January Events:	Casa Grande CenturyPicacho Century
February Events:	Tour de Palm SpringsLaveen Country Challenge
March Event:	Organ Pipe Bike Tour
April Events:	El Tour de PhoenixTour of the Tucson MountainsThe Answer to the Challenge
May Event:	Santa Fe Century
June Event:	Firecracker 100
July Events:	White Mountain TourBicycle Tour of Colorado

Chandler � Sunday January 7th was another big day for Team Sloth. Hot on the heels of Glenn, Miguel, and Deanna�s assault on El Tour, the team took to the roads once again, this time attacking the 81 mile round trip route from Chandler to Casa Grande. The ride organized and supported by the Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club. Miguel was on the seven day disabled list due to a cold, but John stepped in having completed his one-year family sabbatical.

The trio headed south by south east toward Coolidge, picking up various riders along the way. Deanna discovered at the first SAG stop that the plan was to ride the 81 mile route and not the metric century. After a brief glare, Deanna overcame the urge to gut Glenn and John, and hung in there in true sloth fashion.

The group grabbed on to a Saturday Cycling group that pushed the pace to 24 mph for a brief period of time. As the road began to slant uphill, however, the group broke apart leaving three riders in a breakaway from the pack, Glenn, John, and one Saturday Cycling member. Knowing that Team Sloth never lets others fall too far from the tree, John and Glenn held up and awaited Deanna who had the good sense not to burn out while the males exercised their testosterone.

The polkadot jersey was split between Glenn and John. Glenn won the first freeway overpass hill climb uncontested, but reported the obvious after his sprint, �That was really stupid.� Too thick to understand the wisdom of these words, John started a second sprint over the next freeway overpass. John took a brief lead but Glenn quickly pulled even. The two plunged into the world of anaerobia but, remarkably, neither rider burned out during the sprint. John ruled himself the victor, but, the truth be known, it looked more like a dead heat. Glenn, of course, did not contest John�s ruling since Glenn doesn�t contest anything; it�s just not his way.

Deanna caught the two on the backside of the overpass. She, of course, was feeling good while the two idiots were in deep oxygen debt and panting like dogs in heat.

Other than Glenn�s clothes dropping off his rack on a nice downhill glide (yes, he did turn around and climb back up to get his arm-warmers), the remainder of the ride was a successful spin back to Chandler. Deanna was feeling good about her ability to do the distance without frothing at the mouth. John was happy with his first distance performance in over a year. Glenn was just happy to get off the saddle due to a rather rough road and an extreme case of burger butt.

The next event on the schedule is the Picacho Peak Century. It is organized by the Tucson GABA chapter. John is the only confirmed sloth member hanging with this one, but others are encouraged to join � please!!!

Team Sloth took to roads, once again, this past weekend. John and Glenn were only team members available for the Picacho Peak Century, but they teamed up with Vicki, Jan, and Bob from the Pinnacle Peak Peddlers. The ride was sponsored by the Tucson chapter of GABA.

The ride began on the chilly side at around 36 degrees. Having given their equipment an immense amount of consideration, the dynamic duo remained in adequate shape as they cut through the nippy morning air. Despite Glenn�s physical and mental biorhythms, both at low ebb, he maintained constant flow of �happy talk� due to his emotional biorhythm at a high. Being the scientist that he is, John didn�t want to listen to any of that mess and noted that he had lost feeling in his fingers and wondered if frostbite is possible at temperatures slightly above freezing.

Undaunted, they pressed through to the first SAG stop in the Avra Valley. With the downgrade and a gentle tail wind, they had an average, to that point, of over 18 mph despite the cool temperatures. By then, circulation had resumed in John�s fingers and spirits were markedly improved.

With the exception of a short 5 mile push against a gentle breeze, the fifty miles to the Picacho Peak lunch stop was VERY enjoyable and maintained the 18+ mph average. The Sloth boys and PPP trio merged at the second SAG and pedaled on to the luncheon prepared by Tucson GABA. With everyone perched on a downed palo verde, lunch was consumed and the plusses and minuses of Oreos were discussed.

