The Mountains to the Desert Ride is a grueling and rewarding, one day, bicycle ride from Telluride, Colorado to Gateway Canyons, CO The objective is to help with a great cause, complete the challenge, have some serious fun, and help raise $90,000 for the benefit of the Just For Kids Foundation.
This predominantly downhill ride (aka; race) starts with a fast descent down the San Miguel River canyon. A group of 70 descended together to the base of Norwood Hill (an 800' climb to the town of Norwood). This is where the racing began. Ernie Watenpaugh reached the summit first followed closely by Bryan Miller and myself. As we took a "nature break" we were caught by the chase pack. We settled into the peloton until Spencer Compton (DWC) rode alongside and said "I bet you could ride away from this group.". After discussing some strategy Spencer, Lee Rosenthal and I attacked. 15 miles later we were still out front but could see a group of 10 strong chasers. With 30 miles to go to reach the 15 mile climb to the finish we decided to sit up and ride with the group. It was great riding in a break-away with three fellow Durango-ites.
A group of 20 started the 15 mile climb to the finish. I had been told the first 5 miles were low-angle (ideal for me) so I planned to pin it before reaching the steep grade. I attacked and only Ernie Watenpaugh hung on. I pushed it as hard as I could and couldn't drop him. He rode away from me as we began climbing the steep section of road. I dug deep to finish in second with third place less then a minute back.
