Here in my part of the world of Durango, CO we have a bicycle race that began off a bet or racing the steam engined train from Durango to Silverton. Durango has an elevation of 6500ft and Silverton is 9300ft. In between are two mountain passes. One that summits 10,610 and the other 10,900ft. Here is a link to a map. Link I have never done a road race in my life. I was approached to do this race by some friends to raise money for a local youth ranch. They asked if I would ride ...