Heating up.

Tucson is surely testing our capacity to endure summer’s heat and we’ve done a great job continuing practices on mtb, road, and in the shade of a very generous eucalyptus tree for our cross training at the Oury St. park.  Coach Ignacio has created a very effective resistance training circuit that is both challenging and fun.  It’s great to get off the bike and search for better balance, both mind and body.  We will continue these sessions next week.  Remember to try and bring a towel, and a water bottle.  We provide plenty of water, both to drink and to douse hair and clothing to keep us cool.   If you haven’t attended this session yet, I encourage you to come.  It’s tremendously rewarding.

 

We are briefed every few weeks by the NICA organizers and they’re still holding out hope that some kind of season will commence in the fall.   They are exploring ways to create a safe event that falls under state distancing guidelines.  We will certainly keep you apprised if any major announcements occur.

 

Maybe I’ve expressed this before, but I’m continually amazed by the team’s talent, passion and maturity.  I’m surely learning from the team as we navigate these difficult times and awaken to rising social issues.

 

I had many cycling heroes as I found my passion for the sport.  One of the Tour de France greats was Robert Millar.  After making the World Tour peloton, I could finally rub shoulders with riders that were once just images on the pages of magazines or on our old 20” television screen.  I realized that they were human, just like me.   Robert was in my eye a scrappy warrior with rare climbing ability, enough to earn the famed polka dot jersey.   What I learned after Robert’s career ended was even more compelling and inspiring.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2018/04/10/exclusive-philippa-york-interview-life-three-parts-cycling/

 

This coming week’s practice schedule has changed slightly and emulates this past week.  We will continue with cross training on Tuesday and Thursday and both Ignacio and I encourage better attendance here.  Mountain bike ride on Wednesday and road ride on Saturday.  Sign Up Genius as follows;

 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4ea8aa28aaf58-elgrupo1

 

Have a great rest of weekend!

Practice Resumption… with some modifications

I hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend.  We will slowly open up practices again but with even more emphasis on distancing and safety then we’ve previously adhered to.

 

That said, on Tuesday we will restart cross training at Oury St. park, but we will divide the groups into two age groups.  Group 1 at 4pm will be riders of middle school and entering freshman high school years.  Group 2 at 5pm will be sophomore and older.  We will meet directly at the park.  Make sure you bring a towel, sneakers, water bottle, extra gallon of water if possible and those killer attitudes you showed the first session.  Thanks to Ignacio for spearheading these practices both on Tuesday and Thursday.  If one session is easier to attend then the other time slot, just let us know and we can accommodate.

 

Wednesday we’ll meet at the clubhouse and leave at 6am for some shortrack at 36th street trails.  We will limit the indoor time as much as possible so get in, get your bike ready and wait as soon as possible outside for the ride to start.

 

Here are the revised Sign ups for this week; scroll down for July 6-11.

 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4ea8aa28aaf58-elgrupo1

 

Practices cancelled this week.

With statewide Covid-19 cases continuing to climb and coinciding with Governor Ducey’s most recent decisions to roll back closures, team El Grupo has decided to close the clubhouse and postpone practices this week and will assess resuming normal hours and programming on a week to week basis.

 

June-ly

I hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day Weekend.  We held a fun event up Redington Pass.  Along with the Trail’s End TT, we can re-visit this course later in the year in a different phase of fitness/training.  Here are the results;   Oliver 29:35 Sam    30:57 Jeff     30:58 Kaiden 34:20 Thorsten 36:07 Sawyer 37:12… Read more »

Diggin’ the Dirt

June practices are gaining momentum and attendance.  I’ve had a real pleasure learning how to mountain bike again, and with Team El Grupo’s talented riders leading by example, I’ve rediscovered a lost cycling discipline that’s both challenging and rewarding.   We will continue this with Wednesday shortrack day out at 36th street.  Note that we’ve… Read more »

June 1st news

June is here and with it our new cautious push to resume responsible group training.  Sign ups for practices are going well and we’d like for them to continue so we have a preview on how to proceed with smaller groupings.  Here are the overview and sign ups for June;   https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4ea8aa28aaf58-team   Arizona is… Read more »

June Practices and last chance for MayDay TT sign up

May has seemingly flown by despite having the pandemic slowing most daily functions.  Team El Grupo  carefully started programming with multiple interval workouts.  These were designed with limited numbers to adhere to cautious distancing protocols.  I’d like to thank all riders, coaches and volunteers for making the month enjoyable despite the challenges.   We will… Read more »

MayDay TT sign up and practice news

MayDay TT sign up now open!   The coaches and I have really enjoyed the interval practice sessions so far.  Riders are keen to work hard and to see their teammates, even through our masks!  I know the sessions are all booked up online, but there’s always a last second cancellation or two.  If you’re… Read more »

Cycling; Still the Greatest

My one to one rides are coming to a close and I want to wish everyone that signed up a big thank you.  It was a pleasure riding and getting to know each of you better.  We are halfway through May and are getting closer to the MayDay! TT at the end of the month. … Read more »