With the breeze shifting a bit after lunch, John and Glenn charged away on their return journey. They caught and passed several groups searching for a paceline to �suck� after. Unfortunately, none was forthcoming, resulting in Glenn (Obiwan Sloth) leading most of the time. Being the trouper he is, he didn�t complain and John was more than satisfied with his niche of �rear wheel sucker�. John did take a few brief turns on the pull so his meal ticket didn�t burn out completely which would have stranded them out in the Lower Sonoran Desert.

The wind and gentle climb REALLY took its toll in the final twenty miles. It was at this time that the boys realized that they probably shouldn�t have commented earlier on how the terrain and wind had been so generous thus far on the tour. Mouthing off like that just begs for pay back, and that�s exactly what they got. Riding uphill and with a rather stiff breeze in their (Glenn�s) chest, the finish of the ride provided the workout a century ride should supply; particularly in miles 80-100.

Once it was over, however, both agreed it was a good ride for the first full century of the new year. With the annual goal of 2001 event miles, a current total of 195 �ain�t bad� considering its only the third week in January.

Next up, Tour de Palm Springs. This century ride is February 3rd. Team Sloth will be crossing the border on Friday the 2nd. Email Glenn, our webmaster, if you are interested in joining us.

The Sloth Attacks California
By

Palm Springs, CA � Saturday, February 3, was a historic day in Team Sloth history. This day marked the first interstate ride for Team Sloth. The effect on the 3000 person field was notable, as talk spread from SAG to SAG, that the Sloth was in their midst. Glenn and John were, indeed, in the house.

History never comes easy, however. The Slothmobile started the trek to the California desert by picking up a nail and flatting 2 miles from John�s limb (home). Undeterred, the tire was temporarily aired and a beeline was made to the nearest Discount Tire store where patchwork was completed in less than 30 minutes. For this, Mike, at Discount Tire, was made an honorary sloth and shown the secret hand sign.

We'll leave the light on? SURE!!

FINALLY, event day; the morning started out a brisk 41 degrees but warmed very quickly and ultimately became a perfect 78 degree afternoon. The ride started with a leisurely spin through downtown Palm Springs. The route wound its way out of town and toward the power generating wind mills to the northwest. Fortune finally smiled as the windmills were motionless and wind was never an issue. The upgrade, however, was an issue and Glenn, once again, demonstrated how being twenty pounds lighter than John on an uphill climb is a very simple physics problem resulting in John dropping off the paceline and looking like he has a case of hoof-in-mouth disease.

paceline at TdPS.

John on his Cannondale 3 speed.

Ooh!

PS, done!

Bottom line on this event, OUTSTANDING. The ride coordinators did a fantastic job with the logistics and the SAGS. Put this one on the calendar for next year. It�s a keeper!

Photos courtesy of PhotoCrazy.Com

Laveen, AZ - The sloth pack ran huge at this year�s Laveen Country event. Five team members showed with three incredibly macho guys hammering their way through the metric century at a 19.2 mph pace. This isn�t bad considering John continued his water bottle misadventures by dropping it and having it run over at mile four. This made for an exciting first 15 miles without water and the boys kicking the pace around 20 mph. Miguel was fresh off of a mountain bike race the day before and was feeling some twinges of pain himself. After 55 miles of manic-depressive behavior, �I�m feeling really good� � �Are we going to slow down and catch another paceline?� � �I pretty proud of how I�m doing� � �I can�t wait to get my butt off this saddle!� Leave it to Glenn to provide Miguel with sound and sage advice, �just shut-up and ride!� How supportive.

All three boys did an outstanding job keeping up with some pounding pacelines along the relatively flat 62.5 mile course. And we absolutely agree with the girl�s assessment of the chow at the end of the line. What a great spread.

