Fiesta Island Goodbye

I've been riding at Fiesta Island on Tuesday nights for the last couple of months. The island has two loops with my favorite being a roughly circular 2.5-mile one. The course is essentially flat although there are two little "bumps" to get a little variety. One side of the island also gets a lot of wind which offers additional challenges.

I've really enjoyed riding here mainly because no matter how far or hard you go, you are always no more than 2.5 miles from your car. I can work out at whatever level I choose, pushing myself to the limit or just cruising along. There is very little traffic, which is another bonus. Over the course of the summer I tried a variety of things at Fiesta:

• Riding solo, cranking in the big gear, ripping myself apart;
• Riding in the peloton with dozens of riders;
• Riding in a pace line with a group of my Team in Training teammates;
• Riding fast with a partner, alternating taking the lead the entire way
• Riding solo working on high cadence pedaling trying to change the style of my riding
• Doing sprint intervals for 25 miles with the Tucson Team

Lot's of variety. Unfortunately, today was my last Tuesday Fiesta night of the season. It is just getting dark too early to make it worth my time to go. I can't get out of work early enough to make it. I was only able to get in a little over 17.5 miles instead of my usual 20 before it got dark. The wind was also especially brutal tonight making it slower going that usual.

I'm going to miss this weekly riding ritual but will be back with a next year when the days get longer again. So long, Fiesta!

Tuesday night training will now become spin class with the Team.