Just want to put a close on this thread so if someone picks it up in a future "search" there is some final info. Also posted this on the SoCal regional discussion thread

We did the ride Saturday on our tandem and would have to say it was a pretty cool ride.

Location and terrain.... beautifull area and a very nice change from the central Ca. coastline, valley's or the Sierra foothill type of century rides we usually do. The canyon area up in Utah was spectacular with the vivid red walls and green vegetation.... It was well worth the drive from our home here in the southern Sierra mountains.

Difficulty level: not bad...the 7500 ft of climbing came in three doses....first one was very long but not too steep, the second one was much shorter and not too steep except for two short sections...it was the easiest of the three, the last one was not very long but felt the steepest by far as it came around the 80 mile mark as we were getting a bit tired. We generaly do century's with 4000 to 6000 ft of climbing, so this one was a nice step up for us....challenging but not excessive.

Planet Ultra...this was our first experiennce with them. Very nice people that appear to be core cyclist at heart...great rest stops with enthusiastic cyclists working them, they had proper, no nonsence well stocked goodies at the rest stops that were well located. Not a frilly type event but a very comfortable one with a very welcoming feeling to it.... as a rider you wanted for nothing and enjoyed being there.

Weather...could not have been beter. Mostly filtered sun light and almost no wind...a little cool in the morning and at higher elevations which was perfect particularly on the second and third climbs. We wore sleeveless jersey's and were a little cold but ok....some riders went with arm warmers or light wind breakers.

Bottom line...a good ride that we would do again.

Bill J.