Representing the females of Team Sloth, Margaret and Deanna decided against hanging with (and subsequently being dropped by) the Testosterone powered Sloths to ride the 35 mile loop of the Laveen Country Challenge. Our average speed through the dairy farms of the southwest valley was a relaxing 15 mph. This leisurely pace allowed us to get caught up on all of the happenings in our respective sloth trees. We stopped at the half-way point rest stop and gently nibbled the favorite food of the cycling sloth -- cookies and brownies. With a new-found enthusiasm, or maybe it was the fact that an awesome BBQ was waiting for us at the finish line, we got back on our bicycles and picked up the pace (17 mph) to finish the ride in 2 hours 26 minutes. Now, THAT'S the true sloth way!!

It was a great day and a great event. The Laveen Lions Club should be commended for putting on a great cycling event along with arts and crafts, barbeque, and live entertainment. What a great time.

The TeamSloth calendar is full in the coming weeks. If you haven�t hung with the Sloth, well you just haven't hung. Contact one of the group and join us at one of the up coming rides. We�re riding Tucson to Coolidge, Le Grande Tour, and Organ Pipe National Monument. All of these are in the next month and all are dirt cheap. Hey, you get your name on the Internet to boot!

Wildflower seed on the sand and stone may the four winds blow you safely home from Franklin Towers (Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia)

March Winds & Desert Wildflowers
By Glenn Trotter (Grandpa Sloth)

Sells, AZ - GrandPa Sloth was the only Team Sloth member to join GABA Tucson for the Organ Pipe Bike Tour. It was evident from the moment Glenn removed his bike from the rack in the early morning of March 10, 2001 that the theme of the weekend tour would be WIND and WILDFLOWERS.

The tour had 4 starting points allowing the rider to test his/her challenge coefficient. G-Pa chose the 85 mile ride, which started in Sells, AZ. The ride ran trough the Tohona O'Odham Indian Reservation with long gentle descents into and long gentle climbs out of Sonoran Desert valleys. The first leg of the 85 mile challenge to Quijotoa was mostly downhill with a strong cross wind. Despite the wind the ride was enjoyable with all the scenic Sonoran with its' breath-taking mountain vistas, majestic Saguaro Cacti, and colorful wildflowers.

After a quick break at the first S.A.G. the road turned into the wind negating the thrill of the descent and increasing the challenge of the long steady climb. Each S.A.G. was a welcome sight not only to refuel but also to rest the weary muscles that had been fighting the headwind. Upon arriving at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument campground it started to sprinkle. Glenn quickly got his tent up and gear inside. This was a diversion from the plan. The plan was to ride the 21 mile scenic loop in order to get in a century ride in for the day. The next thing he knew he was wiping sleep from his eyes as the noise of riders gathering around for dinner woke him from a two hour nap. There will be no century today! The evening meal of beef stew and pineapple was good tasting and good fuel for the tank. The lighthearted banter at the table was fun as new friends were made and reminiscences of previous tours were shared.

As the sun fell behind the horizon there came a chill to the air and we all knew we would be in for a cold morning ride. Little did we know that we would wake up to frost on the tents. The hot oatmeal and egg and sausage burritos gave us some comfort and fortified us against the cold air. One nice thing became evident, the wind was calm. Wait! The wind, if blowing in the same direction as yesterday, would be a tailwind. The advantage of today's ride is that all started at the same location and a fast paceline formed and the return trip to Quijotoa went quick. The disadvantage is that everyone in my paceline was finished (65 mile riders) and the final 20 miles was a solo effort. The solo effort was rewarded with a little Ben and Jerry's and Dr Pepper upon ride completion.

For all the wind and thread of rain, the Organ Pipe Bike Tour was very enjoyable spin through a very scenic part of Arizona. This ride will go on next years Team Sloth Events list.

El Tour De Phoenix 2001

1. Starting date/time: April 7, 2001, 7:00 a.m.
2. Starting weather 62^o F, mostly clear, slightly breezy
3. Start/Finish Location: Finch Park in Mesa, AZ (See Route Map)
4. Total climb: El Tour Official Statement �1790 ft (excluding hills less than 30ft)�
   Unofficial Sloth Statement, �Shea Blvd, Beeline Hwy, King Kong� (See Route Profile)
5. 463 Riders (See Results)

John's Thoughts

1. I beat Ross by about 9 minutes.
2. I finished in the top half (barely) 225/462.
3. I was beaten by 47 riders that are older than me.
4. I was beaten by 6 riders my same age, but I beat 9 others.
5. For a cookie run not a bad ride.

