Tucson has a wonderful sense of community. Since moving here now some decades ago, I’m always reminded of what a special place this is. It also has a very strong cycling community and that was certainly evident at Sunday’s Mt Graham Hill Climb. The event surely pushed everyone’s comfort level and I want to congratulate the riders for their efforts and thanks to Ignacio for his amazing coaching, guidance and experience. “We as coaches totally understand that many of you could not come or did not want to and we absolutely agree with your decisions and really want to honor all of you for making the decisions that were best for you. They were the right ones if they were the ones that were best for you.” notes Coach Ignacio.
Team El Grupo also thanks Nippy Feldhake and his organization team for pulling off a great event despite the difficult circumstances. “Last year there were 67 racers. I hoped to get 30 this year to make it work and we had 125 sign up.” said Nippy. “The event has been continuous for 41 years so that keeps me enthusiastic about making sure it is held every year.”
We are thrilled to add Coach Allison Arensman to our staff. Allison will bring years of racing experience but also a strong coaching and organizational background to El Grupo. I’m sure the Tucson cycling community will be greatly enhanced by Allison’s relocation here. You can read a little more about her here;
https://www.cxmagazine.com/interview-allison-arensman-ja-king-cyclocross-comeback-2019
Afternoon practices now are running out of daylight hours, so it’s imperative that everyone has lights attached to their bikes going forward. We have distributed numerous sets so if you still have yours from last year please use them. If you’ve returned them we will get them back to you. If you are newer to the team and need a set please let us know.
Besides our beloved State Hill climb championships at Mount Graham yesterday, the road cycling world was focused on the World Championships in Imola, Italy. Some incredible racing and deserved winners of cycling’s famous rainbow jersey.
Women’s race highlights; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCBwCaskWOk
Men’s race highlights; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvLi9EDSSoA
Lastly, here are the next few weeks for practices for both team and volunteer sign ups. Tuesdays continue to be mountain bike endurance rides with routes determined by each group’s interest. Road on Wednesday likewise with a variety of options to be discussed before the ride starts. Himmel cross Thursdays and Shoutout route and Coach Cara ride for Saturdays. Also note that we would love Team El Grupo members to staff our Fall Bike Camp Oct 12-15. We will prepare the clubhouse on the 9th and walk through our the camp plans with this orientation.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4ea8aa28aaf58-elgrupo4
