Now in its second year, the Jr El Tour Cycling Program was born out of a passion for helping under active children develop an appreciation and enthusiasm for a healthy, active lifestyle. ProActive Physical Therapy and Pyramid Coaching created the program to inspire health and fitness awareness in the youth of our local communities.  We chose to select a population (ages 11-13) that might not otherwise ever have an opportunity to participate in an organized training program with the help of many generous local sponsors. 

The children selected for the program will receive everything that they need to successfully complete the training and the 35 mile segment of the El Tour de Tucson event. Sponsors donations have provided for the training time, bikes, helmets, jerseys, shorts, gloves, tools, spare tubes/tires, water bottles, etc… The child's committed participation in the program is paramount to a successful completion of the event. In that commitment, the only requirements for each participant keeping all of the donated equipment is that they miss no more than 2 weekday, and 1 weekend training session during the entire 12 week training program and participate in the 2008 "El Tour de Tucson" event. If they cannot meet the requirements of the program, they will select a charity to donate their equipment at the conclusion of the "EL Tour de Tucson".

The training program is geared for a variety of ability levels, and is designed to be fun while giving the children the fitness that they will need. The children and families will also be receiving nutrition classes from a Registered Dietition to help them better understand how to fuel their bodies for health and performance.

As we prepare the children to complete the 35 mile segment of "El Tour de Tucson", a priority of the program is to instill in the kids that this is only the beginning of their journey into fitness and cycling. Their sense of accomplishment and enjoyment experienced in the program is seen as a portal to making healthy lifestyle changes in the future by incorporating exercise on a regular basis long after the completion of the program and event.

We are excited in bringing another group of great kids through the program and will be chronicling the adventure by posting journal entries of the coaches and participants as they share their experiences during the Jr El Tour training program. Check back for frequent updates as "El Tour de Tucson" grows closer to its November 22nd start.