Glenn's Thoughts

1. I was beaten by 13 women and children.
2. Per beat me by 11 minutes.
3. I was beaten by 15 "senior riders."
4. I was beaten by 9 riders older than me. ( one was 62)
5. I was in the top 26.56587%.

Deanna's Thoughts

1. I finished 256 out of 463 (3:40:49, 19 mph), 20 minutes slower than my 2000 ride results
2. The weather couldn't have been any better!
3. Rode part of the race with a semi-flat rear tire (The next day, before my "lactic acid release" ride, I found a small wire sticking through the tire and tube which would leak air every time I touched it. There was about 95 psi in the tire --- grrrr)
4. 25 females finished before me; 12 were older than me, 13 younger or same age.
5. NEXT YEAR IS GOING TO BE BETTER!!

Miguel's Thoughts

1. I beat Ross by 28 minutes 2 seconds.
2. Only 2 mtn bikes finished in front of me, this time.
3. I finished 133 out of 463 which is better than 180/373 from last year.
4. I beat last years time by 22:00 minutes.
5. I was beaten by 71 riders that are older than me. I'm Just a kid.

Sloth Breaks Speed Record
by

(Tucson, AZ) The speed sloth hung from the Tucson Mountains this past weekend. Led by the Miguel, the youngster, scoring an incredible 2:21:15 and bringing home the coveted platinum. What a ride! Quite the change from the eye rolling bonk he took in El Tour 99. He's come a long way baby!

The rest of the sloths rode quite respectably, as well. Deanna, Glenn, and John all finished in the gold and, surprisingly, in the same finishing peloton. Naturally, John had drifted to the back of the pack so he could ride in the pedaling optional section. Glenn was "playing hurt" developing some tendonitis in his glove arm. It must have been all that goalie practice as he's been preparing for the up coming Stanley Cup finals. Having hair, he fought through the pain and met his goals; earn gold, and finish in front of John. (I sensed his weakness and decided I didn't want to beat an old hurt guy. I want to take him down at his best!) John took out strong with a good paceline but got shattered by a 35 mph tandem he tried to hang with. Dying ugly, he dropped off and was overtaken by Glenn and Deanna in a nice peloton. Having some mechanical difficulties, John had to stop for some quick repairs and then quickly picked up another group. With only 10 miles to go, this second group merged with Glenn and Deanna's group Glenn came in at 2:37:59, closely followed by Deanna's 2:38:08, John's 2:38:45 and finally Margaret at 3:17:40. That means we all averaged better than 17.6 mph. That ain't bad folks.

It was a great day. Glenn and John capped it off with a Chuy's burrito and some Ben and Jerry's Nutty Waffle Cone ice cream. You just can't beat a day like this.

Next up, the 325 mile "Answer the Challenge." No weak sloths hanging on that one!

Report will be posted soon. While you wait for the report from John read a review of the ride from Don Youngdahl from the 1999 ride. Click Here

The black-throated wind, whispering sin
And speaking of life that passes like dew
It's led me to see if you want to be free
Have your way with each day as its granted to you

from Black-Throated Wind (Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia)

Strong Winds at Santa Fe Century 2001
By Glenn Trotter (Grandpa Sloth)

The Santa Fe Century could be one of the best centuries in the West if it weren't for the gale force winds in the Santa Fe area during the spring. New Mexican cuisine and hospitality makes the Santa Fe area ideal for a great cycling event.

John and Glenn were on a mission during this event to shake a couple of skeletons left in the closet from Santa Fe Century 1998. That year both were forced to walk their bikes over Heartbreak Hill and John finished the ride on a Bonk. I am happy to report that the closet is clean. Both road Heartbreak Hill, John taking the Polka Dot Jersey, and John finish the ride minus the ring of foam around his mouth.

