# Deathride - Feel the Burn Dodge the Rain (Warning - Lots of Pics)



## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

This years Deathride went very well until the end. 129 miles (my computer says 124 for the third year in a row) and 15,000 feet of elevation gain helps to keep you mind from wandering too much. My wife, friend Joe, and friend Yvette all decided to join us on the ride this year and we have been training for the most part of the past 2 months for it. This year has the added bonus of allowing us to meet up with Thinkcooper, his wonderful wife, and their friends. I also met another member from Stockton (picture included in the post) but am so mentally wrecked from the ride that I completely airheaded who it was. Hopefully he'll chime in.

The day before the ride we registered at Turtlerock Park and met up with Cooper, RWBradley, and gang. Had a great time B.S.ing over a beer before heading back to our different lodgings to try and get some sleep. As is always the case, I had just dozed off when it seemed like the alarm went off at 2:30am. Two hours later we were on the road and headed up towards the top of Monitor Pass. Boy it's cold in the morning around that Carson River before the sun comes up.

We climbed up towards Monitor Pass watching the glow of the sun far above and the mountains to the west continue to grow lighter. The rest stop at the top had some great morning food that I wolfed down before heading over the final little bit of elevation to begin the screaming descent down the other side.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Deathride-Tour-of-California-Alps

www.deathride.com


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Over the Top and Down the Other Side*

As I came up over the top the sun greeted me with some almost warm rays and the distant wall of smoke adding some character to the sky. We were very lucky on this day. The day before had the sky blotted out by gray smoke but today it was clear and beautiful. As I flew down toward U.S. 395 on the east side of Monitor I snapped a picture of my speedometer and thought I'm being pretty stupid and put the camera away from that point on. Sorry folks, no over 50mph photos today. We got to the bottom, threw our stuff into drop bags and quickly started back up towards the top. The only sounds were the clicking of gears, gasping of breath, and the roar of hundreds of wheels and cassettes screaming down from the top. What a rush!! Passing over the top we hit the rest stop one more time and then started down the other side to begin our push up Ebbetts Pass.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Sweat, Skeletons, and Ebbetts Pass*

The climb up Ebbetts Pass started with its usual gentle slope to hook you solid and pull you in. I stopped at the rest stop to top off my Cytomax (now a mix of about four flavors) and ran into JAS ??? (man, my memory is bad anymore) who I snapped a quick shot with before heading up the road past some very wild women. On the way up I got this funny feeling that someone was whispering my name and again got to see JAS before heading up to the top. (Again, I hope it was JAS as the fog in little brain won't seem to clear up). At the top I ran into a very nice woman seeking her hero of a mountain climber but he had yet to be found. Then all of a sudden there he was. . .Thinkcooper had entered the picture.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Down, Down. . .Up, Up. . .*

After cresting Ebbetts and wasting too much time eating and drinking Joe and I (my wife was pacing a little further back with her friend Yvette) flew down into Hermits Valley where we once more wasted a lot of time (hey, you've got to have fun) eating more and checking in on the Thinkcooper machine (or maybe he was checking in on me as I'm sure I looked like I needed it). And then it was back up the mountain and over to the lunch stop at Centerville flats. After eating Thinkcooper had started up a very nice paceline which kept growing and growing as we flew down along the Carson River. Somehow I got lucky and right when it was my turn to pull the guy in front locked up his chain and the whole thing collapsed. Oh well, guess I owe everyone one.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Dark Storms on the Horizon*

As we rolled into the rest stop at Woodfords it was hot, hot, hot. People were getting sprayed down to cool down a little bit but I was nervously watching some large anvil head thunderstorms to the south. Growing up in this country I have seen way too many of these and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. I grabbed Joe and told him we had to move and started up Woodfords Canyon. On a good note, the clouds really cooled down what could have been a nasty climb. As we reached the next stop at Picketts Junction (highway 88/89 interchange) we only hung around long enough to use the bathroom, say hi Think and then head out. What I didn't know was that my wife was only a few miles behind and had already run into heavy rain. She and Yvette were struggling. 

We continued on nervously watching the clouds just to our south but only a couple of stray drops hit us as we entered the final rest stop at the top of Carson Pass and grabbed out sticker, signed in, signed the poster, and grabbed some icecream. Still no rain and a couple of guys had left the cover of a shade canopy so we rushed in and sat down. Within moments after our rears had hit the chairs the heavens opened up and down came more hail than I've seen in a long, long, time. As many people as possible crowded under the canopy and what plastic bags they had were handed out to people to keep the pounding hail off. Think, Joe, and I stayed under our cozy little canopy and felt bad for the folks out under the weather. After an hour it slowed down enough for us to get back down the mountain. Nothing like a 40mph decent on drenched roads. I ate more road grit in 15 miles than I normally eat all year.

