Tucson- Day 10 and travel day

Mount Lemmon, take 2. After my frustrating experience last week on Lemmon, Angie told me I would have a great day the next time I did it. I had my doubts, considering how tired everyone would be by the last day of the camp. But I still really hoped she was right. We started out the day with a last swim. It was pretty much exactly the same for me as the day before. Oh well, once I get home and stop biking so many hours a day my shoulders should calm down a bit. While the guys started from the house, the girls drove about 20km to the base of the mountain to even things up a bit. As I was still getting my bike ready and making sure my dad was good to go too, the other two girls decided to take off. Thanks. Yes, this bothered me at first but maybe it was good for each of us to get in our own zones. With a combination of frustration and determination I set off at a pretty hard pace for the first few miles. My dad decided to just hang onto my wheel and let me do my thing. Even though it was probably windier than last time, and my legs were completely dead going into this climb, I maintained the aggressive pace. I was focused on getting to the top and having a solid ride. I stopped for a Gatorade refill at the lookout point at mile 14. I also grabbed a bottle from Eleanor out of the car while riding, but I for sure drank less than usual. When I reached the little stretch that practically brought me to tears last time I did this climb, I knew the mountain would not beat me this time. After all, I know I can for sure get to the top; I had done it 4 times before.

I kept at it and planned to take another quick break at the visitor centre parking lot around mile 20. This would mentally break up the last 12 miles and allow for one more chance to really stretch out my shoulders and back. A couple miles later the downhills start. At some point I estimated it would take about another 40 minutes to reach the top. I looked at my watch and it had already been 2 and a half hours. Even though I just wanted to get to the top and knew I shouldn’t expect too much, it was one of those days where I guess I subconsciously had a goal. That goal was under 3 hours. Last year my best time was 2:59. I knew it was time to either go for it or not, but it would be close.  So I took the downhills more aggressively than usual and once I got to that final brutal climb I was still going for it. I kept looking at my watch nervously. I had 20 minutes to go, 15 minutes, then 10. I still didn’t want to admit this goal to myself but I’m pretty sure I would have been disappointed if I got to the top in 3:01 or something. Sub-3-hour club. Obviously that final mile or two can never actually be easy; I think I was going the hardest I’ve ever rode it. I was racing the clock and redlining it the whole time. It was crazy. At some point I dropped my dad. I really wasn’t trying to race anyone but myself. I hate that last part where around every corner you hope to see the end. Finally I did. I let myself look at my watch. 2:56. Made it sub-3 as well as a new PB. I was just relieved. When my dad rolled in a minute later we high-fived and tried to breathe before beginning the descent to the town where the Cookie Cabin was waiting. Some people were already there and everyone met us after reaching the top. It was time for some giant cookies, other snacks and treats, and buying stickers. I think we were all relieved to be done the hard work.

We loaded up in the van and dropped the guys partway down, and then a little further we got out and enjoyed the descent. Actually, as far as descents go it kind of sucked. It was really windy and at that point I really didn’t want to pedal anymore. There was also no way I was going to go all aero after putting my shoulders through those hours of climbing. So I kept stretching out even though that slowed me even more and enjoyed the views on the way down. Since I do not really know what will happen for training camp once a bunch of us are in university  there’s no guarantee of coming back to this place next year. It really is amazing. Looking off the side of the mountain it’s beautiful. Even though I kind of hate Mount Lemmon for all the pain that goes on during those rides, it’s familiar and it feels so good to accomplish it. So maybe I love it while hating it? Anyways, I was done the work for the day which may have influenced how I felt. I was also really happy when we were able to load up the van for the last time instead of riding home!

Once at home we packed up the bikes in the boxes and I did my usually 5-minute-throw-everything-in-the-suitcase packing job. For dinner we headed to the famous Mama’s pizza; the place with the giant pizza, where records are made. I ordered a yummy calzone while the others shared the big pizzas. With the group we had, no records fell this year. We had some interesting times while taking pictures, getting free cheesecake, and watching Eleanor chat with some cops. We returned home super full and enjoyed the rest of the evening hanging out by the pool. Actually, Ashlyn went for a night-time swim.  It was the first and only time any of us used the pool, other than stepping into the cold hot tub in while the girls washed off their wounds that one day. We had our computers out there and took pictures and watched videos, had a little “picnic” on the ground and had some good laughs. There was a full moon and surprisingly you can see a lot of stars out there. It was beautiful. We headed in at some point after midnight; none of us were in a rush to get to bed since it was the last day.

The next day, everything went pretty smoothly while leaving the house. We were pretty much packed and ready to go, so we had the van all loaded by the time Gary arrived with the other car. We had some breakfast of whatever food was left in the house, and packed some up as snacks. With a final scan of the house to make sure nothing was left behind, Ashlyn found a stack of towels in our closet that we could have used. Fail. Oh well, we survived in this house for 10 days, and were maybe starting to get used to it. Hopefully we won’t end up with something like that again, but at least we made the best of it. I’m already missing Tucson. Another long travel day of the two hour drive to Phoenix airport, getting everyone checked in, narrowly avoiding tickets, getting the rental cars returned, and getting through the super intense security. At least this time our stop in Vancouver allowed us enough time to collect all our stuff and clear customs and security, as well as grab some food. And Starbucks. Mmm chai lattes are the best. Another long flight and it will be great to finally get home. 

I finish writing this on the plane, somewhere over Alberta. I will post it to the internet later. Thanks again for all the support and encouragement while on this trip. I can’t believe the number of views I’ve had in the last 10 days. I know that has something to do with posting the link on Facebook, but still. You wouldn’t click unless you wanted to. I’ll continue to blog, though not as frequently of course. So keep checking back once and a while if you’re interested. Wow, this was a long post. But I guess a lot of things happened on this trip. That’s all for now.