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How time flies!
It's now been four years since my MS Bike Tour Corona de Marana -- September 30, 2000. This was my first bike ride/timed race over 10 miles in length. I remember being on a SunTran bus headed north on Kolb when a guy asked me in mid-August 2000 (after I loaded my bike on the front of the bus) if I would be interested in riding in a bike ride in Marana in about 6 weeks.
He told me there would be two route lengths for this ride part of the MS Bike Tour which is a fundraiser for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. One would be a 50K and the other 100K. That translates to 31 and 62.5 miles respectfully. I told him I was thinking about El Tour de Tucson coming up in November and he said that alot of riders will ride another ride before riding El Tour for the year to prepare themselves right. Corona De Marana was one of the rides that cyclists can do in preparation for El Tour De Tucson ( or El Tour as it's known otherwise).
I did the 50K (31.25 miles) and did ok on it -- being my first lengthy ride. You could say I had been training for 15 years not driving a car untiI I turned 25 in August of 2001. I rode my bike an average of 50 miles per week in the meantime. I remember feeling lost during the middle of it despite being provided a route map. There were only 200 riders on the course; so, sometimes you would not see someone behind you or in front of you. I remember crossing the line and they gave me my time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 24 seconds and I finished in 16th place. I was riding a mountain bike that really didn't fit me. I was told I could cut about 40% off my time if I had a bike that did fit me.
I just remember going into it feeling very excited and a little scared about the distance. But, it turned out to be a wonderful ride. Then I did the 31 mile event in El Tour De Tucson that November and finished in 2 hrs 3 minutes. It is so much fun. I can't wait until I get my custom bike. I have a guy that will build it for me and give me a huge discount over what he normally charges. (David Bohm, wheel builder -- www.bohemianbicycles.com). He has built custom bikes for guys that are over 6'3" and a few that were 7' tall. He's very humble and he builds all of his bikes using only his hands and a few basic tools. They are not mass produced and you only need to ask him to build you one. You'll notice his email address on his website.
All this came after speaking to a guy I met that worked at a bike shop, Arizona Cycle & Sport (no longer in business sad to say) who repaired a flat tire for me one day. I had asked him if he knew any details about this yearly bike ride they have in Tucson the third Saturday in November. Did he ever have information! We developed a good friendship. He encouraged me to ride in the MS bike ride and he taught me how to train for it as well as open my eyes to cycling. He had been a bicycle mechanic and business manager for 10 years at that point. I'll never forget him and his encouragement for me.
I'm hoping Pastor Rod and Derek will go with me on my first 100 mile adventure (also referred to as a century ride). I'll have to see if David can build one for Pastor Eric also. Wouldn't that would be sweet ... me, Eric, Rod and Derek all riding in a pack for 100 miles. I couldn't lead all the way ... "Pull" would be yelled at least every five miles. "Pull" for those that don't know means to move up one spot in the pack so the lead cyclist in your pack slides down one and the leader changes so everybody gets a chance to draft off of them. I'll let you know when I get close to having it delivered. Rod, Derek and Eric all I can say is start training. LOL. | 
