Tri State Gran Fondo..??
 

Anyone going over to Mesquite next weekend to do this ride

http://tristatesgranfondo.com/info_location.php

or has anyone riden any of these roads?

Is there anything to be aware of specific to this route or the group doing the event?

We have not ridden these roads and we'll be riding it on a tandem.

Bill J.

sounds too tough for me, though i love that area

It's a new planet ultra event, apparently. Support is usually quite good, with well thought out routes and logistics. The one thing to keep in mind is that they don't coddle riders, expecting cyclists with some experience and who know their own limitations.

I assume it'll be a nice ride, not TOO tough, and wouldn't hesitate to sign up for it if I were interested in riding in that area.

I'll be doing the ride, I have driven portions of the route, my daughter & her family live in St. George. The scenery is great & I am looking forward to the ride. Being the first year for this ride, it should be a great experience for all.

The route uses much of what use to be the Cactus Hugger century ride from St. George. Wind can be a significant obsticle, and the road between Mesquite and the Gunlock junction (hwy 91), has a long climb which can be into a fairly stiff headwind. Beautiful up through Gunlock, over through Snow Cyn., and back down to St. George, but typical desert exposure, so be prepared.

DScott, JustMe, thanks for the info, that is what I was looking for....

scvroadie...glad you're doing the ride as well...be sure to waive when you go by, we'll be on a dark gray metalic Trek tandem.

TJClay..it is probably a bit tough for us too, but we got plenty of daylight to get it done and there is nothing else we'd rather be doing......until dinner time!

'lookiing foward to the weekend!

Bill J.

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

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.

Specbill,

Good description of the ride. Glad to hear you enjoyed the ride. I too, thought the ride was great, I met a lot of nice people. In fact, I met an old friend from Aspen, CO. We haven't seen or talked to each other since 1975, he know lives in Utah. Sorry I didn't read your post from 11/2 until after the ride, I would have looked out for you. The first portion of the ride up to about the AZ/UT state line I enjoyed the draft from a tandem, but I think it was a Santana. I was riding a Ridley, wearing a Planet Ultra, KOM jersey.

The wind averaged out to me minimal, but I didn't enjoy the headwinds on the first climb, but the same wind provided a great tailwind on the descent off of Utah hill back to the finish. The fall colors in the canyon were awesome. How about the cookies @ Veyo, they were delicious. My wife Linda, the redhead was providing SAG support @ Ivins park, along with my daughter & our grandson.