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| Rimrock Road winds its way through the Colorado National Monument, the "crown jewel" climb of Colorado's Western Slope. |
On Saturday, May 27th, 2017, members of the RMCC traveled to Fruita, CO to tackle the
Colorado Mesa Double Century, the second stage of the 2017 Colorado Triple Crown and the newest addition to the Colorado Triple Crown Series. The Colorado Mesa Double Century explores two of western Colorado's quintessential climbs, the behemoth Grand Mesa (elev. 10,875 feet), the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, and the Colorado National Monument (elev. 6,640 feet), undoubtedly the "crown jewel" climb of western Colorado. The course also includes the pastoral Kannah Creek - Purdy Mesa - Reeder Mesa loop, a lightly-traveled cycling loop that winds its way through ranching and farming land to the southeast of Grand Junction. The climb over the spectacular Grand Mesa Scenic Byway is an especially daunting climb, gaining over 6,400 feet from Interstate-70, making it one of Colorado's longest climbs.
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| Stunning red rock spires in the Colorado National Monument. Scenery like this during the final 25 miles of the event helped riders forget about the brutal headwinds that they experienced while riding along US-50 from Delta to Grand Junction. |
On paper, the Colorado Mesa Double Century does
not appear as intimidating as other events in the Colorado Triple Crown. With
only 13,000 feet of climbing in 200 miles, the Colorado Mesa Double Century is not nearly as intimidating as the formidable
Cycle to Saturn Double Century (200 miles and 20,000 feet of climbing) or the
Colorado Classic Double Century (241 miles, including 41 miles of dirt and gravel roads and 16,000+ feet of climbing). However, all participants would agree that the Colorado Mesa Double Century is as
monumental as any of the other events in the Colorado Triple Crown. The stunning course covers nearly every ecosystem that western Colorado has to offer, including spectacular high-alpine vistas, dense pine and aspen forests on the Grand Mesa, arid desert countryside, verdant farming and ranching lands, and moonscape mesas and plateaus. Indeed, the Colorado Mesa Double Century course is unlike anything else in Colorado! Colorado Triple Crown veteran, Keith Jensen, summed the course up best, describing the Colorado Mesa Double Century as "absolute soul-enriching riding!" I think almost all of the participants in this year's event would agree.
Because 200 miles and 13,000 feet of climbing is not quite
monumental enough, Mother Nature decided to add to the challenge of this year's event, presenting riders with the full gamut of late spring Colorado weather, including snow showers and near-freezing temperatures (35 degrees F!) on top of the Grand Mesa and demoralizing headwinds along US-50 from Delta back to Grand Junction. By the time most participants had returned to Grand Junction, however, temperatures had warmed considerably into the upper 70s and the northwesterly headwinds had largely subsided, making for a very pleasant western Colorado evening while participants traversed the spectacular Rimrock Drive in the Colorado National Monument en route to the finish in Fruita.
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| Snow showers and chilly temperatures converged on riders as they approached the summit of the Grand Mesa. |
This year's inaugural event attracted 27 participants, an impressive number of riders since all of this year's participants had to travel a considerable distance to Fruita. This year's event attracted 3 riders from out-of-state (2 from Utah and 1 from Nebraska), 7 Colorado Triple Crown rookies, and 4 women.
Congratulations to all of this year's finishers!
2017 Colorado Mesa Double Century Event Summary:
Course
- 201.8 miles, 13,000+ feet of climbing
- 3 categorized climbs:
- Grand Mesa Scenic Byway (North) from Mesa to Grand Mesa summit, elevation 10,875 feet: HC Category
- Kannah Creek Climb, elevation 6,160 feet: Category 4
- Colorado National Monument, south gate to Rimrock Drive high point, elevation 6,640 feet: Category 2
Participants:
- 30 pre-registered riders
- 27 ride starters, 24 official finishers (89% finishing rate) successfully completed the course in less than 17.5 hours (>11.5 m.p.h.), 4 DNFs. Of the riders who started, 23 men, 4 women (You go, girls!!!), and 3 riders from out-of-state (1 from Nebraska and 2 from Utah), 1 volunteer pre-ride finisher.
- Congratulations to Caleb Carl who posted the fastest overall time of the day in 11 hours, 15 minutes (17.94 mph). That's cookin', folks!
- Congratulations to Corinne Warren who posted the fastest women's time of the day in 14:03 (14.36 mph), her fastest double century to date. Great ride, Corinne!
Special thanks to our volunteers! We simply cannot run these events in this current timed format without their help!
