This will be my first year to ride El Tour De Tucson. My father has rode several times. I have seen the issues he has had to deal with in the past including the walk across the Sabino Canyon wash/River section. The one thing I have noticed this year is that several of the roads on the current map are in great disrepair and have little or no current bike paths. When training for an event like this, as I have been trying to for last few weeks, I ride the same path that I will take on the course so as to familiarize myself and my body for what it will take. I am hoping that talks with the city have been put in place for repairing these roads prior to the tour or it is going to be very off-putting to riders coming out to want to venture here again. If you are unfamiliar with what I mean take a bike ride on Irvington between Kolb and Houghton, Houghton to Escalante and feel how much your bike jumps and bounces as you try to maneuver. Look at the width of the bike path between on Irvington especially as you get closer to Houghton or the path on Escalante. I have been almost ran off the road a couple times even wearing a neon yellow shirt on a white bike. I really do look forward to the tour but I'm hoping as I explore more of the course I don't find the same conditions cause it makes it really difficult to properly prepare when your hands go numb from all the bumps or you get ran off the road into the brush.
CJ Stanley
East side
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
