September 13th – 20th, 2008
Southern Utah offers some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States, creating the perfect playground to enjoy the fitness you’ve worked so hard to create. You’ll ride through red rock canyons, next to incredible cliff formations, over high altitude passes and descend into magnificent deserts…all in one day! The timing of the camp is perfect for athletes peaking for Kona or Clearwater world championships.
Come join us as we support you and in this ultimate expression of the fitness lifestyle: Doing something epically cool with your fitness in an unbelievably beautiful playground.
Our Vision
“Training Camp” is probably a little too formal while “Tour” may imply a wicker basket on your bars, wine and cheese at the end of a 40 mile ride, etc. Instead, we offer you a “Training Tour”:
- Training: We’ve chosen challenging routes, as you can see by the itinerary below Big miles, big climbs, with opportunities to go bigger almost everyday. As our core customer is the Ironman athlete, we expect them to challenging themselves even further by running when they can. Sorry, no swimming this week.
- Tour: We give you the route and planned support on the course. When you leave, how you ride, and when you arrive at the next destination is entirely up to you. Groups will certainly form during the camp, but your fitness, your goals will determine how you ride.
We feel this combination maximizes the training AND tour potential of YOUR experience. Our intent is to maintain a social, high quality training environment where athletes committed to the fitness lifestyle can share their experiences and this incredible terrain with each other.
The Timing: Sept 13 thru Sept 20
The Endurance Nation Training Tour: Utah is seven full days of cycling and as much running as you care to fit in before (or after) your rides. Your job:
- Put the edge on a season of fitness, using the high volume training of our camp as your final preparation for Kona or other late season races. In fact, we’ve specifically chosen the dates of the camp to optimize it’s timing for Kona.
- Or, use your fitness, that vehicle you’ve created for doing cool stuff, to enjoy one of the most fantastics areas of the country. The camp for you is a reward for a season of hard work and sacrifice.
- Or, just get on your bike and ride!
The Details
Our job is to take care of all the details so all you have to think about is pushing the pedals and taking pictures! We’ve done all the planning and taken care of all of the logistics so you don’t have to!
Participants: Limited to 25 athletes.
Cost: $1395, includes:
- Seven days of cycling on some of the most beautiful and challenging terrain you have ever seen.
- Eight nights hotel accommodations (double occupancy, breakfast sometimes included). Participants preferring a single room may pay an additional $400.
- Support vehicle providing snacks and lunch along the route.
- Your own large gear bag (35lb limit) for all of your stuff.
Couples/Training Partners Discount: Nearly all of our participants in our Tour of California Training Tour were couples or training partners. We’d like to facilitate you getting clearance from the tower to share this experience with your Significant Other or training partner! Register as a couple or with a training partner and you’ll both receive a 10% discount!
Register: Email us to begin the registration process.
Terms: A non-refundable $450 deposit to reserve your spot. Balance of $945 due by July 15th. Registration after July 15th is $1495, balance paid in full, non-refundable.
Cancellation Policy: READ IT!
Meals: Riders are on their own for most breakfasts and all dinners. We know some training camps include all meals. However, our experience is that after a long day in the saddle, most people have their own post-ride and meal agenda and would rather not be stuck with the single option given by the camp. Some folks prefer a formal meal and the company of other riders. Some just want to eat a sandwich in their room, relax, maybe check in with the family and surf the Internet, etc. Some prefer a large breakfast while others skip it all together, preferring to eat while riding. We let you decide. Comparable tours are at least $1000 more than ours. We guarantee you won’t spend even half of that difference buying your own breakfast and dinner.
Fitness: To enjoy this training tour, your training in the previous six months should include at least several centuries, and several 200+ mile training weeks. You should be able to complete a moderately difficult century in under 7 hours, including stops. We recommend 39 x 27 (or 25) as your lowest gear. A compact crank is even better, or a triple may be appreciated near the end of the week. Bring a sturdy set of wheels, not your fancy race wheels, as we can’t fix or replace wheels on the road. We will handle all the tubes, CO2, etc.
Itinerary
Note: The following may be subject to some changes; the final version will be confirmed with participants via email before the camp begins.
