Deciding to do Another Elite Tour

Well, I decided to do another Elite Tour.  The 2010 Elite Tour was a great experience that I thought would be a one time event, but after talking to Lon Haldeman in 2012 at a PACTour Desert Camp, remembering how intensely fun it was and seeing several familiar names on the sign up and support crew list, I eventually talked myself into it.  It wasn't that hard.
(See http://randonneurrob.blogspot.com/ for the 2010 blog)

Some of the other reasons I want to do ET again are that it forces some urgency and focus on me to train and prepare to reach a challenging goal.  I have been retired (mostly) for 3 1/2 years.  Overall this is a great place to be at this point in my life, but there are times that I feel the need for some structure and goals to push myself and stay engaged.  Getting ready for an Elite Tour does this well and the actual ride demands your full attention every day.

For those not familiar with the PACTour Elite Tour, this is an ultra fast transcontinental bicycle crossing of the US, covering 2,700 miles, averaging 160+ miles/day.  This ride is only offered every 3-4 years.  We start in San Diego on May 12th and finish in Savannah, Georgia on May 28th, 17 days later.  Along the way, we will follow sections of the RAAM race route and other routes that PACTour has developed in over 30 years of transcon tours.  The route is designed to move us across the country quickly, so we will be on some busier US highways at times, and some interstates in western states.  Most of the riding though is on low traffic roads, with an emphasis on challenges versus the easy way.  There are 23-25 riders in the group, supported by 9 crew members in 4 vehicles.  There are no rest days.  Check out www.PACTour.com for more information on the PACTour organization and other tours they offer.

I had a lot of fun blogging last time in 2010 and got some good feedback that people enjoyed the daily logs about my Elite Tour adventure.  I'll try to keep this year's edition entertaining and let followers know how the ride is going, from my own perspective and what is happening with the rest of the group.  I won't do data and statistics too much, the focus will be on how each day's adventure unfolds, how various riders are doing, including myself, that what it feels like to be a part of this intense experience.

Elite Tour is a very focused group of riders and support crew so the main goal is to get through each day successfully.  Beyond that though, lots of stuff happens that I hope is interesting, funny, reflective at times and gives you a sense of what this experience is like.

The 2013 edition of Elite Tour, put on by PACTour, is a little different than 2010.  We're crossing the country in 17 days versus 19 days, but the route is about 300 miles shorter.  We're taking a more southerly route this time which keeps us out of the Rockies and Appalachians and other eastern mountains, but we pass through the Talimena Parkway, a steep roller coaster section in Eastern Oklahoma, and the GPS profile shows a lot of bumpy riding through Mississippi, Alabama and Western Georgia so it may work out to be about the same level of difficulty, just in a little different style.  It will probably be warmer than 2010, but it is still pretty early in the season.

We live in Minnesota.  In 2010 I put a lot of time into devising and carrying out a detailed training plan that had me traveling to warmer climates three times to get in the needed mileage to be ready.  I had over 5,000 miles logged when we started in San Diego in 2010.  In 2013 I have a little less than 4,000.  This wasn't for lack of planning.  We (my wife Nancy and I) spent three months in Austin, Texas from January to March in a snowbird cottage.  In addition to much warmer weather, Country & Western music and BBQ it was a great place to get in good training miles, including several brevets with the Lone Star, West Texas and Austin Randonneur groups.   Our problem was when we came back to Minnesota, winter was still going on!  It snowed several times, rained, blustered, stayed cold and was generally miserable for most of the month.  This made it very difficult to get out and ride the longer distances to build up a solid base. 

Fortunately, on the last weekend in April a brief spring interlude occurred and three of us who are signed up for the ET ride (Will Oberton, Jim Elkins and myself) met in Winona and enjoyed three days of 70s weather and got 300+ good miles in along with some tough hill work. 

Will (Winona), Rob (Apple Valley), Jim (La Crosse)

 

Since the Winona Weekend, I have done a few shorter rides (winter came back again!) and focused on pushing myself, especially on the hills.   I think I'm ready, if I can stay at a reasonable pace up hills.  Lon and Sue, our PACTour leaders, have designed this year's course to start off easier for the first few days (130-150 miles a day) so we have the chance to build into peak condition by the end of the first week.    

 

The tour starts on Sunday, May 12.  I may put out another post before the first day with some pre-tour thoughts and info on other riders - I know several and hope to get to know everyone before we get too far down the road.

Please feel free to post comments and thoughts as the adventure goes along.  I try to update the blog every day so will read anything else posted and will respond, if appropriate.