Top Five Reasons to Race the Tour of the Gila

5. There is no better way to bond with teammates than before, during, and after each of the five stages of this race; it will inevitably remind you of why you wanted to be a part of a team.

4. You will at least beat Kit (Sonic Boom Racing cat 2 team member Kit Recca) because he will inevitably have a flat tire, chain suck, or his concave chest will act like a sail in the New Mexico winds and send him backwards into the desert.

3. You will probably never come closer to feeling like you are a pampered pro than when you experience the professionalism and organization of this race, including (but not limited to) the rolling enclosures, the competition, the sign-ins, the atmosphere, and the difficulty of the courses. It’s your version of the Tour, the Giro, or the Vuelta.

2. You get to ride your bike for hours, then eat a lot of food, then lounge around, then sleep a lot, then repeat four more times. Isn’t this what you want to be doing every week anyways?

1. You will be humbled, crushed, and/or will suffer more than you ever have before on a bike (whether you win or get dropped), and that will make you a better, stronger rider.