This report will not go into the ride details as previous ride reports. Let's just say the closet is clean and there are other century rides in the month of May.

Stephenville, TX - The Firecracker 100 is not listed in the Sloth Events as I leaned of the event, by my cousin who lives in Stephenville, only a couple weeks before the event date. If you have been paying attention to the Sloth Events Page, the June Sloth Event was canceled by the Cochineno GABA Chapter. This left Team Sloth "eventless" for the month of June. Being "eventless" for June plus the fact that I had not seen my cousin and his wife in ages were two factors to cause me to make the 19 hour drive from Phoenix to Stephenville to participate in the Firecracker 100 for 2001.

My plans were to split the drive up and arrive a couple days before the ride to acclimate to heat and humidity. I got a late start on the first day of driving and the drive was split 5-hours/14 hours, not very smart I might add. I drove the route on Friday and decided the 700x23c Vredestein Fortezza were the wrong tires for the rough Farm to Market roads in the Stephenville area. In fact my LeMond Zurich was probably the wrong bike, my cyclocross bike, with 700x30c tires, would have been a better choice. The "BogMister" was not an option as I did not bring it to Texas with me. What did my coach Barney King say about being prepared for a Cycling Event? Oh, yeah "all the gear in the world won't do any good if you leave it back at the house." I changed my tires and went for a quick spin around the area. The heat and humidity and rough roads were going to play a factor in the ride time. I adjusted my expected finishing time from 3 hours to maybe 4 hours.

The morning of the event I got up early enough to get in a pancake breakfast and a 10-mile warm-up before the event. There had been just enough rain in the predawn hours in the Stephenville area to get the street a little damp. However, by ride time a steady rain began to fall. The Announcer at the Starting Line said that the rain would keep both the heat and the wind down. A good trade I would say. I had ridden Tour de Farm in a steady rain and did just fine I was anticipating no problems from this rain.

As the Peloton headed out of town I spotted a guy that was making good progress through the field so I got on his wheel for a free ride. As we left town we came up on a tandem with a pretty strong looking crew. I hoped on their wheel. The Firecracker 100 is made for a tandem rolling hills and lots of flat prairie. I overestimated the strength of the tandem crew, however, and was forced to bridge to a paceline of singles that had passed us on a long hill. I made the bridge and noticed that the guy leading the paceline was the same guy I followed out of town. After several more rollers we had dropped every rider in the group. We were riding about 23 MPH and I was taking full advantage of the draft even though I was riding in the leader's rooster tail. My eyes began to burn after about 20 minutes, I thought it was the sunscreen washing into my eyes. I pushed my helmet back and wiped my forehead with the terry cloth back of my riding gloves. It didn't seem to help. My riding partner was having the same problem with his eyes even though he wasn't wearing screen. We finally realized that our eyes were reacting to the shmuts on the Farm to Market roads in the area. Must have been a bunch of farm stuff on the road. The rain finally let up about mile 45 and the ride into the finish was a pleasant one. Oh, by the way, remember my expectation of 4 hours? Not for me, the guy I picked to ride behind set a blistering pace and we finished in 3:11. Can I pick someone to draft behind or what?

Friday, 11am, trying to get in touch with John Arle, don't have his phone number. My right rear tire is flat, and I'm gonna be late... I check my voice mail at work, and he has left me a message to call him WITH A PHONE NUMBER. Ahh, the connection is made, and we will have to leave a little later. John is visibly worried that he will not be able to make the trip because of personal matters. But, the dark skies lift and we are on our way.

Upon driving into Pinetop, we discover the beautiful high rise that we are staying in for the night and wonder about our safety. Actually, it was just I. John wasn't worried as he has stayed in plenty worse on these quests we call a "fun ride". After all, the last hotel manager in a hotel that he stayed in for a ride in Seattle wanted to know how many hours he would need the room for. We won't go into that.

On the way to dinner, I look in the mirror, and notice someone waiving at me as we're looking for a pasta shop. It was Deanna. What are the odds of bumping into each other in a different city on the road? We pull over, talk about the ride, and then we go look for pasta, as Deanna makes her way towards Margaret's cabin.

