Ride the Rockies 2008 Preview - Day 3: Telluride to Montrose

First, let me apologize for failing to post yesterday's preview of next Tuesday's leg of Ride the Rockies 2008. Does that make sense?

Whatever.

The point is that I skipped a day so I am going to take the easy route and copy and paste the information on Montrose, Colorado from the official Ride the Rockies website section on the host communities...

Montrose, CO * Elevation 5,806 ft.The scenery in Montrose is second to none. With the San Juan Mountains and the Grand Mesa within view and the Uncompahgre Plateau and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park just a short drive away, breathtaking views are abundant. Downtown Montrose houses a number of options for visitors to explore local history, including the Montrose County Historical Museum in the former Rio Grande Train Depot. Montrose is ideally located in the heart of the Uncompahgre Valley wine region. Visitors to the area can also enjoy a number of scenic golf courses, antique shops, and extraordinary fishing.

Second, I feel compelled to explain how to pronounce "Uncompahgre." On my first visit to Montrose on Ride the Rockies in 2005 (my first RTR), I struggled with this important detail. So I turned to the experts. According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, the pronunciation is un-come-pah-gree.

Regardless, it's a beautiful area of Colorado. In 2005, we rode from Delta to Montrose the day after we climbed Grand Mesa, the largest Mesa on Earth (about 500 square miles), rising 5,000 feet above the surrounding valleys. Riding up Grand Mesa was the single toughest one-day ride I have ever completed (over 500 of the 2,000 riders that year didn't complete the ride). We started in Grand Junction at 5,000 ft. above sea level and climbed to 10,800 ft. and then dropped back down to 4,953 ft. in Delta. Finally, day three looks like fun. But after riding 126 miles in the previous two days, I'm sure it won't be easy. But we start with a mostly downhill cruise for the first 16 miles, then climb over 1,550 feet over the next 16 miles to cross the Dallas Divide (elevation 8,970) before dropping all the way to Montrose (elevation 5,800).

I look forward to retunring to Montrose. I seem to remember having fun there in 2005 :)

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2008 Preview - Day 2: Cortez to Telluride

Day one of Ride the Rockies 2008 takes us from Durango to Cortez, Colorado, a.k.a. Mesa Verde Country. Cortez was the starting line of RTR06, so they should be well prepared to handle 2,000 riders to the town of 13,401 (that's a 15% increase overnight!).

The 49-mile ride to Cortez should take about four hours with rest stops (and depending how late we stay at Steamworks in Durango Saturday night!).

After arriving at Montezuma-Cortez Middle School on Sunday afternoon, I plan to settle in at the New Belgium Beer Garden at the Cortez Cultural Center (open from 3:00-9:30 p.m.) and chill out to Ralph Dinosaur and the Fabulous Volcanoes (on stage from 6:30-9:30).

Seriously. Billed as a "musician, gifted entertainer and armchair philosopher," Ralph reportedly "always brings the party and good times." Now, I don't know Ralph, but gauging by the photos on his website (at left), I can see why they say, "Ralph continues to surprise even his most faithful fans...if you think you know Ralph, stand by to be amazed."

The Day two ride from Cortez to Telluride looks, well...sickening. After five relatively flat miles we hit a steep five mile climb from 6,201 ft to around 7,200 ft. We do get a brief stint of downhill to spin the lactic acid out of our legs before we embark on a 45-mile, 3,000+ ft. uphill climb from around 7,000 ft. to the top of Lizard Head Pass at 10,222 ft. Apparently the rock formation visible from the pass once resembled the head of a lizard until, "one night a loud rumble filled the area and local residents thought there had been an earthquake. However the next day it became apparent that there had been a large rock fall at the peak and it...lost it's lizard like appearance."

The last 15 miles are mostly downhill but there are several steep climbs that will be painful enough given the long climb and the toll of peddling over 120 miles in two days. I have a feeling we'll be exhausted rolling into Telluride, but the beauty of this mountain resort town should quickly refresh our spirit and the wide selection of restaurants should be sufficient to refuel our bodies.

