El Tour de Zona started Thursday, April 9. After work I biked to the Sports Division office to pick up my ride packet. It included a t-shirt and wristband and a matching band for my bike. I also bought a El Tour de Zona bike jersey. From there I biked to Veterans Memorial Park to see if anything was happening. There were a few people around and the Dragoon Brewing beer tent was open. I hung out a little and got a beer and listened to a little music and then biked back.

That evening we went to the Onyx Grounds for open mic night. It was mostly poetry. There was a musician that we had met at the Huachuca Art Association, but he only did one song. We had an appetizer and some drinks as we listened. When they were done, we went next door to Cafe Urbano for some burgers.

– Friday, April 10 –

I listened to the pre- ride announcements and lined up to start the ride.

It was great going out with all the other bikers and it was nice to have the street without traffic. We spread out a bit. After a few miles, I was trying to get into the right gear and my chain came off. I pulled over and got it back on in a minute. In that minute several ride-helpers went by and asked if I needed help. I was ok. The rest of the ride was great. There was a stop at the bottom of Ramsey Canyon. I stopped and filled up my water and had a snack. The rest of the ride up Ramsey Canyon was tough. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

It was nice to get to the top. I found a place to sit and had a snack. I filled up my water and headed back down. It was a little busy when I left so I had wait for some other bikers and cars. I could not coast a full speed but I didn’t have to pedal for at least twenty minutes. I did get going pretty fast. I skipped the rest stop and kept going. It did not take long to get back to the park.

I got a beer and a place to sit at a table. I felt really good and was glad the ride went well. Karla walked to the park and joined me and she got a beer and some food. I got another beer and then an andouille sausage with brisket on top. That was good. I got one more beer and then we headed back to cactus point. We just took it easy the rest of the day.

– Saturday, April 11 –

The second day of El Tour de Zona was the Bisbee loop. I did not participate in that ride. It was over 60 miles and had over 2,000 feet of elevation gain. That’s too much for me.

Because I was not biking, Karla and I joined the Muleteam for a hike. We met them at Hunter Canyon. It was a nice easy hike of 3.99 miles and 653 feet of elevation gain.

After the hike, we went back to our place to relax. Because the ride on Friday went well, I decided I was going to do the Tombstone ride on Sunday. I registered online and biked to the park to confirm my reservation.

That evening, Karla and I went to the Style at Sunset Go Red Gala. It was a fundraiser for the American Heart Association and the Miss Sierra Vista Scholarship Foundation. Our friend Roshella is the director and she was happy to see us there. It was also nice to see her husband Bing. It was a nice evening of presentations, food and a raffle. Karla won the perfume gift basket. After the Gala, we stopped at Tombstone Brewing West End for a beer before heading home.

– Sunday, April 12 –

Sunday morning was similar to Friday morning. I got ready and had a hearty breakfast. I biked to Veterans Park and joined the group for the bike to Tombstone.

The ride started off mostly downhill and the intersections were blocked. It was cool seeing all the bikes ahead of me. I knew the first part would be easy. Mostly downhill to the San Pedro River. There was only one hill that required some serious peddling. I stopped at the rest stop and had a snack and filled up my water. I was worried about the uphill to Tombstone. But it was easier than I thought. There were even some fun downhills. Near the end I biked with a veteran (of the army and the ride) and talked about the route. He said there was one more uphill left and then we were there. I asked about the ride back and he said it was uphill, but all gradual. That made me feel better. It took just over an hour to bike to Tombstone. Just inside of town was Tombstone Brewing. So I stopped. I leaned my bike against a fence and went inside. There were only two other people so it only took a moment to get a beer. I went back outside and had some trail mix and beer. I asked someone to take my picture by the Tombstone sign.

Once I finished my beer I biked through Tombstone. It was the official route and I went to the rest stop. I filled up my water and headed back. It was so much harder. The wind had picked up and it was into the wind the whole way. Because of the wind, I even had to pedal on the downhills. I stopped at the San Pedro rest stop. I used the porta potty, had a snack and took a little extra time to rest. I walked to the river and took a picture.

More biking. About two miles from the end, I stopped and stretched. I was trying to figure out the milage in my head. I thought I had 4 more miles to go. I looked at google maps and it was only 2. That lifted my spirits. I powered through to the end. It took over two hours to bike back to Sierra Vista. I went to the park and found a place to sit. I was really dissapointed that the beer tent was not open. I had a snack and drank some water. I biked back to Cactus Point.

That evening, Karla’s friend from the bookstore, Heidi, came over. Karla prepared an amazing three course meal of bruschetta, then arugula, pear & blue cheese salad, and the main course of delicious ratatoulle. We had a nice evening of talking, eating and finished with a few rounds of dominoes.