After a surprising good nights sleep, we were ready for a big breakfast at the Pinetop Café. Not. They were closed. We don't know why; but as luck would have it, there was a place across the street serving breakfast. There were learned ALL ABOUT THE RAGBRAI ride somewhere east of here. See John for more detail. We were on the road early, eagerly awaiting Eager, err, yeah. The weather could not have been better. Overcast skies, not really any breeze to speak of, and everyone was very friendly. The rest stops were loaded with food, and we took full advantage of the goodies. I felt really bad for this one girl because around mile 30, she broke her derailleur cable, and couldn't switch gears out of her 11-tooth cog. Yeah, until John and I watched her climb the upcoming hills in that gear. Then, I really didn't care for her too much. We thought she needed to slow down just a little, so I grabbed her jersey. Well, I tried,I couldn't keep up with her :-) Seriously, she was a REALLY strong rider. The rolling hills were great. What a great time to ride with the breeze against your chest and thinking about the Tour. Finally pulling in to Eager, John informs me that, "Oh yeah, there is some kinda party here tonight with a band and all. Shouldn't be any big deal. We'll go check it out"... Remember "The Good Ole Boys" from The Blues Brother's, well, that's what we had to endure that night, because they were set up in the MIDDLE of the parking lot. We weren't really happy. John decided to tell the manager to have them shut down the concerto or else. So, moments later, John comes in the room and tells me that its taken care of. All of a sudden, no more fiddles. The music stops. The Good Ole Boy's have left the stage and are carting the trailer bed (makeshift stage), over to the bar where they can cart their instruments in and set up there. Ahh, finally there was peace and quiet in Eager.

Sunday morning was so very nice. Not too cold, but unfortunately, there is a little breeze in the face. No problem, we'll just hit a moderate pace. We almost learned all about the RAGBRAI ride again, while we were riding, but unfortunately, we attacked and, didn't get to hear about it. Again, ask John for details. Ahh we love the hills. It's those defining moments that we love. I figure out real quick that I didn't eat enough breakfast. As my plan of attacking the hills, worked for maybe two and that's it. John's steady cadence of 90-95rpm and higher proved to be the prescription for the day. Coming off of his 1220-mile month, this was no problem. FINALLY, we are to the top of the mountain, and I just can't wait to get started on that downhill. Everything was moving along great at about 38mph. John was spun out of his gears (later he tells me that he's going to an 11-23), and slides to the next group back. My group was really moving. All of a sudden...clack, clack, clack, crash. Two riders behind me ran into each other and piled up in the road on the way down. We stopped and helped them up, and aside from deep bruising, they were ok, although one had to take a sag in. We helped her into the truck, she seemed to be shaken, but not stirred. So, John sees everyone on the side, and says, "hmm, I wonder what they're doing", and keeps going. I didn't see him, so I wait a while, thinking that after about 10 minutes he had to of gone by when I wasn't looking. So I rode in with another guy and managed to keep a good pace going until we passed the casino. I started wondering, "I wonder if the road to Margaret's cabin is torn up (there was a ton of construction in that area)". No sooner did I think that, I see a figure up ahead. Could it be?? No! Yes! Margaret was waiting on the side of the ride, in her lawn chair reading the paper, waiting for us to come by. Who else is there? John. What a surprise I thought, to see Margaret cheering us on. I was inspired.

Soon, we were moving again, with about maybe 8 miles left. Well, a group of riders (youngsters�qualifying as younger than me...they turned about to be 18-20 year olds), passed us, so we decided to latch on to their pace line. What I didn't see was the guy behind me that quickly passed John and I to take the lead. I don't know what hit me at that instant to say, "I don't think so", but John quickly pulled out the line and as he put it, "started to lead me out". I'm stupid though. I didn't see what John was doing and sprinted right passed him and everyone in the line to take the lead by a nice margin when I sat back and looked over... here come the "kids" sprinting past me. Well, right as they passed me, we realized that the parking lot was coming up in about 50 yards. So, one of them almost wrecks, while the rest of us pull in safe and sound, just in time to watch the sun come out, and get really hot. What we later found out was that those "kids" did the whole ride from Eager back to Pinetop in 2:30. Showoffs.

