‘This little blurb’ brought Dr. Rogers to El Tour, now he rarely misses riding in it

Dr. Alan Rogers  has been around long enough  to be part of 38 El Tour de Tucson’s.

Yes, THIRTY EIGHT!

It’s unofficially officially the most by anyone we know of here at El Tour. No. 39 will come on Nov. 22 as we get ready for the 42nd El Tour. He’s purchased a new bike for the occasion.

And, yes, he was at the first one in 1983, when he was an medicine resident at the University of Arizona.

“I saw this little blurb in the paper about this ride called El Tour, so I said, ‘yeah, that’ll be fun,” he said.

After all, he was busy with his residency and needed something to keep him active, so cycling was it.

“I’ve been devoted to El Tour ever since,” he said. “I’ve tried to do all of them.”

Now, 71, he had done all the 100-plus miles of the event up until about seven years ago. He now does the 62-mile ride.

It’s his goal to continue to ride in El Tour until he no longer can.

“I’m a doc so I believe doctors need to walk the talk in trying to stay healthy,” he said. “I try not to over eat and I don’t smoke. I don’t drink much. This is part of the lifestyle.”

That lifestyle began in 1983, the same year El Tour started. He was about 29 years old.

“I love it,” he said.

It’s a great love given how many years he’s ridden in it. That first one, however, was done with a little bit of trepidation.

“I wasn’t confident I could do it,” he said. “I rode 50 miles, which was huge for me at the time. I survived and wasn’t crippled after it. It was a nice sense of accomplishment.

“… now El Tour has become a Tucson institution. It adds cache to Tucson. You’ve got the Book Fair, Desert Museum, Gem & Mineral Show and El Tour. it brings people into town.”

He’s also proud of being part of the Tucson Rotary Club, a big nonprofit in El Tour. Through the years Rotary has raised about $55 million through El Tour.

Raising money has been El Tour’s main mission, in addition to getting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

In fact, he said more people should cycle, given the health benefits of staying fit.

What if others did the same?

“(The world) would be so much (healthier),” he said. “Most of my patients don’t do a lick of exercise, nothing. If you are fit you can do other things. You can travel, tolerate better … carry your bags, climb stairs, get through airports. Stuff like that.”

He, too, is not immune to not working out all the time. He said when he retired almost two years ago, he weighed 206 pounds and is 6-foot-2.

“I thought, ‘I’m out of control,” he said. “Since then, I’ve lost 15 pounds intentionally.”

He suggested eating less and exercising.

“Cutting back on the calories helps a lot,” he said.

As well as getting on a bike.