While all this was going on my wife had been climbing up with her friend Yvette. They got caught in the middle of it and their light windbreakers soaked through in a couple of minutes. As they continued up my wife noticed Yvette was shaking uncontrollably and was in trouble. She quickly decided to abort the effort and rapidly descended back down to Sorenson's Resort. Yvette was going hypothermic and was in bad shape. Sorenson's came to the rescue along with a rider who bought hot coffee for everyone. Major kodos to all the folks at that Resort and to the Resort itself for helping those riders. They let my wife and Yvette stay there until a friend came to pick them up. Much thanks.


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## zpl (May 7, 2007)

Amazing. I just did my most climbing-intensive ride yet this morning - and that was 3500 feet over 48 miles. I can't even comprehend what the Death Ride must have been like. Thanks for sharing the photos.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Yow!

Great pix so far... how's it end?

Those folks standing in the rain / hail... I figure if I'm stuck out in it, might as well ride.

p.s. ThinkCooper has a cute butt.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Awesome ... glad to see your wife's friend is ok.


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## Spirito (Nov 26, 2001)

Cool :thumbsup:

wish I was there


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## robwh9 (Sep 2, 2004)

Great pics! I must have been just a few minutes ahead of you, because I got nailed by the hail at the start of the Carson Pass descent. I was thinking: how deep does the hail have to be on the road before my wheels slip out? 

It was stupid of me to leave the safety and comfort of the rest stop, but I thought I could beat the storm. More stupid, I didn't turn around 100 yards after the pass when it started to rain. About a mile or two down, two riders and I took refuge in an aspen grove, but still got soaked. One guy was boarderline hypothermic. Odd how we were complaining about the heat just a short time earlier. Despite the storm, we lucked out on the weather (well, the heat at least) and the smoke.

I love the Death Ride: it's the Woodstock of endurance cycling. What an event!


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## Killroy (Feb 9, 2006)

I see a really bad DYL violation. tisk tisk.


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## kreger (Mar 10, 2004)

i love how the smoke cleared 4 hours before the ride and came back the day after! great ride, i came down from seattle just for it. 

theres my name, i took two ribs!


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Ridgetop, as always, great pictures - I haven't downloaded anything yet; it was great to finally meet you, your wife and friends. Bummer to hear that the girls weren't able to bag the fifth pass, and that Yvette ended up getting hypothermic.

Our descent down Carson was insane. I hit a shade under 45 in the rain, then my speed sensor got waterlogged and died. I rode as light as possible, balanced front to rear, with as little brake as possible. We made it back safe and sound. Glad to hear that you and Joe did as well. 

Sorry we didn't hook-up at the finish. We got into line for a five pass jersey and then bailed.

Our final ride time was ~9:50, and the full elapsed time worked out to about 13 hours. Next year I want to trim the ride time a lot.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Oh yeah - next year I want to follow your lead and leave at 4:30 with lights. We left in main pack at 5:30; a little more private riding in the early AM might have been nice.

Nice pics of me and the Mrs. at Ebbets...


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## rwbadley (Apr 13, 2002)

It was great to meet you Ridgetop! I'm really glad the smoke cleared for your ride. It looks great, and I wish I could have been there too. I went to a Solar cookoff in Taylorsville on Saturday. It was nice, but the smoke was really bad in the evening.

Good on you for doing the whole ride.

Cheers,

RW


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## llama31 (Jan 13, 2006)

Wow, that looks like a lot of fun, except for the hail and the near-hypothermia.

I'd head of the death ride before but didn't know much about it. Thanks for the pics and the story.


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## abiciriderback (Jun 8, 2005)

Congrats on the tough tough ride. Looks like you guys had a little of everything as far as weather. You guys really deserve a little break after all the climbing you guys have been doing.

Ray Still


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I didn't get much pics of the end except for Joe in his bag climbing back towards Turtlerock. I was pretty much done in and ready for a beer at that point. . .and then they ran out of beer!!!! Talk about disappointing until I remembered I had a case sitting in ice in the car. We hung around until after 7:30pm eating, drinking (more soda's and water than beer), and talking to people. It was great.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

She made it back all right but she's madder 'an hell that she wasn't able to complete it. She really trained her tail off for it this year. Very disappointing but was smart to turn back.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Rob, glad to know you made it back all right. I can't imagine what it was like descending in those hail stones. Yikes! We had fun sitting like sardenes under the canopy.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Think, it was terrific meeting you and the Mrs. You guys were great and I'm so glad you made it back down in the rain all right. That was the fastest descent in the rain that I've ever done. Funny thing was was that we were hooping and hollering all the way down. I'm glad you got to experience just about all we could throw at you up here. Talking about extremes. Next year?