I hope La Piazza del Villagio and Rustico have stocked up on pasta for the week. Italian restaurants are popular places along the route. After burning 3,000-4,000 calories, everybody wants to load up on carbs. But of course I'll be looking for a good steak, or maybe a veal piccata. Carbs are good short term fuel, but protein, especially quality proteins like beef (and veal) help repair damage to muscles after intense workouts and strenghten your immune system.

Actually, I'll probably skip the lines at the Italian restaurants and head to Tommy's Telluride for a pint of lager and a butter burger!

Stay tuned to tomrrow's preview of the route from Telluride to Montrose...a short little 65-mile ride over the Dallas Divide.

Ride on!

Daren

Ride the Rockies 2008 Preview - Day 1: Durango to Cortez

Ride the Rockies 2008 starts one week from today (!) with a nice warmup ride (49 miles) from Durango to Cortez, Colorado, in the southern part of the state. With a population of 15,000, Durango is the largest town in southwestern Colorado. Near the Four Corners junction with New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, Durango isn't exactly on the beaten path. As the official tourism website says, "Those who live here choose to live here..." But Durango is a beautiful spot, nestled between red sandstone bluffs in the vast Animas River Valley and the dramatic peaks of the San Juan and Needle Mountains.

Durango was the first stop on Ride the Rockies 2006, which started in Cortez. So day one of RTR08 retraces the route we rode on the first day of RTR06. Most of what I remember from that day was how different the mountains look in this part of the state -- jagged, rocky peaks that shoot straight into the sky (at left: David and Kris on RTR06 with the San Juan Mountains in the distance). I'm looking forward to our return to Durango and Cortez, a small community that rolled out the red carpet for us two years ago.

After arriving in Durango I'll hook up with the rest of Team DFL, get registered and set up camp at Durango High School. Overnight accomodations in each host city include hotels (for wimps) and indoor camping and outdoor camping at a local school. I'm an outdoor camper (at left: my campsite in Durango on RTR06). I prefer the cool mountain air and atmosphere of "tent city" (the football field, baseball diamond, basically any place with grass). My fellow Team DFLers are indoor campers (along with hundreds of people packed like sardines in the gymnasium) .

After getting our situated we'll head to Steamworks Brew Pub to meet up with Team Bar2Bar, a team of strong riders who ride directly to a designated bar in each overnight town before setting up camp...or showering (At left: Team Bar2Bar and Team DFL reunite at the start of RTR07). OK, so I'll admit I often join them. Ride hard, play hard. That's my RTR motto! I'm sure we'll also see many of our old friends like Team Bob, Team Size Matters, Team Biker Chick, Mark and Jenn from Texas, and many more. After getting reacquainted over a few pints we'll head back to the high school to get some sleep.

The ride from Durango to Cortez begins with a nice climb from 6,512 ft. to 8,399 ft. above sea level in the first 15 miles. But from there we take a roller coaster ride to Cortez, which sits at 6,201 ft., with short, steep climbs around mile 20-25 and 35-38.

After arriving in Cortez I will get my tent set up and head to the New Belgium Brewery tent to begin carbo-loading for the next day. After a few Skinny Dips waiting for the rest of Team DFL to arrive and get cleaned up, we'll head to Mainstreet Restaurant & Brewery for dinner. Mainstreet will be a popular place with its eclectic menu of American, Italian, Mexican and German food. I just hope they don't run out of food. Two thousand riders descending upon a town like Cortez after a long ride is something like a plague of locusts!

After a good meal we'll head back to camp to get rest up for the 77 mile ride on day two from Cortez to Telluride, over Lizard Head Pass (elev. 10,222 ft). More on that ride tomorrow!

Ride on!

Daren

NOTE: Each day this week I will preview the ride for that day the following week, leading up to the start of RTR08 next Sunday. Stay tuned to DDublog for the scoop on the best restaurants, watering holes and other attractions along the 2008 Ride the Rockies route!