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El Tour de Tucson 2015

November 28, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On November 21st Linda and I rode in the El Tour de Tucson 2015 event. There were four event routes of 104, 75, 55, and 40 miles. We had last participated in El Tour de Tucson ten years earlier but this time we were spending the winter in Tucson and wanted to ride the longer 104-mile route. It had been 6.5 years since I last rode 100+ miles in a day, so I expected a challenging day. Of the 5365 riders finishing a route 2431 riders completed the 104-mile route, including Linda and me.

2015 El Tour de Tucson
2015 El Tour de Tucson

The 104-mile ride started at 7:00 am. We had been advised to start lining up by 6:00 am so we got up at 4:00 am, fed the dogs, stopped for coffee and a scone, drove to downtown Tucson, and found parking. We found the “Silver” assembly area for those expecting to finish between 7 and 9 hours and joined the crowd. It was a cool morning so I wore most of my warm bicycling clothes.

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Filed Under: Bicycling Tagged With: Arizona, El Tour de Tucson, Tucson

Tucson Local Peak Hikes, Early 2015

April 3, 2015 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

For the past two winters we have traveled to Arizona to spend a few weeks bicycling and hiking in the sunshine. Early this year we spent about 8 weeks in Tucson, our new winter home. While settling in we bicycled many routes around the Tucson area. I also enjoyed several peak hikes in the surrounding mountain ranges.

Wasson Peak

Wasson Peak from Hugh Norris Trail
Wasson Peak from Hugh Norris Trail

On Thursday, February 19, I hiked Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park West (Tucson Mountain District) via the Hugh Norris Trail. The summit of Wasson Peak is the highest point in the Tucson Mountains with 2117 feet of prominence. It was a warm and sunny day. The hike was a good shakedown after months of relative inactivity.

I enjoyed watching several USAF jets pass over. It reminded me of my early years living on USAF bases and of my deceased father.

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Filed Under: Climbing, Hiking Tagged With: Arizona, Keystone Peak, Mica Mountain, Mount Wrightson, Rincon Peak, Sabino Canyon, Tucson, Wasson Peak

Pima Air and Space Museum

March 6, 2015 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

Linda and I visited the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. It is remarkable how powerful jet engines are to push planes supersonic. Among the very many planes on display were four that my father flew many years ago.

T-33 Shooting Star
T-33 Shooting Star

The T-33 Shooting Star was the first jet my father trained in during the mid 1950s. Coincidentally, he was based in Southern Arizona during that time.

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Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson

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