Friday, March 7, 2008

Vo2Multisport @Camp Training in Tucson AZ - Part 1

During the month of February I had the great pleasure of spending some time down in Tucson. Now, by 'some time' I actually mean two weeks! Before you all get jealous and think all I had to do was swim, ride and run you would be mistaken.

I arrived in Tucson with my wife Cindy on Tuesday February 19th. It always amazes me how in a little over two hours flight time I go from cold and rain in Seattle to beautiful sunshine, clear skies and warm temperatures. Bikes and bags in tow Cindy went to pick up the mini van and I hung tight looking after the luggage. A quick transition (I am a fan of those) and we were on the road. Our task was to get things ready for the campers that were arriving from Seattle on Wednesday, this included stocking the house with food, building bikes (these were shipped ahead of time to our wonderful friends at Trisports.com) and generally checking out the area.

I must give out a big shout to the City of Tucson for being totally awesome in helping Cindy and I plan the trip, there guidance was invaluable. They even helped with our house location. We stayed in Redington Ranch, a gated complex on the far East side of town. The location would prove to be perfect with easy access to quiet roads, a great pool and the oh so beautiful Saguaro East National Park for trail runs. You can find some photos on our team website, they capture the true beauty of the desert and give a flavor of our training rides.

Our house was huge, including a pool, hot tub, and the most tremendous views of the Tucson skyline perhaps anywhere in the area. The sunsets were spectacular and the city scape by night was a sight to behold. The accommodation was of very good quality and all campers were suitably impressed.

After Cindy and I had explored the house and grounds we unpacked the food we had purchased on route from the airport and headed off to Trisports to pick up bikes and some long ride essentials (co2's, spare tubes, and some treats for ourselves). The journey from our house was straightforward and as always we were looked after by experienced and friendly staff. In this case my good friend Billy Brenden (a senior buyer) from Trisports escorted us around the store and pointed us in the right direction for everything we needed. Cindy even managed to pick up a pair of skins recovery tights, ever since I had purchased a pair on a trip to Salt Lake City she had become rather envious of my bedtime habit of pulling on some tights before bed ;o)

Bikes built and everything in hand we headed to bed for an early night. The athletes arrived at noon the next day and Cindy and I wanted to check out the pool we would be using for all our swim workouts. The closest pool was Udall, about a 1o mile trip from the house but all down one road (Tanque Verde) which made things simple. It has ten ('ish) lanes and was generally not crowded, perfect! We had a quick swim and then Cindy trucked off to pick up the athletes, I headed to the house to tweak the bikes and ensure lunch was on the table.

Stay tuned for more coming soon........

2 comments:

Ben G said...

Very jealous, its super windy here in the UK and seems to have been for weeks now, no sign of spring yet. Nice photos, some great looking training roads and trails, I will try very hard to join you next year. Good to see you are looking after your calves Mr Bigglestone!!!!

Kev Gadd said...

Hiya Ben,
Just found your website...Awesome! Hope you're well buddy.
I've decided to take the plunge and I'm even racing a few tris this year.
Have fond memories of the Triangle days.
Chat soon
Kev