CTS Tucson Athlete Profile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The first day of spring training camp is always nerve wracking. Each athlete comes prepared in different ways, and understanding what types of riders you will ride with ahead of time is critical in choosing a cycling camp. Below are some paraphrased comments from the riders at the introductory meeting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- I\u2019m training for Dirty Kanza<\/a> and want to get in some long, hard miles (me).<\/li>
- I recently got a power meter and am looking forward to learn more about training with power.<\/li>
- Over the last few months I\u2019ve been staying fit by skiing and doing some indoor training.<\/li>
- Last year I did 10,000 miles, but mostly ride socially nowadays. But I\u2019ve raced for years.<\/li>
- I\u2019ve been riding for about a year and am looking to take my training to the next level.<\/li>
- The longest I\u2019ve ridden is less than 2 hours, but my cardio is strong. I run, ride, and workout 10 times a week, 7 days a week.<\/li>
- I\u2019m going through cancer treatment and have put on weight from the medication. It took a lot of courage to sign up for this camp. And, I\u2019m pretty new to endurance biking.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
As you can see, there is a broad range of athletes: from someone like me, doing over 15,000 miles a year, to someone very new to endurance cycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CTS Tucson Roads & Drivers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Overall the roads were OK. Of the five days of riding, 2 days had bad roads, 2 days had good roads, and 1 day was mixed. The bike lanes were well defined, and the drivers in Tucson generally stayed away from the cyclists. Most of the bike lanes had gravel, sand and road debris. The bad roads were punctuated with chip seal, pot holes, and crack everywhere (in both directions). The good roads had wide bike lanes with new(er) roads. The better roads had less debris in the bike lanes. Most of the debris was avoidable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day 2 roads were absolutely terrible. I do not recommend this route to anyone. Not to mention, we had 30 MPH head and crosswinds for the first 40 miles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
CTS Tucson Hotel – Comfort Suites at Sabino Canyon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I stayed at the Comfort Suites at Sabino Canyon<\/a> literally across the street from CTS. Most riders stayed here and simply walked across the street to CTS every morning. The hotel is situated in a strip center (hard to tell from the photos on google) so you can walk to the supermarket, Walgreens, bank, Starbucks, and fast casual dining. I liked the hotel because it was cheap ($99 per night with the CTS discount) and convenient. Make sure to call the hotel to make your reservation. You cannot get the CTS discount by making the reservation over the internet. I disliked the hotel because the internet was absolutely terrible.<\/strong><\/em> I ended up driving to Starbucks every day to get reliable internet. In my room I used the hot spot on my phone, but AT&T did not have great service in my location. In hindsight I would have chosen an Airbnb and stayed within 10 miles of CTS to the north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.360velo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/CTS-Tucson-Comfort-Inn-Sabino-Canyon-1-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.360velo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/CTS-Tucson-Comfort-Inn-Sabino-Canyon-3-1024x590.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.360velo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/CTS-Tucson-Comfort-Inn-Sabino-Canyon-2-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\nHere is a link to the Google Map of the Comfort Suites hotel: https:\/\/goo.gl\/maps\/WA1ASufU4yJ2<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
CTS Tucson Routes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Day1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Riders had the choice of field test (FTP test) or endurance ride. I knew my training zones already, so I opted for the short endurance ride. This ride had a mix of rider abilities. In the first half I got frustrated with the pace and rode off the front. I was joined by a coach and we rode at a good pace for the second half of the ride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n