24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Mountain Bike Endurance Race

I have some great pictures to share that were taken in East of Oracle, Arizona at the Willow Springs Ranch. Willow Springs hosted the "24 Hours in the Old Pueblo" Bicycle Race. The weather was atrocious for most of the week that I was there, but the clouds and rain cleared enough for the mountain bikers to have a safe and dry race.

On the way home to Tucson the old bus handled well in the once the approaching rains hit. As the result of all of the bouncing and thudding along the 10-mile long washboard road from the racetrack, one of her windshield wipers stopped working. Fortunately it was on the passenger side. This fix for this appears to be to reconnect the drive-arm under the dashboard. Piece of cake!

Here is a good view of the desert terrain North of Tucson, and the motorhome complete with ATAS-120 HF radio antenna. The track was at a little over 5,000 feet in elevation. Considerably cooler than the temperatures back in Tucson. In this picture I can see the dreaded Jumping Cholla, as well as a couple of Mesquite trees. It's barren, but beautiful in its own way.

 This is a side image of the infamous Lance Armstrong, 7 time Tour de France champion, though stripped of those titles. He was racing with his WEDU team. I read some of his story about his battle with multiple cancers and find his words inspiring. Courage and commitment seem paramount.

And here is the worn-out and bedraggled ham operator at the "Liaison Tent." Home of very little action. Once I got some lighting for the tent, and one of my "Rocker" folding chairs, I was good to go. I took 2 four hour shifts from 12am to 8am.  I figured if those guys were out there bicycling for 24 hours, I could at least sit and read and listen to the chatter on the radio.


MORE PICS TO FOLLOW!