Death Valley Century and Double Century
March 1, 2003 Results

The new Death Valley Century and Double Century route in and beyond the north end of Mother Nature’s Greatest Sports Arena was very well received on March 1, 2003. It was "a real humdinger" in the words of Chuck "Triple Crown Guy" Bramwell. We’re still collecting altitude data, but apparently the double route had between 9100 and 10,500 feet.

In the three days prior to the event, rain and snow fell in or around Death Valley, leaving a spectacular backdrop for our weekend adventure. Many of the mountains ringing Death Valley were blanketed in snow. Townes Pass was lined with snow along the road for those who drove in on that route. What a rare treat.

During the ride, seriously bad weather threatened, but never fully materialized. Well, I mean, it could have been worse! Many riders were showered with pellet-sized hail, rode into a 20mph headwind on the playa in Nevada, and marveled at the snowflakes fluttering down. Nearly everyone got a little wet from rain. It made for an exciting day and one best spent in the company of a smooth paceline.

We had 147 century riders who did a 108 mile ride up to Scotty’s Castle and back. Scotty’s proved to be a wonderful locale with the castle itself right behind the lunch spot, lots of space to spread out, and more. We just had to keep shooing away the overly friendly coyotes.

Altogether, 112 of the 144 double century riders completed the full course, including the fun doglegs to Ubehebe Crater and Hell’s Gate. The latter went up 2,022 Feet in 6.50 miles for an average grade of 5.89%. You can link to an altitude study of Hell’s Gate on the website. It really added the icing on the cake to an already amazing day. Riders finishing this new route had a real sense of accomplishment and saw many sights and places that no other Death Valley cycling event has enjoyed. - Chris Kostman

Special thanks to our tireless volunteer crew for all their efforts!

Stove Pipe Wells: Reed Flamingo Finfrock and Mark Panther Patten

Side 'o' Road: Mike Angelos and Lonnie Wolff

Scotty's Castle: Mike Sturgill, Roger Macomber, and Ryan Jones

Hwy 95 Jct: Reed Flamingo Finfrock and Mark Panther Patten

Ubehebe Crater: Bill Fowler

Hell's Gate: Chris Kostman

Finish Line: Deborah Caplan and Sandy Clare

Sandwich Brigade: Deborah Caplan, Sandy Clare, and Caryl Ishizawa

Roving SAG: Lee Maggot Mitchell, Chris Kostman, and Doug Goodwin

Roving Medical: Astrid Willis

A new course means new course records!

Male - Timothy Coleman 10:08

Female - Elaine Astrue 13:40

Under 21 - Bevan Barton 13:42 - First double ever at 16 years old!

First time double finishers

Jeff Balaban, Bevan Barton, Ron Beck, James Cherry, Neil Grimmer, Brett Maune, Sue Radd and Robert Thomas

First time century finishers

Janet Cunningham, Molly Heekin, Tapio Lahnalampi, Tammy Silver and Adam Webber

Slideshows

	Show 1: Ride Start and Side 'o' Road Checkpoint
	Show 2: Climbing to Scotty's Castle
	Show 3: More Climbing to Scotty's Castle
	Show 4: Scotty's, The Playa, Hwy 95 Jct, Scotty's again, Ubehebe Crater, and Hell's Gate
	Double century elevation profile created during the ride by Chuck Bramwell
	Graphed climbing analysis of Hell's Gate created during the ride by Chuck Bramwell

March 1, 2003 Death Valley Double Century Results
(144 riders: 112 finishers and 32 DNF)

March 1, 2002 Death Valley Century Roster: 147 riders