El Tour de Tucson

I'll be there, but it's my first time too. What's the 'gold' section, 'platinum' section, etc.? How do you know where and when to line up?

I'm doing the 107 miler, my wife is doing the 40. Should be a good time!

The Platnium riders are individuals who are either pro cyclists or have completed a perimeter bicycling event under some specified time.  For El Tour Platnium is under 5 hours.  If you finish under 5, you get a card that gets you lined up in front of the field.  The idea is to get the fast guys in the front so the casual riders don't get plowed over in the first few miles.  The other sections.. gold, silver and bronze are areas where you self select.  If you think you can finish under 6 then you should line up in the gold group which is right behind the platnium riders.  The strategy to finish under 5 is to get there early (4:30am) and line up at the front of the gold group and start fast and hope to catch the lead pack or at least a fast platnium paced pack.

I raced El tour de Phoenix and missed the platnium time by 15 minutes... mostly because I showed up late and started way back in the silver coral.  By the time I rolled out onto the course the fast guys were miles ahead and gone.

Thanks for the info. What's the challenge in finishing under 5 (aside from being able to go fast enough to do it)? I understand the course is relatively flat. Is it the traffic? 4:30 AM is pretty early to line up just to wait around for the start! Does the gold section fill up quickly? Good info, I didn't know any of this.

The challenge in going 109 in under 5?  Thats 21.8mph for 5 hrs... granted you get some benefit from riding in the pack, but that is a big sustained effort.  Its not flat... while its not a mountain climb, there are plenty of long grades as you climb up into the foothills.  The other challenge is you are sharing the course with 9000 other riders.  Surviving the day without a crash is noteworthy.  There are two river crossings of about a quater mile each where you have to run with the bike on your shoulders.  Traffic is NOT an issue.  Its the one day bikes rule the road... you won't stop once for lights through the whole route.... hence the local non-bike term for the race El Detour of Tucson.  Like I said, this is my first El Tour, but yes the Gold section fills early... I have lots of friends who have riden the tour for years.  If you are not out for a fast time its not a big deal.  But... the clock starts at the gun... not when your chip crosses the start line.  If you are lined up in silver or bronze its usually about 20 minutes before you even cross the start line.  The race starts at 7.... 3500-4000 bikes will be rolling into the start corrals... the place will be an utter zoo.  At 4:30 you will not be alone.  By 5:30 the gold area will be full for sure. 

Ultimately riding in a platnium time is a status symbol.  You get a card that allows you to line up at the front of any perimeter bike assoc race at the front with the big boys for three years.

more info at:

http://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/ETTInfoUpdates.html#twelve

total elev gain is about 3000 ft of climbing for the 109 mile race.  Not bad spread over 109.  Did a HIM two weeks ago with 6800 ft in 56mi.  It was a bear.

Hi, this will be my 4th El Tour, I'm only doing the 67 miles. Did the 109 twice, have no desire to do that again. I did the 67 last year and my attitude was much improved, LOL..

I did want to mention that for those of us not riding Gold, there were a number of stops last year at the lights, so much so till people complained.

Thanks for all of the info, everyone. Definitely looking forward to it! I'll try for the gold group. Not sure how many of the Perimeter Cycling rides I'll do in the future, the cost was pretty high. Also, having to pick up the packet the day before is kind of a pain since we're not from Tucson.