After less than 2 weeks here, I realized I could stay here much longer than a month. Like much, much longer!

Should I tell my boss that I have not bought a return flight yet?

On Monday, a friend and I decided to ride the full length of Mount Lemmon. Because it was so cold the week prior, we could not ride up all the way during training camp. So, this was the first time I rode Mt Lemmon to the top and the first time that I climbed anywhere for 26mi. Mt. Lemmon is such a great climb that it deserves its own blog entry. A 26mi climb, a foot-wide cookie at the top, a super fast descent, 90mi and an elevation gain of almost 9000 feet later –, that was a super ride!

Apparently that ride was my recovery ride because Tucson’s cyclists geared up on Tuesdays for another fast group ride. It definitely reminded me of the mountains on the East Coast. The ride covers some fun rolling terrain down on Ajo Rd, follows the McCain loop, and then ascends Gates Pass.

If you skip the McCain loop as I did, you get to the top of Gates Pass faster than the Garmin or Real Cyclist riders. Since you can see the entire climb from the top, it’s like watching Tour de France observing all the pros sprinting up that mountain.

Riding in Tucson is way too much fun to schedule a rest day! How do the Tucsonans not get over-trained? The riding is incredible. It’s basically a must to go out and ride every day!