Anyway, another great White Mountain Tour in memory. Again, ask John for the details on the RagBrai. He's really would like to tell someone about it.

TOP

Tandem and One Conquers the Hills of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado - 2001
By Glenn Trotter (Grandpa Sloth)

Owen and Peggy (SlothName: Tandem Sloth), from the GABA Saturday Cycling Gang, joined G-Pa Sloth to brave the peaks, passes and thin air of the Rocky Mountains on their quest to complete the 7^thedition of the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. Salida, CO was the host town for the start and finish of this years tour. The town featured a great old historical downtown area that gave Tandem Sloth (anthropologists by profession) much to see and ponder. I on the other hand took my bike to one of the tour mechanics to see if he could get rid of a pesky creaking sound in my bike. The mechanic over hauled the bottom bracket and tightened the spider lock nut on my XTR crank set to no avail. The creaking sound was still there. I guess I'll just live with it. We all finished or evening activities early and turned in anticipation of the first days ride.

Before beginning the day by day description of the ride I should tell you about a special rider and his bike. A young 20 something rode the entire tour (every hill) in baggy shorts, cotton t-shirt and tennis shoes on a stock Schwinn 20 inch, 5 speed Sting-Ray Fast Back. He is here by granted Honorary Team Sloth Status, SlothName: Sting-Ray Sloth, with all the rights and privilages given to all Team Sloth members.

Day One - Salida to Gunnison: 66 miles
As you can see by the tour profile above, we started out with a hill. Just set the bike at 6% and start climbing. No warm-up. Just climb for 23 miles to Monarch Pass (11,318 ft), the highest point on the ride. What is there to be said about climbing other than put it in a low gear and keep turning the cranks. Oh, yeah, and look up once in a while. Why is it the up hill terrain is the most spectacular to look at?

Road to Monarch Pass

Tent City in Gunnison

Day Two - Gunnison to Delta: 102 miles

What is it about this years tour. We climbed to the highest point on day one. Now today we will ride the longest stage of the tour. I took a look at the profile during a great breakfast and it showed some rollers followed by a climb then a long downhill off Blue Mesa then finish with some flats into Delta. Piece of cake, we'll see.

The rollers took us along the shores of Blue Mesa Reservoir. This was perfect tandem country and Owen and Peggy shined gathering a substantial following. Our train gathered steam all the way to Aid Station One.

Owen and Peggy

When we got to Delta Middle School, the evenings campsite, it looked like everyone else was there and that there was no more space for us. Not true there was plenty of space, about 1�4 mile from our bags. I was beginning to regret taking my big heavy family sized tent instead of my ultra light backpacking tent. The dinner meal was barbeque and corn in mass quantities. Tanks were empty after stage 2's 102 miles and the hearty meal was welcome. After dinner Owen and I walked the entire length of downtown in search of a paper with a good sports section to give us some news of the Diamondbacks and the Tour De France. The search was denied but the walk was good to walk out some of the acid built up in the legs.

Day Three - Delta to Paradise: 76 miles

The breakfast line was extremely long for the beginning of stage 3. Everyone had done their homework, looked at the profile and knew this would be a very long day. (75 miles, 7,659 ft of climbing) In addition the news of thunderstorms and rain on Grand Mesa meant that we would all be packing our rain suits increasing the load we would haul up the mountain. The climb began about 4 miles out of Delta and almost immediately riders began loading their bikes onto the SAG Wagon getting a free ride up the hill, the 31 mile hill. There was one lady that I met at the Aid Station near the top of Grand Mesa that wanted to ride to the top and SAG down. She had experienced difficulty on the previous descents and didn't want to risk falling on a rain slick descent. I didn't experience any rain until the top of Grand Mesa where I was greeted with lightning and heavy rain. I got into my rain suit quickly and began my descent trying not to touch the breaks in an effort to outrun the rain. I was out of the rain within a mile or two screaming down the North side of Grand Mesa. At the bottom of the descent I shed my rain gear and caught a fast paceline into the town of Paradise just in time to catch the tail end of lunch. I had a hotel reserved in Grand Junction 11 miles away so I grabbed my messenger bag that I had packed with my dirty clothes and shaving kit and headed for my hotel room for a well deserved shower and good nights sleep.

