D & H Air Conditioning & Heating new to El Tour; Robles isn’t he’s ready to ride

Phillip Robles is more than happy to be part of the 41^st El Tour de Tucson. In fact, he’s back as a cyclist and now a sponsor of the iconic event.

And, his girlfriend, Tara Davis, will be part of the 5K Run on Nov. 23. She ran it last year and will be back in again.

It’s a win, win, win for Phillip, Davis and D & H Air Conditioning & Heating Co, which is a bronze sponsor.

“It’s great to be part of El Tour because it’s one of those great events, along with the gem and mineral show. They are important to Tucson,” Robles said. “In our minds, it is aa really great opportunity for us.”

In part, Robles said, because there is a “changing landscape” for the heating & cooling world, especially in Tucson. Big box stores are coming in and attempting to take over, And the locals like D&H are out there working hard to maintain their share of the market.

“We’re one of the last remaining locally owned and operated HVAC companies in Tucson,” he said. “We’ve been around since 1959. It’s neat (to be part of this) because we’ve got a new campaign and we’ve been posting on Facebook, highlighting we’re local and that’s important to people.  It’s important to be part of the community that the money they spend is going to stay local.”

So, he’ll do his part as a cyclist and as the general manager of D & H, by helping.

This will be his fourth time riding in the event, having ridden it in 2016, 2019, 2023 and this year.

He’ll be riding the 102-miler.

“If I’m going to do it,” he said, “I’m going to do all of it.”

Actually, he knows what he’s doing. He’s a platinum cyclist, having achieved that last year.

“It’s fun,” he said, of cycling. “I love riding around Tucson.”

He’s hoping to finish in four hours, 45 minutes – once again making him a platinum cyclist.

“I’m very happy,” he said, referring to where he’s at in the cycling world.