wasn't riding with his buddy Josh, and we found out later that Josh had to drop out of the race due to the stomach flu...... bad mental picture there...
5 comments:
Great job Spencer! A wonderful accomplishment.
Woohoo!! That is a long time to ride a bike in one day...were ya sore? So did Spencer really wear the medal to church?
Does that third little gingerbread MAN mean that you are having another boy?
Hello....this is your aunt diane....I feel deja vu about the biking....tom and I have done several of those rides...I hope you are coming for christmas sometime and we can see you....it is so nice to see your blogs...my email is dianebrowning1@hotmail.com if you have time to email me yours, I would love to put you in my family list....Love, Aunt Diane
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