TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This Tasting Tucson visit is a nod to the 2024 El Tour de Tucson bicycle race.
Riders know hydration is key and if you need to make a pit stop off the loop in Midtown, you can grab a refreshing drink at Hello Bicycle & Café off Fort Lowell and Dodge.
Good Morning Tucson caught up with co-owner Sam Lettes during a moment of calm inside the bike shop. Lettes said he knows there's usually a rush to get repairs in the week leading up to El Tour.
"We try and be as calm as you can," he said, reflecting on his own experiences during competitive cycling events. "I spent a good amount of my time being a race mechanic and working under some pretty high pressure situations. Tepairs that need to be done in those situations are matter of seconds."
Lettes, who's been embedded in the Tucson cycling community, moved back from his time in Washington state a few years ago. He said he's proud to know El Tour de Tucson has earned the reputation and prestige it now has.
"Having friends in Washington fly down to Tucson for El Tour, it was always kind of nice to have that connection with it," Lettes said. "It's just such a part of the cycling world that it attracts national attention, and it brings friends from all over the country back to where I grew up."
A few years in, Hello Bicycle has built up its own loyal community. Our visit happened to line up with the day's morning coffee rush. Café manager Rachel Christensen showed us a drink that's ideal for riders taking a break from their laps on the Chuck Huckelberry Loop: a sparkling lavender lemonade.
"I'm gonna add the concentrate that we make from lemon juice, sugar, lavender extract, and we color with butterfly pea (flower) tea," she said.
Mix with sparkling water and top with ice — sweet, simple and you can also ask for a still-water version. "I keep hearing it's like this really soft lemonade," Christensen said, "and then it's followed up with a hint of the lavender."
Lettes, Christensen and the Hello staff usually start their day dark and early. As El Tour plays out Saturday, Lettes said he will enjoy the race from the sidelines.
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José Zozaya is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. Before arriving in southern Arizona, José worked in Omaha, Nebraska where he covered issues ranging from local, state and federal elections, to toxic chemical spills, and community programs impacting immigrant families. Share your story ideas and important issues with José by emailing jose.zozaya@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
