El Tour de Tucson

 

What a joy it was to be back in Arizona, again.  I use to drive bus out of Phoenix for about 12 years.  I moved there because I had asthma.  When I first moved there in 1968, I stood almost 6’5”, & weighed only 145 lbs.  My doctor had given me a warning about where I might be if I didn’t get out of San Diego, & into a dryer climate.  It took me less than a  month.  I think this is one, of a few reasons why I decided to do this ride.  I may go back, but not to Phoenix..  Too many unpleasant memories.  If I go to Arizona, it will likely be to Tucson.

My guardian angel was with me on this trip.  Three days before I was due too leave my good friend, & fellow parky, Manny< decided to go with me.  He said that he would share the driving, as well as the expenses.  Friends like Manny are few.  He picked me up at 4:30 PM to go pick up the rental car (mini-van).  It was one that the rear seats fold into the floor, leaving lots of room for the trike.  We loaded up, & had dinner & headed for Arizona.  We arrived at our Tucson motel around 4:30AM.  Time enough to get some sleep.  I thought they would charge us for a 3rd night, but at that point, we didn’t care.  I was surprised when they gave us our room with an early check in, with no extra charges.  Manny & I arrived at the Expo around 10:00AM, & met with members of our group right away.  They had already picked up my ride packet, so I had nothing that I had to do.  So I stayed in the booth for a while, & then decided to look around.  There were more than 100 booths.  Anything from rider apparel, to energy bars, to tandem bikes.  Lots goodies to see.  By 4:PM we were worn out, & as I had to ride the next day, we decided to call it a day.  Later, Linda & Bob called to confirm our plans for dinner.  They came to our motel, & took us to dinner at a cafeteria style, mid-eastern restraunt.  The food was good, & not as radical as I thought it would be.  After we ate, we chose to check out a nearby, 24hr bike shop.  It was, without a doubt, a “candy store” for cyclists, & there were lots of folks buying candy.  From there, we went back to our motel to try to catch some, much needed zz’s.  We were lucky that my ride didn’t start until 12:30PM, the next day.  So we got to sleep in.  We didn’t, but we could have.  It was good that we didn’t, because where I thought the ride started, was actually, the finish line.  We were at Granada & Broadway in Tucson, when we needed to be at Granada & Broadway in Oro Valley, 25 miles north.  It was good that we got there early to look around, because it gave me enough time to correct my mistake.  We drove to Oro Valley, & found the “Power Over Parkinson’s” group, & unloaded the Catrike.  While setting up I was introduced to Mark Swain, a reporter from KOLD-TV.  We were all excited to find out that our little escapade was going to have TV coverage. 

"POP" lined up as best we could, as a group, but that didn’t last long.  The tandem took the lead & I tried to stay with it.  But at the 1st long downhill they rode away.  I was still having steering difficulties, & couldn’t open it up, so at that point, I just decided to enjoy the ride.  And I did for 30 miles,  which is when I got sick.  I must have eaten something that didn’t like me, because it turned me inside out.  Again, very lucky to have Manny there.  It took a few phone calls for him to find me, because I knew Tucson a little, but Manny didn’t know Tucson at all.  I was able to tell him where I was, but I couldn’t tell him how to get there.  So we went back to the motel, & Manny chased down dinner for us.  Sunday morning we loaded our minivan & headed for Hemet.  I was more than happy that my friend had decided to come along.  Many thanks to my Guardian Angel.

 

Parky