Rider Check-In, Saturday, Sept 13
Check in will be from 8pm to 9pm. We’ll have a short meeting at 9pm just to go over details and answer any questions. Breakfast starts at 7am. Plan to be ready to ride by 8:30am. Generally speaking, rides start between 8am and 9am, depending on the length and difficulty of the route.
Lodging = TBD. The Saturday nights both before and after the Tour are included, so no need to make a reservation. If you’re flying to St. George, Las Vegas International Airport is just 90 minutes south. Shuttle service is available from Las Vegas to St. George with the St. George Shuttle for $30 one-way or $55 round trip.
Day One, Sunday, Sept 14: St. George to Mt. Carmel Junction, via Zion National Park
Day One Interactive Map
~80 miles, 3500 ft of gain. The highlight of the day will be riding the out and back in Zion National Park. The road is closed to private vehciles. Only shuttle buses and BICYCLES (!) can ride the road. You’ll ride next to the Virgin River, surrounded by incredible cliffs and rock formations on all sides.
Floor of Zion Canyon
Leaving the park and heading to Carmel Junction
Day Two, Monday, Sept 15: Mt. Carmel Junction to Bryce National Park
Day Two Interactive Map
About 60 miles with over 3700′ of gain. The road leads north through gentle climbs next to pastures and running streams. We then turn east on Scenic Byway 12 to go ride through Red Rock Canyon before arriving on the plateau of Bryce Canyon National Park. In the afternoon we’ll hop on a shuttle bus and go into the park for a hike/run. There are a ton of hiking options – long or short, easy or hard. All are gorgeous.
Looking down into Bryce Canyon. We’re gonna run through there!
Day Three, Tuesday, Sept 16: Bryce National Park to Boulder
Day Three Interactive Map
75 miles, 4200 ft of gain. Another incredible day! You’ll descend about 7-8 miles to Tropic. The next 30+ miles are climb over a short ridge, drop into a valley with a small town, repeat. Leaving Escalante we’ll go through the Head of the Rocks and Then you’ll ride through a narrow, red rock canyon within the Calf Creek Recreation Area before climbing up onto the Hogsback, a narrow road a long a ridge with sharp drop-offs on either side. We’ll have dinner at the fantastic Hell’s Backbone Grill in remote Boulder, the last town in the US to receive it’s mail by mule!
The Hogsback, from the air
Day Four, Wednesday, Sept 17: Boulder to Torrey, out to Capital Reef, back to Torrey
Day Four Interactive Map
About 85 miles and 6500 ft of gain
From Boulder you climb about 10 miles to the summit of Boulder Mountain, at almost 10k feet. At the over look at the top you’re surrounded by golden aspens, changing colors because it will be fall, looking down on red rock deserts as far as you can see. After a 20 mile descent on perfect pavement, you will be IN that red rock desert. The transition is dramatic. More downhill and you’re in Capital Reef. Capital Reef features an out and back into the park, surrounded again by cliffs.
You will climb up here and look down on this:
Then ~20 miles later, ride through this:
Day Five, Thurs, Sept 18: Torrey to Panguitch
Day Five Interactive Map
About 106 miles with about 3,400′ of gain. The route is relatively flat but can be windy.
Day Six, Friday, Sept 19: Panguitch to Cedar City, via Brian Head and Cedar Breaks National Monument
Day Six Interactive Map
About 70 miles with about 6000′ of gain. We’ll reach our highest point on this ride, at 10,500′.
Cedar Breaks
Day Seven, Saturday, Sept 20: Cedar City to St. George
Day Seven Interactive Map
About 83 miles with just over 2,500′ of gain, featuring a ride through the Dixie National Forest.
Tour Cancellation Policy – READ IT!
- The initial deposit to hold your space on the Tour is nonrefundable.
- Once the balance is paid, if a rider cancels, for any reason, the following refund schedule applies: More than 60 days before the Tour – 50%; 30-59 days before the Tour – 25%; less than 30 days, no refund.
- Registration fees are non-transferable.
- A gear bag is supplied for all point-to-point Tours and must be used to standardize van loading.
- Before you sign up, we recommend you consider trip cancellation insurance if you are unable to attend.
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