Death Ride Report (2007)

Tour of the California Alps (aka The Death Ride) was on July 14th, 2007 and I rode it! Well I only rode 3 out of 5 passes, but that equated to 76 miles and around 9200' climbing (based on this route info I found online). Both numbers are by far a personal best so I'm not exactly disappointed ;).

The ride...

I hopped in my truck to head to Turtle Rock starting point at 4 AM. After finally finding an open gas station that would take a credit card in Minden I was off! I started riding at 5:22 AM when there was just barely enough light to get by without a headlamp (though I did bring my taillight just to be safe). The roads were closed from Markleeville onward on the route so no cars to deal with, only tons of cyclists! Arriving at the west base of Monitor pass I made my turn, took a deep breath and said to myself "let's go!" I was riding by myself because my coworkers who were riding are much faster than I and would eventually catch up to me and pass me just as fast ;). I maintained a good pace up the front side of Monitor and felt really strong, but kept reminding myself to save something for the other side. After about an hour and a half I made it to the top and decided I would try the backside (my plan had been to wait to see how I felt at the top before deciding to continue or not).

Reaching speeds of 40+ going down the backside of Monitor (46.3 max) I got to the bottom fairly quickly (I love going fast, but always makes me a bit nervous). There was a never-ending flow of people coming up the other side already. Seeing their faces told me what I was dooming myself to have to do to get back :|. I kept my stop at the Topaz rest stop short (just enough time to wait for the rest room and get back on the road). It was quickly heating up and so I removed my arm warmers before heading out and glad I did. I was thankful when I reached the water stop about half way up. As I had been told before the ride, they would take your bottle, you keep riding slowly, they fill and bring it to you…oh thank you so much!!! Had no choice but to stop a few miles before the top to try to cool down and eat something. My hydration for the day sucked and it was the backside of Monitor that started it (didn't eat enough either). Took right about 2.5 hours to climb the backside with about 10 minutes of stopping, but I still managed to reach the top by 10:30 AM as planned.

After dealing with some equipment issues (my cleats were jammed with rocks and I couldn't clip in) and refueling with water and whatever I could stand to eat I got back on the road. I flew down front side of Monitor, but much slower than the back. The problem I was facing was my back and sides were really hurting. My legs were doing ok, but I could feel the pain starting in there too by this point. As I arrived at the bottom of Monitor west, all I could think about was the 13+ miles to get to the top of Ebbetts.

At the rest stop on front side of Ebbetts, I stopped to try to cool down and stretch my back. I was standing in the shade of an RV trying to catch my breath when this girl I had noticed earlier walked by and said "they ice over there". I had seen it, but was too tired to go over there. I said thanks and decided to go get some ice; it helped a lot. As was debating on whether to continue or not, I heard the same girl talking to a couple people about what was left and how she only wanted to do 3 passes. At that point I decided ok I'll finish my 3 passes as well and head the truck. After a mile or so, she caught up with me. We ended up riding together for about 5 miles or so before I finally couldn't keep up any further. She wasn't going all that fast, but my heart rate was really killing me. It was a shame I couldn't keep up actually…she was fun to talk with. Was hoping I'd catch up with her at the top, but shortly before I finally got there, she was heading back down. Oh well...

I had lots of people cheering me on towards the top as they were passing me in either direction. It was encouraging, but by this point I was in so much pain that I couldn't really ride anymore. I did eventually make it to the top, got my third pass sticker, some water, and raced back down to Centerville lunch stop. Saw a few people at the stop who remembered me from Ebbetts and called out "did you make it!?" "Yup" I called out with my hand in the air. I couldn't really eat lunch as anything was making me feel queasy. I ate what I could, had a coke, refilled the water bottles, and got back on my bike. It took what seemed like forever to get back to my truck. The climbs back to Turtle Rock may not be big, but they are still long and tough in my condition. I ran into this couple I had seen earlier who were now stopped on the side of the road shortly before Turtle Rock. The wife's legs had just refused to pedal (same as me). I was now walking and they suggested I stop for a few in the shade. I took them up on that before finishing the last mile back to my truck.

As I pulled in behind my truck, I felt like collapsing in the bed of the truck. It was a great ride and I certainly will try again next year (though at the time I was unsure). I definitely need to train more to complete my 4 passes and a LOT MORE to earn my 5 pass finisher pin.

Next up, Marin Century…