El Tour De Tucson
Ride El Tour De Tucson and The Classics
Warm up with classic Tucson rides and finish up with El Tour De Tucson
Since 2005, Tucson camps have been the heart and soul of The Cycling House. The original concept remains intact: an all-inclusive cycling vacation with guided rides and freshly prepared meals in a relaxing setting. Your Tucson home-base is The Cycling House. It’s a great place to relax and recharge after logging miles on the bike. Six days of supported rides take you to some of Tucson’s classic spots – Mount Lemmon, Saguaro National Park and Gates Pass – as well as some surprising destinations. Refuel with healthy meals by our team and take advantage of the skills clinics, yoga, massages and multi-sport activities – if you feel like it. Just like summer camp, riders love coming back to Tucson year after year. Also, we’ve added some gravel camp dates to our upcoming Tucson trip lineup! You can check out our new Arizona Gravel Camp here.
Highlights
- Five days of supported, guided rides to sunny Tucson’s best cycling destinations
- All-inclusive camp covers accommodations, meals, ride support, and bike mechanics
- Healthy, delicious meals
- Multi-sport elements (optional): trail runs, outdoor lap swimming, yoga, core work, and triathlon-specific clinics
- Skills discussions to learn – or reinforce – group riding, bike handling, cornering, and descending
- Optional massages (+$) with an experienced sports massage therapist
- Want more Tucson trip dates? Check out our Arizona Gravel Camps!
Food
Using locally sourced ingredients, we create clean and delicious meals to fuel your week of riding. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included. Each meal is inventive and diverse – often inspired by our chefs’ global travels – and focuses on lean proteins, leafy greens and root vegetables. We focus on food specifically for endurance athletes and accommodate all dietary preferences and restrictions.
Accommodations
The Cycling House is our original cycling vacation concept. Our home in Tucson offers the opportunity to relax and recover in a spacious setting with friends. Enjoy yoga on the patio, share stories during a hot tub soak, or finish a ride by jumping in the pool. This comfortable environment lends itself perfectly to nightly skills discussions over appetizers. Need a quick bike fix? Our garage’s workbench and collection of tools rival most bike shops. Our home has eight bedrooms, seven and a half bedrooms, and two yurts in the fenced backyard. Here is a short video house tour.
Single room: +$900 *limited availability*
ITINERARIES
Arizona Road + El Tour De Tucson - 5 Nights
Welcome to Tucson - Arrival Day
Guests will arrive in Tucson, and our staff will do Tucson Airport (TUS) and hotel pickups. After you register, we will email a list of suggested hotels for guests planning to arrive early. Please email us your arrival/departure plans, including flight numbers.
Flying into Phoenix (PHX) is also an option. If you decide to fly into Phoenix, renting a car or booking a shuttle with Groome Transportation to the Speedway location in Tucson is best. We will email you more travel details after receiving your reservation.
Everyone will have time to settle into the house and enjoy our first chef-prepared meal.
After lunch, our mechanics will work on building guest bikes or fitting people to their rentals. We will depart for an afternoon shakeout spin once all the bikes are ready, and all the guests have arrived.
Today’s Ride: Arrival Spin
20-25 miles & 1,000′ – 1,500′
Surfaces: Pavement
Saguaro National Park
After a leisurely breakfast, coffee and optional core and stretching session, we’ll head out on one of the greatest road cycling routes in the United States – Saguaro East National Park. This ride is a Tucson classic, with spectacular views, fun twisty turns and a solid climb in the middle. The highlight is Saguaro East National Park, which boasts one of the world’s largest populations of Saguaro cactus and a one-way traffic 8-mile loop.Â
Today’s ride: Saguaro East National Park
30-55+ miles & 1,500′ – 3,000′
Surfaces: Pavement
Mount Lemmon
Get ready to experience Mount Lemmon, the crown jewel of Tucson riding and one of the best climbs in North America. Many professional cyclists have made Tucson their winter home for the access to this iconic climb, which switchbacks its way up the Catalina mountain range, topping out at 8,000+ feet.
