Goal: Platinum on El Tour

I can't believe it.

In less than 3 weeks I'll be riding my first Tour de Tucson. I'm officially starting to get a little nervous. Why? Let me count the ways (and also grade them!!! Oh, I've missed TA'ing):

• First off, it will be the first time I've ever cycled over 100 miles. Although I can semi-convince myself now that 100 miles is just another number. I've done 94 fairly easily and gone 85 miles up and down Mt. Lemmon. The miles I'll do on El Tour should not be as difficult. If they are, then I'm doing something wrong. Like the route itself. [Nervousness Rating (NR) = 2/10]
• Stemming from that bullet point; going the wrong way. Out of 5,000 cyclists I can almost guarantee that somehow I'll be the one that strays off-course. To counteract my 'wandering nature' I'll be doing part of the course this weekend, making sure I know where the route goes. [NR? A pathetic 1/10]

• Oh! There's another point I've raised. 5,000 cyclists. Nope, I didn't just mash an extra couple of '0''s on the keyboard. I really do mean five thousand cyclists!  I'll be trying to rush past them at the start too. The first few miles could translate into 10's of minutes either way on my final time. I'll explain in a later post. [NR = 7/10]
• Crossing the washes: Problems. The race clock doesn't stop here. You've got to unclip and run across the wash carrying your bike and get back on the other side. The last one, at mile 60-odd is over a 1/4 mile run. [NR = 5/10]. I'm not a good runner. Especially with a bike on my shoulder and have cycling shoes on that provide no grip or cushioning. My goal will be just to stick with the peloton.

Crossing the wash. Arizona Daily Star

• Pressure on myself: Getting a Platinum medal. This is the goal of the race. If I manage to complete the 111 miles in under 5 hours (ave. 22.2 mph), I'll receive a platinum medal and everyone I know will be like, "Wow. You did that!?!", and will probably be followed by "You're amazing" / "Can I have your autograph?". I'd so say "Ladies, ladies... please! Not all at once". However, the [NR = 8/10]. I like to put pressure on myself, and I'll be pretty disappointed if I finish outside of 5 hours.

So adding up all the nerves, I get a top-heavy 23/10 NR. I guess that means I should be cowering under my desk right now, afraid to even take a look at the world outside my door. Good job I don't see much of it anyway as a grad student.