TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — For the last couple of months, there's a group of high school students riding their bikes every Saturday in the cool early morning hours. Pueblo High School's Road Warriors cycling club are training for El Tour de Tucson.
Complete with brightly colored jerseys, the cyclists are excited for the race. For the president of the club and Pueblo High School sophomore Damaris Rivera, there's no place she'd rather be in the morning.
"Sometimes I'm like what am I doing here I could be home sleeping, but then I get that passion that I love for cycling," she said.
She started riding a bike like many people — at an early age with training wheels.
"I rode a bike as soon as I could walk but with training wheels," she said.
But it wasn't until middle school when it turned into her passion.
"I did become a really big part of my life and it’s something I love to do," she said. "It's more competitive, because what I did in middle school was like more fun rides."
She joined the Road Warriors club right when she got to Pueblo High School last year, so this year isn't her first time riding in El Tour.
"Last year, I rode by myself because my seniors ended up doing 100 miles and I was like that’s scary,” she said.
And each year, her and her fellow cyclists are pushed forward by their teacher Ernesto Somoza.
"They want to do more and more and so this is the fifth year that we’ve been in the tour de Tucson," he said. "Every week we add five miles to our training calendar.”
With more miles added on each week, the cyclists are able to work on pacing and speed. Rivera said she's going to ride 63 miles this year and she has a strategy to get her to the finish line.
"Never stop peddling," she said. "It will take more energy to restart peddling.”
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