The ride starts with a 4-10-mile warm-up from The Cycling House en route to mile 0 of the 21-mile climb. Mile markers and elevation signs mark your progress, while the fantastic views help take your mind off the uphill challenge. You’ll ascend nearly 5,500 feet, climbing at a 5-8% grade over the 21 miles, finishing in the small ski town of Summerhaven.
The reward for your efforts is a fun descent on the impeccable pavement with sweeping turns. Mount Lemmon is a challenge for everyone, but it’s a very achievable goal with proper pacing, good fueling, and determination. We will finish by riding back to TCH.
Today’s ride: Mount Lemmon
35-57 miles with 4,000′ – 7,100′Â
Surfaces: Pavement
Gates Pass
Tucson has over 100 miles of dedicated multi-use paved trails called The Loop. We usually ride The Loop after two big rides or the day before Mount Lemmon. The Loop has little climbing, making it an ideal recovery day if the legs feel toasty. Looking for more miles? Today is all about options—more miles, more climbing—no problem! The group will finish at La Chaiteria and have lunch before shuttling home. On the way home we will stop at the El Tour De Tucson expo to pick up packets.
Today’s ride: Gates Pass
32-42+ miles & 500′-1,500′
Surfaces: Pavement
El Tour De Tucson
Today, everyone will ride the iconic El Tour De Tucson Gran Fondo. Our team will shuttle guests to downtown Tucson for their appropriate start times. Post ride, everyone will enjoy the festivities downtown and lunch before shuttling home.
Tonight we will celebrate a fun week with a fiesta dinner.
Today’s ride: El Tour De Tucson
- 33 miles & 550′
- 63 miles & 1,700′
- 102 miles & 2,900′Â
Surfaces: Pavement
Adiós - Departure Day
Shuttles will run to the Tucson airport all morning, with the last shuttle leaving at 11 a.m. Please email us your departure times.
For those who don’t depart Tucson early, you are welcome to go on an optional self-guided ride on a nearby route.
Today’s Plan: Departure Day
Checkout by 11 a.m.
DATES & PRICES
DETAILS
What's Included
- 4-5 nights/5-6 days accommodations
- Transfers to/from Tucson (TUS) airport/hotels
- Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Bike build and breakdown
- Professional cycling guides
- Vehicle sag support
- Ride nutrition products
- Tools available to use
- High-quality ride photos
- Stocked bathrooms with Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash
- Yoga Mats, Foam Rollers, Massage Guns, Normatec Compression Boots
- Self-serve laundry and detergent
What's Not Included
- Single room: +$900 *limited availability*
- Bike rentals +$350 – 5 night / +$300 – 4 night
- Airfare
- Gratuity for guides
- Massage therapy
- Mid-ride café stops
- Personal shopping
- Want to view more Tucson trip dates? Check out our Arizona Gravel Camps!Â
Optional Activities
- Trail runs or hikes
- Lap swim
- Core/stretching sessions
- Basic bike maintenance clinic
- Descending and bike handling clinic
- Nature walks
Questions?
BIKE OPTIONS
Rent A Bike
Traveling through the airport with a bike—and paying for it to fly—is not everyone’s idea of a fun way to start a vacation. Fortunately, we offer high-quality, full carbon bikes on all of our trips across the United States and Europe. Want to just show up and ride? Just bring your shoes, pedals, helmet, and saddle (if you want), and rent one of ours.
Bring Your Own
Your bike is yours—we get it. Bringing your own bike has obvious advantages in terms of individual comfort. Before your trip, we suggest getting a tune-up at your local bike shop so it’s ready to roll for your week of riding. Once you arrive, we’ll be sure to have our mechanics build it and help with any necessary tweaks. Check out some helpful resources here:
Skip The Bike
If you or your travel partner want to enjoy the trip and explore a new destination without a bike, drop us a line and we’ll discuss options. Some trips are better suited for non-rider participants than others.
