Death Ride 2015 - Tour of the California Alps (Cycling)

You know that for the past few month I’ve been posting my bike riding pictures of on FB. They were all training for the Tour of the California Alps, better known as the Death Ride.  The daunting goal was to ride 129 miles and climb 16,400 feet (5000 meters) over five mountain passes in a single day.

This is the biggest thing I've attempted since 2008. At the start of the ride I didn't know if I would be able to finish. I’ve done endurance events before, but never a bike ride of this magnitude. Here is how the day went.

Dave and Joe hanging out with the ride mascot

The group of us staying at a great home three miles off the course agreed to wake up at 4:00 and start riding around 4:30. We started in the dark, ten miles from the first checkpoint. Even though we started out together, we knew we would soon be spread across the course. Given my size, my friends are all stronger climbers than me. When we hit the first uphill, I watched as they slowly pulled away. However, when we descended our first drop into Markleville, by the laws of physics, I caught up with them.

The climb on the front side of the first Pass, Monitor, was enjoyable. Watching the sky turn from dark to light and then seeing the mountains was wonderful. I let out a whoop when the sun crested the mountain when I was near the top. It felt good to be back in this beauty.

When I reached the top, I stopped to collect my first sticker. Each rider is given a sticker for each of the five peaks. I haven’t collected stickers since I was in fifth grade. I felt like a kid again, but I would have to earn all five stickers. If I got all five stickers, I could order a five pass finisher jersey and be one of the cool kids.

I didn’t stop at the aid station on the top of Monitor Pass. I rolled on through and then started flying down the backside of the Pass almost to Nevada. I averaged 35 mph on those skinny big tires with a max speed of 45 mph. As I flew down the hill I enjoyed the ride, but kept thinking I have to climb back up this grade as soon as I reach the bottom.  I refueled at the aid station and started the return trip, where I averaged 5 mph climbing. It took me about two hours the climb the 3100 feet back up the second pass where it only took me less than 16 minutes to go down.

Climbing the back side of Monitor Pass. A few of the 2600 riders.

Down I went back to the bottom of Monitor Pass. What took me 1:30 to climb took me 13 minutes to descend. So went the day. Climbing the third Pass, Ebbetts, wasn’t too bad. There were a couple of steep sections where I had to stop and rest, but hey, I did the same during my ultra-marathons.

The day in the mountains was spectacular. I admit, I concentrated on the asphalt and didn't see as much of the beauty as I would when running. I realized during this ride that I talk myself out of missing the mountains living near the coast, but when I get back in them, I feel like I am home.

I rolled down the back side of Ebbetts Pass to Hermit Valley Aid Station. I spent a bit of time there refueling, better known as eating and drinking. I pulled out the map for the first time to see where I was relative to the cutoffs. It was 12:30, I’d been riding for eight hours, finished three passes and 67 miles. I had two more passes and 62 more miles to go. The cutoff for Ebbetts was 2:00.  Based on my climbing ‘speed’ I knew I would have to push it.

I got on my bike and rode as hard as I could, which was pretty darn slow, up the backside of Ebbetts. Based on my calculation and climbing rate, I expected to reach the top by 2:10. I was very disappointed I would be timed-out. That is, I would miss a cut off time and be done for the day. Up until this point, I didn’t know if I had the conditioning and the desire to finish. Oh well, I guess that means I’ll have to train harder and come back next year. 

The top came sooner than expected. I arrived at 1:45. I immediately realized that, yes I really wanted to finish.  I had read the cutoff wrong. The traffic was being stopped at the top of the Pass on the first climb going down into Hermit’s Valley and I was on the second climb out of the Valley, I was two hours ahead of the cutoff. .

The next cutoff was at 4:00 twenty five miles away. Fortunately, it was mostly downhill. I was motivated to make it. I pulled out my endurance experience, put my head down, and rode hard. By not stopping for lunch or any of the rest stops, I made it to Woodfords AS, mile 92, at about 3:05. At times I was pushing downhill riding 45 mph.

I did make sure I kept my caloric intake and stayed hydrated. My ultra routine is to consume 300 calories per hour. Any more I get sick. Any less, I get behind and bonk in the last quarter of the event. I'll start the day with fruit and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mid day, I'll switch over to gels so I don't have to digest as much. If the day is going well, I'll splurge on oreo cookies or some other sugar bomb items they have at the aid station. To stay hydrated, I drink 16 oz of water per hour minimum. If it is hot, I'll double that. I take salt stick tables to get the electrolytes I need throughout the day. If the event is longer than six hours, like the Death Ride, I'll take a calcium/magnesium pill midway through to keep my head in the game.  I had enough food and water with me to make it to Woodfords

The next challenge was to make it to the final cutoff by 5:15. It was six miles and 1500 feet of climbing. My friend Dave said he hated that section. There was a steep area and the headwinds coming down the canyon slowed me down even more. I put my head down, tucked in behind some riders, and slogged it up to Pickets Junction, mile 103. Again my calculations were off. I thought the full ride was 7 percent grade, which meant slow climbing, but it was only 7 percent for about a mile in the middle. Once I pulled into this final AS, I smiled. I knew I would collect all five stickers.

Climbing the last nine miles to Kit Carson Pass was brutal. I had very little left in my legs. My lungs felt fine, but the legs burned. But I made it. Now, I don’t need to go back next year and prove I can do it.

I celebrated at the top by enjoying the ice cream at the Aid Station. I was pretty emotional. It felt so great to be back doing endurance events. This proves my Lyme disease is abated. I have been feeling good for a couple of years, but this removed any doubt.

The road at the top of the pass was being repaved. There was 2.8 miles of cut asphalt, which made the riding tough going into the Carson AS and on the way back. Most of us went slow. The traffic was going slow due to the curvy roads and big construction trucks. A car full of teenagers pulled up alongside of me and one stuck his head out the window and started yelling at me. ‘This sucks. What the #$@!# are you all doing up here? Why don’t you get off the road? You are making us wait. Get a mountain bike.’ Then he flipped me off. I laughed and shrugged. I told him that he would get where he was going eventually. I then rode ahead of the car on the right of the road. A few miles later, the road became normal and smooth. I started pedaling faster and the car came around me with the teen hanging out the window flipping me off and shouting obscenities. Ah, to be young and ignorant. I smiled and waved.

On the way down from Carson’s back to our rental I tucked in behind a tandem bike. Those bikes can fly. I clocked 50.4 mph during the descent between Pickets and Woodford Junctions. It was a nice way to end the day.

I certainly didn’t do this alone. My good friends Tim, Chris and Dave plus my new friend Len, were inspirational in helping me train, teaching me the etiquette or riding in group, and a showed patience by waiting for me at the top of most climbs. Tim convinced me to ride the Sierra to the Sea Tour for the week in June. Chris taught us the lesson of slowing down and waiting for the camera person. He had to ride hard to catch us. Then he set a furious pace of 22 mph on the flats, that we kept up for about 40 minutes on day 3 of the Sierra Tour. It’s great to have friends like these. Thank you!