This is the last chance to get a big ride before El Tour de Tucson. I started out to go to Oracle and back which would be 91 miles. I started at about 11:00 AM which is a very late start. However, I felt good after the first mile and enjoyed the ride all the way to Oracle Rd. Going up Oracle Rd. is always a chore, it being 21 miles of an average grade of 1.4%. But there are many places that hit up to 5% and extended sections in excess of 3%. The continual climb does cause you to work. It seemed to take longer than last time I did it. In fact, I ran out of water a couple of miles shy of Oracle and stopped at the only business along the way, Oracle Ford, about a mile and a half shy of Oracle and got some water. Then I continued to the Circle K convenience store. All the way up Oracle Rd I was realizing how slow I was going, but I knew that I had the reward of going back down and picking the average speed up. Last time a was able to maintain between 25 and 30 mph going back down and I was looking forward to the howling of the wind past my head. After refilling all my water bottles and the Gatorade at Circle K I started back. The wind did really howl past my head - but I wasn't going very fast. The winds were horrible. There was a wind advisory and the winds were between 20 and 30 mph. I couldn't go any faster than about 20 mph into that wind. It was mostly a head wind, but also a cross wind so not sure how much the components were in each direction. By the time I got back to Tucson, my right Achilles tendon was quite sore and it was already dark. I knew I would have some riding in the dark to get back home, but my average speed was a good mph less than I had planned for - and quite a bit less than I had hoped for. I was still at least an hour and a half from home, and my left heel wasn't up to riding anymore. I decided to have Daunell come pick me up in the truck and wait for her at REI. After I pulled into REI I gave here a call and had them do some repair on my cleats as I waited. However, Daunell called back and the truck wouldn't start (we had just had the alternator replaced for these same symptoms - should have had the good shop confirm the diagnosis that Firestone gave me). I had to call around and find somebody to come get me that has the means to transport my bike - it being 88" long from tip of wheel to tip of wheel. It took a bit, but I finally found somebody to come rescue me.