Death Ride 2009

The event started with some trepidation since I had discovered a few months ago that our bi-annual mandatory owners meeting was to be held the day before the Death Ride. This meant that I wasn’t going to be able to acclimate to the elevation and that I would need to drive up late the night before. Sometime after leaving Friday evening, I developed an ocular migraine (second time ever it has happened while driving). After an hour ‘sitting quietly with eyes closed’ I was able reach (somewhat impaired) Tahoe after 11 pm. I met up with Ben Holland, my mid-week training partner, who had decided to do the ride the day before and bought a spot off Craigslist. He was going to attempt the ride on his racing gears – compact chainring with a 23 toothed largest cog.

Saturday morning we decided to ‘sleep in’ till 5 and start later than most. My eyes were still sensitive to light/glare so I decide to ride with polarized dark shades. When we reach the official start line at 6:30 it was apparent that most of the 2,800 riders were up the road (we were supposed to leave between 5:30 and 6:30, they said some had left at 4 am). It was also almost 60-degrees which could mean a warm day but not too drastic of temperature change (Accuweather.com had ‘predicated’ a 33-degree low when I checked three days before).

The Death Ride traverses five mountain passes from the town of Markleeville southeast of Lake Tahoe. My objective from the day’s start was to ride the first climbs steady tempo and one gear lower than I thought I needed to conserve for later. The first climb out Monitor Pass was rather easy (although the average gradient is well over 7% with sections over 10%) and we ‘bombed’ down the back side with speeds around 50 mph. After the turn around the climb back up was longer than the first but still manageable. With the sun on our backs, it was starting to heat up. We were also being to catch the tail of the main group of riders. With the first hit of muscle tightening I started taking Ecaps (salt tabs) often, not wanting to relive my ironman experience.

Ebbetts Pass, the third climb, was an epic 10 mile beast having some switchbacks with gradients over 20% and the last pitches at 12%. It wasn’t so much the steepness of the grade but that we were climbing to over 8700 feet. I was happy to have the compact x26 cog. Most riders had triples. The ride to/from Hermit Valley contained stunning views and the shortest ascent manageable. The decent from Ebbetts, while technical at the top, was fast and invigorating.

After a ‘lunch stop’ (soup, coke, pretzels, and turkey rollup), we pressed on back through Markleeville (hundreds of supports line the two blocks of downtown). We did a clothes drop at the car and pedaled to Woodfords, the base of the final two climbs. Woodfords to Pickets Junction contains a fairly constant 7.5% grade for about 6 miles. I held good tempo up to Pickets were I had my second Coke (I don’t typically drink soda so these were treats). Ben had been having knee/leg issues since the start of Ebbetts and decided that it wasn’t worth risking injury for the rest of his racing season.

The road from Pickets Junction up Highway 88 to Carson Pass isn’t steep (average 5% or less), but the swirling wind, which was present continuously throughout the day, was gaining strength. Additionally clouds were forming at the mountaintop. I held my tempo riding up the climb, pulling groups, or getting respite for a few moments behind a group before soldering on. Near the summit the sky darkened a few sprinkles began falling.

At the summit, we were welcomed with our fifth sticker (elated as a 3-year old is to get one) and 5-pass pin. They served ice cream (I had my 3rd coke!). Not wanting to get wet, I headed down quickly. The 23 miles back to the car were 95% downhill and took me about 30 minutes. As I turned the corner for home, my right quad seized a bit and I had to massage it to stop. Thank goodness that there was no sprint finish! My total ride time for the day was 8 hours 33 minutes which is just over 15 mph. 5 minutes after putting the bike in the car, the showers came.

All in all it was a great day for me. My legs felt strong all day. I rode inside myself. I ate/drank a lot and had probably 15 Ecaps (probably not enough drinking or salt tabs since today I’m noticeably dehydrated). I managed my training, taper, and approach well (thanks Eden Bicycles in Castro Valley and Eden Racing/Training Club). As with other ultra events (running, cycling, and triathlon) I’ve done, I discovered something new for my body, my mind, and my soul. Content for a day…tomorrow looking for the next adventure. Dan


Postnote: The Death Ride is truly an epic event - 129 miles, 15,000 feet of vertical climbing over 5 mountain passes. The event is very well organized with friendly staff, volunteers, motorcycle sag support, medical personnel (there were many needs), police, and fellow riders. A lot of people ride left before the official 5:30 start and were planning to ride to the 8 pm cutoff (12+ hours of riding). Most ‘non racers’ had triple chain rings. A compactx26 is probably the minimum gearing needed. Fitness, food, and hydration are paramount. The altitude added another level of complexity to climbing. Being able to talk throughout the climbs meant that you have exceeded your anaerobic threshold – key to ultra events. In the end, it appeared to me that most riders looked like they were going to finish the event.