Tour de Scottsdale

Jeff Farber and his wife, Jan, know Scottsdale well and will be back again next month to enjoy their second Tour de Scottsdale. It’s scheduled for March 28.

In fact, they were in Scottsdale in mid-January, taking in the sights and sounds – and cycling areas – of Scottsdale in preparation for next month’s ride. They will be one of many cyclists who come out to ride from outside of Arizona. They are coming in from Iowa.

“It was a ton of fun,” said Farber, 68.

They will be riding in a Bike Friday folding bike, the same type of bike they rode in the event a couple of years ago. They ride the bikes given health challenges – heart issues - have emerged over the last couple of years. His wife has MS. They used to ride a tandem.

They remember Tour de Scottsdale as being “fun” and a reason why they will be back in the ride.

“We do a fair amount of organized rides,” he said, including RAGBRAI and El Tour de Tucson (a few years ago). “Coming out of this cold (in Iowa), I hope to enjoy some nice weather for a weekend.

“The weather should be just about perfect.”

What did he like about Tour de Scottsdale?

“That it was well planned and it kept cars away from bikes,” he said.

They rode the 32-miler.

He calls himself a non-athlete but “riding a bike I can do.” He started riding a bike at age 10 and now he calls it a “Zen thing.”

“I have to ride every day,” he said. “I got to do something every day. This may be a weird thing (but) I almost like riding in the winter better because there’s nobody out there but me. It’s kind of a man versus the wild thing. I get my sky stuff on. I like the summers, but I like the winters, too.”

In the winter – yes, with snow on a Surly bike – he rides about 15-30 miles and more on good days when there is no snow. In the summer, he’s riding much more when he rides to work.

“We’re looking forward to Scottsdale,” he said.