The Greater Arizona Bicycle Association (GABA) sponsored a supported (SAG stations and vehicles) ride up Mt Lemmon, just northeast of Tucson. Excellent road and mostly good weather in Spring makes for a great one day cycling challenge.
At this point I'm training to enter the Hoodoo 300 in late August of 2016. I live in a mountainous area in Arizona (Prescott) so I have the perfect training ground for the Hoodoo 300.
The Mt Lemmon ride constitutes about 30 miles of almost non-stop climbing for an approximate total of 6,000 feet. An average 5.6 degree grade, with a few 12's and 13's thrown in.
Starting on Friday the 13th, at 7:10AM, I pedaled 25.8 miles and 5,600 feet to the top. All was going well until I hit the first descent of the climb. Flying down a short 150 meter hill at 42 mph I heard a loud `pop' and immediately unclipped my feet from the pedals and began feathering the brakes. I managed to maintain control of the bike and come to a safe and sudden stop just as the hill was tipping up again. The front tire.
Popping the wheel from the frame I inspected it very carefully for tire rip. I pulled the tube and noted a tear. Matching the tear to the tire location ... nothing. The tire looked solid. I concluded that all I needed to do was to put in a new tube, inflate it and get back on the road.
Not. When I inflated the tube I checked the tire again and again, disbelieving my first inspection. And there it was: a small tear just at the wheel rim.
I usually carry a spare tire when training at home. But, since this was SAG supported I didn't bother to bring one. My ride was over. Descending Mt Lemmon on that tire would certainly have resulted in tragedy.
Despite the fact that it was Friday the 13th I was extremely lucky to have that tire blowout before I started my way down the mountain. Descending at 35 - 50 mph on mountain switchbacks ... certain death. I imagined myself making a sharp descending turn, the tire blows, the bike goes out from under me, I slide into the oncoming lane ... and under the wheels of a car or truck.
The GABA SAG vehicle, driven by `Bob,' rolled by within 5 minutes. He put my bike on his rack and shortly I was heading down the mountain to the starting point.
THIS is a link to a short video that I took at the top of Mt. Lemmon. It was the `penultimate' SAG stop about 5 flat miles from the end of the ride.
And THIS is a link to the Ride With GPS metric of the ride.
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