Conner: Came, saw and conquered another epic ride in El Tour; his 13th state to complete a big ride

Tim Connor loves cycling. Actually, so much so he plans on hitting every state in the coming years to find its best long ride or “epic rallies.”

It’s why he spent time in El Tour de Tucson last month.

“Usually when I’m out there for work – and I find myself out there often – I look for rides,” he said.

He was inspired by a friend who said he was doing century rides – or riding 100 miles – in every state.

“What makes me different is I’m looking for the most epic rides,” said Conner, a Dallas resident. “Much like Tour de Tucson. I’m trying to find the biggest, best, hardest event there is.”

How did he find us?

“Google,” he said, laughing.

So, he came, saw and conquered the 102 miles last month. It was his 13^th state – ride – he’s gone to and successfully completed his mission.

“I saw it on the schedule and saw that it was perfect (time wise) to make a weekend of it in Tucson,” he said.

His wife came with him and his bike.

How was the ride?

“Oh, my,” he said. “I do a lot of these, 10 to 15 a year, and there are varying degrees of support for everyone of these. With (El Tour) being so large I don’t know what my expectations were.”

He was pleasantly surprised, given the support the ride receives, through police, barricades and safety.

“They were literally paving the way for cyclists to not even have to stop,” he said. “That was amazing. You rarely see that. A lot of rallies I go to you have a police escort for the first mile or so then you are literally on your own. I was pleasantly surprised by that.”

He was also impressed by the number of aid stations and how well-staffed they were for an event this size.

“That was very impressive,” he said. “That was a feat in and of itself. To find that many volunteers is great.”

The best part of it?

“The last 30 miles of it was downhill,” he said, laughing. “I wasn’t expecting that. I rode the last 15 miles in a nice peloton. It was great.”

Will he be back for seconds?

“It’s one I would come back to,” he said, “because of how well it was organized. It was easy and the route was great. We don’t get that scenery everywhere we go so it was cool and unique.

“I don’t usually duplicate rides, but I’d absolutely do it again.”

Until then, he’ll continue on to his goal of 50 rides in 50 states.

Does he have a date to do it in?

“I probably do, but if I told my wife, she’d think I’d be gone every single weekend,” he said, again laughing. “In addition to the other events I do.”