Ultimate Challenge....Check!

Last year I discovered the Tour of Utah Ultimate Challenge ride that coincides with the Tour of Utah each year.  The idea is that they let "serious" amateur riders sign up and ride the exact course as the Pro's on what they call the "Queen Stage" of the Tour.  It's a brutal stage with more than 10,000 feet of climbing and I remember thinking to myself how crazy it would be to do it.  Well, with about a week before the ride this year, I decided I'd give it a try.

I was nervous going into this ride not knowing how my fitness would be.  I've been fighting a cold for the past few weeks and though most of it's effects are gone I'm still struggling with a brutal cough.  After visiting the doctor on Wednesday he confirmed that there wasn't much that could be done to help but the good news was that I wouldn't be aggravating or prolonging it by doing this ride.  That was good enough for me.

Saturday morning started at 4:30 am wake-up were I'd meet some Infinite team members and carpool up to Park City for the start of the race.  Thanks to the Infinite Team member for driving.  We got there with enough time to do final preparations and rolled to the start at about 7:15 a.m.  It was a bit cool so I wore some arm warmers but I probably didn't need them as it got warm pretty early on in the ride.  As I got going I noticed a rubbing sound coming from somewhere nearby.  With so many riders riding in a pack it was hard to tell if it was me or someone else who was make the noise.  Turned out, it was me.  My breaks were rubbing on my rear tire but there was no way to stop if I wanted to keep up with the main pack.  So I road all the way up the first climb with the annoying squeaks of rubbing breaks.  Once at the top, before heading down to Kamas I was able to hop off and quickly adjust my breaks, problem solved.  

Flying down though Kamas I elected to not stop at the first feed station.  I had plenty of food and water still and it felt good just to keep going.  The ride in the valley though Kamas was beautiful in the morning, with mist coming from the fields around you.  We then climbed out of Kamas and road down into Heber Valley which again was beautiful.  I made my first stop at the feed station in Heber because I was getting hungry and though I knew that most of my fellow teammatse were not going to stop I thought I better be safe and stay on top of my nutrition.  

I then road with various packs past Deer Creek Reservoir down Provo Canyon.  We then turned on the road up to Sundance.  This is at about mile 50 in the ride and I was surprised at how good I was feeling.  I knew this was going to be a tough climb but my strength was good and I wasn't coughing a lot.  I found my rhythm and really enjoyed the long road up.  As you get higher the ride gets prettier and prettier.  I don't think there is a more scenic ride anywhere.  It really helps take your mind of the struggle of the ride.  I stopped at the food station at the top for food and a bathroom stop and then headed down through American Fork Canyon.  I found myself alone going down and that made me be a bit more cautious because  I find it much easier following people down a canyon road following their line than trying to judge the speeds and the turns myself.  I eventually caught on to a group near the bottom and road with them all the way through Alpine up towards South Mountain.  One note about Alpine, they had an option to finish there if you wanted and there were people lining the roads cheering you on at this point.  I couldn't believe how many people in fact.  It was a cool atmosphere as you road on through.

South Mountain is a climb I've done many times before and I know it very well so I was able to judge my effort easily on this climb.  I still felt really good and what made it even better was seeing my wife and kids cheer me on at various points up the hill.  I stopped at the top and had a quick chat with them and took these photos:

As you can see, I look pretty happy at this point.  I bombed the decent down the north side of Suncrest and road through the very familiar roads of my hometown, Draper.  I knew at this point what I was in for the rest of the way and I still felt pretty good so I knew I'd be able to finish.  Once at the bottom of Little Cottonwood I stopped for a quick feed and I figured there was no point in delaying the inevitable pain so I started up the canyon.  One mistake I made at this point was that I drank a Coke that they had at the feed station thinking that it would give me one last little boost at the end.  But I learned that you don't experiment with food at this point.  I never drink coke on rides and it did me no good.  In fact, it made me feel sick about half way up the canyon.  It was really hot at this point of the day and I did my best to stay hydrated but I could feel my strength being drained.  I began to loose my rhythm and I struggled to keep going.  I could see other riders stopped on the side of the road struggling as well.  I didn't dare stop because I didn't trust myself getting going again.  As I reached Tanners Flat I began to feel good again.  I still felt somewhat sick but my legs were gaining their strength back and I was able to keep a decent peddling cadence.  People were lining the road at this point cheering you on and that was really fun.  People in crazy costumes offering you food and water.  Some guy put an ice pack down my neck which felt wonderful.  It was the boost I needed to make it the rest of the way.  

Someone had told me that the finish was at Snowbird Entry 1 this year instead of Entry 2 as in previous years.  I was highly disappointed at the time to find out that was wrong.  But once past Entry 2 you go downhill to the finish line where people cheer you on as you cross.  I saw my family in the crowd cheering the loudest of them all.  Once I crossed the line I thought I was going to throw-up.  It took everything I had to keep it down and I then started coughing like crazy which didn't help.  It took me a good 45 minutes before I felt okay again.  I enjoyed lunch with my family at Snowbird and watched the Pro's come in about an hour after I did.  Such a fun ride and I will for sure put it on my calendar for next year.