Day Four - Day Off

My day off began with an 11 mile ride back to Paradise High School, the sight of the breakfast that I thought I had prepaid for. As it turned out there was an extra charge for the Day Off Breakfast. Oh, well I needed to do a few miles on the day off to keep pace with my annual mileage goal of 12001 miles (see Sloth Challenge 2001 on the Team Sloth Homepage).

Day Five - Paradise to Glenwood Springs: 80 miles

My day began with an early wakeup call and the 11 mile ride back to Paradise High School for breakfast and to meet up with Owen and Peggy. I was looking forward to this day. The first day on the tour without severer climbing. It was a beautiful flat ride along the Colorado River until Tandem Sloth decided to push the pace on a downhill and continued to push the pace for the next 15 miles to Aid Station One. We were separated as I got caught in the back of a paceline that did not catch their draft as they roared by. This was a great day to sight see from the saddle without the henderence of sweat in the eyes. Being a fisherman I was continually searching the river for rising trout or signs of good holding water. There were several drift boats working the banks of the river an even a few wading fishermen working the riffles. When we arrived in Glenwood Springs it was threatening rain so we quickly pitched the tents and Owen erected an awning that we sat under and enjoyed some beer that Owen had picked up at a near by liquor store. My riding was not done for the day with the 11 miles before the start of stage 5 I had 91 miles in the saddle. That is too close to a century. Therefore, I sought a restaurant 4.5 miles away to ride out and back to in order to complete the 100 miles on the day.

Day Six - Glenwood Springs to Leadville: 92 miles

The dreaded stage 6 had been a quiet topic of discussion for several days, and now it is upon us. (92 miles, 11,875 ft of climbing) The ride began on a bike/hike path that paralleled I-70 for about 18 miles. There were several narrow tunnels and sharp turns to negotiate and the word at Aid Station One is that there was a bad accident in one of the tunnels. As it turned out it was another Arizona rider from the Granada Chapter of ABC that was involved. He got stitched up by the EMT's and finished the ride. After Aid Station One the road turned upward through some great country along the Eagle River. We rode in the shadow of Mt. Holy Cross, a 14^er, to an Aid Station on Battle Mountain. From the aid station we looked across a canyon to what appeared to be a working mine with huge tailings and a station wagon perched on the edge of one of the tailing piles. A three mile downhill brought us to the base of another short but steep climb to Pando Valley the original site of Camp Hale home to the 10th Mountain Division from the WWII era. There was a pullout with benches and historical markers so I quickly pulled in took out my camera and pretended to take pictures as I sought the comfort of the bench. Owen and Peggy arrived too soon and we were soon on our final climb of the day to Tennessee Pass on the Continental Divide. On the descent from Tennessee Pass a bug made it past my glasses into my eye and I was forced to stop and rinse my eye with water. I had lost the draft of Tandem Sloth and fell behind I soon caught them on a hill leading into Leadville and we arrived at the campsite to find it near capacity again. All the free riders get the best campsites. Is that fair? I think not. We lugged our bags to a flat piece of hard ground and set up our tents. It was about time for dinner to be served so we went over in our salt crusted cycling clothes.

Day Seven - Leadville to Salida: 60 miles

Just one thing to say about the last day. Don't get in the way of Owen and Peggy. Finally the day they were looking forward to, ALL DOWN HILL. They gathered quit a following and as we approached Salida they pushed the speed 27 -> 28 -> 29 -> 30 MPH. When we got into town and I finally regained my breath I asked Owen what he was doing. He said, "I just wanted to see who was really serious."