The ride's not that bad, he's right. Great report.

One thing I would add, however, is that if you live at sea level, try to take a weekend and ride at altitude to see how that affects you. Some of the riders we coach who are very strong are humbled by the altitude. You simply don't know how it will affect you until you ride there. GI issues, dehydration, etc. all are exacerbated by the elevation. Personally, I find it very difficult to eat solid food at altitude - everyone's different, though.

So that's one suggestion I'd add.

We take our group out a month before the event and have them ride some of the passes. (Not all - you want something unexplored for event day. )