- Mike Young: Water support on Grand Mesa
- Julie Elliott and Jerome Gonzales: Water support at the Purdy Mesa check point
- Joanne Vitanza: Official finishing time recorder in Fruita
- Mark Lowe: Support vehicle driver
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| A man on a mission, Caleb Carl posted the day's speediest time of 11 hours, 15 minutes! Smoking'! Great ride, Caleb!! |
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| Walter Zitz struggled with shifting problems all day from a wounded crankset, but still rode admirably to complete the Colorado Mesa Double Century safe and sound. As always, excellent ride, Walter! |
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| Kieran Johnson rode like a desert bat out of a hell to finish third at this year's Colorado Mesa Double Century. Impressive!! |
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| Chris Baker was unphased by the frigid temperatures on the Grand Mesa and wicked winds along US-50. I can almost read his mind: "Thank you, may I have another!" Excellent ride, Chris! |
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| A man known to make other riders suffer, Steve Rudolph was on a mission to deplete the supplies of Coke for other parched participants at the Purdy Creek Trailhead! Great ride, Steve! |
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| Tom Miller was on a personal mission to win the Strava kudos war with his personal Strava kudos army! You know? I think he might have done it! Great ride, Tom! |
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| Stephen Strayer completes the Colorado Mesa Double Century. It was great having you back in the mix, Stephen. Way to show team Cinch how it's done! |
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| Kale Olson survived some dark times at the Tabeguache Trailhead check point to complete the Colorado Mesa Double Century! I'm glad you were able to hang in there!! |
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| Triple Crown veteran, Keith Jensen, is poised to take a stab at another Colorado Triple Crown. Excellent ride, Keith! |
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| Graham Barnes continues to ride smoothly during his quest to complete the 2017 Colorado Triple Crown! Great ride! |
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| Jerry Arnold becomes our first rider from Nebraska to complete a Colorado Triple Crown event. Excellent ride, Jerry! Thanks for joining us! |
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| Josh Peter had another smooth Colorado Mesa Double Century on his rather dapper Foundry Overland. Excellent ride, Josh! |
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| David Fullagar, the best-traveled cyclist on the planet (no kidding!), survived the headwinds along US-50 to have an excellent Colorado Mesa Double Century. Great to have you back, David! |
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| Harris Rosenthal, Corinne Warren, and Nat Schub at the conclusion of the Colorado Mesa Double Century. Great ride, guys! Harris is back in good form after a crash thwarted his 2015 Denver-to-Aspen attempt. Nat Schub looked smooth all day long during his first Colorado Triple Crown event. Corinne runs a tight ship, keeping Harris and Nat in line all day. |
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| Ray Rupel spent much of the day riding blind without a cue sheet, but still managed to have an excellent ride! Great ride, Ray! |
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| Felix Wong, who had the speediest transitions of the day, successfully completed the Colorado Mesa Double Century and his first Colorado Triple Crown event! Thanks for joining us, Felix! |
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| Colorado Triple Crown veteran, Andy Lapkass, the only rider to ever complete the Colorado Triple Crown on a single speed bicycle, was back at it during the Colorado Mesa Double! Great ride, Andy! |
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| Derek Henry survived some dark times along US-50 and at the Purdy Creek Trailhead check point to successfully complete his first Colorado Triple Crown event. (The first is always the worst, Derek!) Great ride! |
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| Okasana Kovalenko successfully completes the Colorado Mesa Double Century and her first Colorado Triple Crown event! After several unsuccessful events, Oksana wins my award for perseverance! Congratulations, Oksana! |
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| Smooth and steady, Jason Turner successfully completes the Colorado Mesa Double Century! Great ride, Jason! |
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| Paul Grimm survived a minor crash that left him with a damaged rear derailleur hanger! Great ride, Paul, especially under those circumstances. |
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| Oksana Kovalenko, Erika Van Meter, and Paul Grimm prepare to start their adventure at 4:00 AM. |
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| Colorado Mesa Double Century riders try to tap into the "Force" prior to start the Colorado Mesa Double Century. |
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| Caleb Carl leads the charge through Palisade en route to the Grand Mesa. |
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| Spectacular morning skies greeted participants as they ascended the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway from I-70. Riders had absolutely no idea what was in store for them on top the Grand Mesa! |
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| Even though it was Memorial Day Weekend, snow banks still lined the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway at 10,000 feet. |
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| Triple Crown veteran, Keith Jensen, chugs a Coke (also known to parched cyclists as "Mother's Milk") at the Cedaredge check point. (I still prefer Pepsi! :) |
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| Nice bikes! Seven wonders! |
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| Views of ancient mesas and plateaus to the north of Reeder Mesa. |
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| Weary but good-spirited participants take a break at the Tabeguache Trailhead check point before entering the Colorado National Monument. |
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| Might as well keep moving! There's nothing to look at here! (Yeah, right!) |
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| Colorado Mesa Double Century finishers relax at the conclusion of the ride as the final participants trickle in. |
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| Riders and volunteers grab a bite to eat at the Kannah Creek Brewing Company at the conclusion of the ride. Ahhh...mountains, mesas, monuments, and memories! |
