Tucson Cycling House Season Update

Welcome to another Cycling House Newsletter.  It’s been awhile since our last issue went out and so many great things have happened since that last issue.  TCH opened in November and we’ve had a solid, non-stop flow of cyclists,

Welcome to another Cycling House Newsletter. It’s been awhile since our last issue went out and so many great things have happened since that last issue. TCH opened in November and we’ve had a solid, non-stop flow of cyclists, triathletes and runners rolling through the house.  We’ve had a rife number of fresh new faces at the house this year.  To see folks experiencing TCH atmosphere for the first time is always fun and exciting.  We’ve also had a record number of athletes returning to our place for a second, third, and even a seventh time which affirms to me that we’re offering a great service that our visitors appreciate and greatly benefit from.  It truly has been an unforgettable season.

Enjoy the read and then go ride.

Owen Gue

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This year has seen a record number of Camps for The Cycling House.  In all we’ve had eight large camps and each one has brought it’s own quality and characteristic to the house.  Couple the camps with our personalized, individual groups that have come through and you have countless stories, photos, smiles and miles.  We’ll try to scrape the surface here with some memoirs from the last few months.

December Hammer Nutrition Camp
This was the first big camp of the year and we couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to ring in the new season.  The highlights of this camp were the epic “around the world” ping pong games. The Cycling House is proud the offer the full Hammer Nutrition line including Hammer Gel, Race Caps, Endurolytes, Recoverite, Perpetuem and Heed.

DreamChaser Camp
Lisa Smith-Batchen and her husband Jay put together an absolutely fantastic ultra endurance running camp.  The amazing people that attended this camp were all training for the Marathon Des Sables, a 7 day running race across the Moroccan desert.  With the superior guidance and coaching from Lisa and Jay in addition to the happy, positive attitudes from all the runners that attended, we think they’re all going to smash their goals and have a massively successful race in the sand. These ultra endurance runners were sure to use the Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watches for their long runs at The Cycling House.

                

Training for the Marathon Des Sables in the Sonoran Desert

Upper Echelon Camp
Russell Cree, owner of Upper Echelon Fitness, based in Portland, OR, brought his crew of Pacific Northwesterners down to TCH for some fun in the sun.  Their big rides finished everyday with a frigid ice down in the recovery pool with an “occasional” beer in hand.  The last night was marked with an epic battle of arm wrestling and margaritas: TCH staff vs. Campers. Andy, Owen, Jen and Sam all lost miserably but looked really tough before each match began.  Brendan Halpin pulled through and saved the staff from one of the worst beatings they’ve ever experienced.  The Cycling House PowerTap 2.4 SL demo units (you can view these at our Cycling House Store) were a popular choice of wheel for their clients.

Brendan, with fear in his eye’s took down Upper Echelon’s incredible hulk, Paul Formiller. (Photo Courtesy of Heidi Swift)

Tulsa Tri-Crew
Rob and Dana Chance visited TCH two years ago to prepare for the Ironman World Championships. This year they brought their Tulsa, OK friends, one of the most unique groups we’ve had down here.  They rode what actually turned into one of the coolest rides we’ve ever had here.  Riding South from TCH, they kept their bearings pointed to Madera Canyon and finished the ride at the top of the 13 mile climb, throwing their running shoes on and running throughout the mountain range for a solid post 70 mile ride workout.  While only a few riders used the HED spare wheels provided by The Cycling House for flat tires. They finished the day off with a smorgasbord picnic, huge smiles and great stories. 

Hanging out at the top of Madera Canyon

February Hammer Camp
Over three years ago, The Cycling House decided to host a camp, not really knowing how to go about it or what the finished product would actually be.  Owen Gue, Brian Frank of Hammer Nutrition and Jim Bruskewitz of Wisconsin put together a group of 14 cyclists and triathletes to come down and ride, become more educated in sports nutrition and how to fuel properly, but most importantly just to catch a break from winter and enjoy the sunshine with good company.  This group has come back every year since.  The comradarie that has been forged among this camp and the friendships that have formed from that one week in February is cool to see.

Rolling down Old Spanish Trail

We also want to thank all of our visitors that have come down individually and not part of a camp.  The Cycling House started four years ago with just a few individuals and small groups of friends coming down to train.  Even though we’ve grown over the years, we still love catering to the athletes looking for that all-inclusive triathlon training getaway.  Here are just a few of the people that we thank.