Desperado Dual 200 mile ride at Panguitch Utah. August 21st, 2010. My third year in a row attending.
I was hoping to break the 12-hour barrier for 200 miles. Last year it took me something like 12 hours and 18 minutes. This year it took longer at 12:28. Rats. Lots of wind on the second half. Anyway here’s some overall notes on the ride.
1. No water at the Jct of US89 and SR20 like last year, but I asked the day ahead and knew that was the case this year, so I tanked up at the previous stop. (The route had the usual head winds going into Panguitch.)
2. The water stop at Panguitch Lake was unmanned most of the time and from what I heard, they ran out of water later in the afternoon. That is REALLY bad.
3. The next stop was placed too early…at the junction of the turn off to Mammoth Creek, instead of in “town.”
4. The Alton stop was OK with water and food, but no cooler with Cokes. No one checked bib numbers to see if everyone really went to Alton. We had timing chips on our helmets, but of course they didn’t read them there. At least one person missed the sign (both on stop sign and on road) and turned left at 89/14 junction, instead of heading down to Alton. Not sure why they bothered with bib numbers as they had chips on helmets.
On the positive side…
1. They gave away Tech T-Shirts, which I personally would rather have than a pin or patch. A hat was also given to finishers.
2. The pasta dinner at the end was nice with table service and strawberry short cake. The metal folding chairs were a pain!
3. They had Heed and decent food at the stops.
4. This year, most of the tables were right on the road side and for me, as I was trying to beat my previous time, made for quick in and outs on some…I just paused with my bike between my legs, grabbed some goodies and kept on going (assuming there were not others there). Despite that, I got a slower time than last year.
Author: Rando Richard
I’m an old guy (age 69 in 2023) who enjoys aerobic, endurance sports. I call myself a cardio-junkie. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be “ultra” endurance sports. Since I was a teenager I have always enjoyed “slow twitch” outdoor sports like backpacking, ice climbing, running, mountaineering, hiking, alpine skiing and randonnée skiing (alpine touring, backcountry skiing or skimo). In 2005 I starting running with more regularity — except this time it was not for the intent of getting ready for a mountaineering trip, but as an end to itself. From 2005 to 2007 I managed to eek out two seasons of ultramarathons — that is competitive trail runs up to 50 or 100 miles. Due to a nagging ankle injury from the 80s (an accident while ice climbing in the 1980s where my lower tib and fib were badly broken), I had to cease that grueling, but rewarding activity. I then migrated into ultra distance road cycling or randonneuring. The rides are called brevets (pronounced bruh-VAY, it’s French) and are minimally supported — they are similar to ultrarunning and backpacking where one must be self reliant. Although brevets are non-competitive, they do have have cut off times to qualify as a finisher. They are usually are done in groups, which can have a competitive slant to them. Today, I continue to participate in long distance cycling including some ultra-racing, randonnée skiing (a blend of cross country and downhill disciplines) and still get out on an occasional mountaineering trip.
Since 1996 I have been designing, manufacturing and selling camera bags. That is Kinesis Photo Gear (kgear.com). In 2005 I started selling cycling bags under the Kinesis label and eventually expanded it to including other sports like SUP (stand-up paddle boarding and some skimo). Consequently, it become eoGEAR — the “eo” stands for endurance outdoor.
My wife and I are empty-nesters now and we live and work out in the boondocks of central Utah, half way between Salt Lake City (great powder) and Moab (great red rocks).
Well, I guess that is all for now. Safe travels mate! Perhaps I’ll see you on the road or trail.
— Richard Stum
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