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

It was great meeting your RW. Love your mix of beers and hopefully we can ride together some time.


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## imjps (Feb 15, 2005)

Ridgetop said:


> The climb up Ebbetts Pass started with its usual gentle slope to hook you solid and pull you in. I stopped at the rest stop to top off my Cytomax (now a mix of about four flavors) and ran into JAS ??? (man, my memory is bad anymore) who I snapped a quick shot with before heading up the road past some very wild women. On the way up I got this funny feeling that someone was whispering my name and again got to see JAS before heading up to the top. (Again, I hope it was JAS as the fog in little brain won't seem to clear up). At the top I ran into a very nice woman seeking her hero of a mountain climber but he had yet to be found. Then all of a sudden there he was. . .Thinkcooper had entered the picture.


That was moi!

Great write up and pix!

I saw you again climbing Carson, while I was descending. My younger brother who was camping nearby, met us on the top of Carson w/ an Ice Cold 6pack of Lagunitas IPA. I think he is now my favorite brother of them all.

Back at Turtle Rock, I introduced my self to Cooper. Fantastic ride. Wear your jersey w/ pride.

jps


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Awesome imjps. Sorry about my memory. I did remember well enough to throw in the picture of you climbing up the hill behind me. We ran into some friends and Coop at lunch and took a little longer than we had planned there, but it was worth the stop. Sometimes it's just fun to enjoy taking time on the ride, but those thunderstorms were close! Glad to see you made it down before they pounded the top. Did you get caught in Woodfords Canyon?


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

imjps said:


> Back at Turtle Rock, I introduced my self to Cooper. Fantastic ride. Wear your jersey w/ pride.


imjps - PM sent! 

I'll be wearing the DR five pas jersey w/pride, indeed! Oddly, one of our group bought a five pass jersey that was defective. The front side had the correct five pass art, the back was the standard DR jersey. The folks at the window swapped it out without question.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I have to order mine. I goofed around for so long that I never got around to getting one. Pretty sad on my part. Oh well. The defective one would have been cool if they would have let him keep it for free.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Ridgetop said:


> I have to order mine. I goofed around for so long that I never got around to getting one. Pretty sad on my part. Oh well. The defective one would have been cool if they would have let him keep it for free.


If the defective jersey were reversed with the correct five pass graphics on the back, I would've traded him for it. That would've been a keeper. We'd heard both that there were/were not five pass jersies for sale at the finish. I was glad we trekked over to check it our for ourselves. The line got a lot longer minutes after we arrived. 

Any idea how long it takes to get the five pass jersey if you order?


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## thien (Feb 18, 2004)

Awesome report, looks like it was an awesome ride! Good job you guys!


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

It took about six weeks last time as they had to have velowear create some new ones. I was about to think I got ripped off and then bam. . .it was on my doorstep. I'm glad you were able to get yours.


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## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

Wow. That actually looks like a lot of fun.


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## I am The Edge (Jul 27, 2004)

Cruzer2424 said:


> Wow. That actually looks like a lot of fun.



+1

good job!


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

It was my first Death Ride, and it generally kicked my butt. I had just reached the top of Carson Pass when the first hail stone hit me in the head. I forgot to sign the poster......

Charlie


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

That's too bad you didn't get a chance to sign it. Guess you'll have to do it again next year .


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

That looks like a good time. 
Even the rain.


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## ohdee (Nov 9, 2007)

Thanks for the nice report and pics. I am kicking myself for not taking photos myself. This was my first Death Ride and I am hooked on it for life! I was signing the left knuckles on the poster as the first hail slammed us. Needless to say I stayed right there for about 30 minutes!

I am still grinning ear to ear from this ride.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

You're right, Ridgetop - I'll just have to do it again, so I can sign that thing. I had heard about signing a poster, but the hail storm, and the ensuing rainy descent, made me forget all about it. I have double lens glasses, and with water coating the 4 surfaces, I'm not sure how I found my way back to the start. 

I started at 5:30, and spent 10 hours and 25 minutes on the bike (not including the breaks). Nice pics - thanks.

Charlie


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Great pictures Ridgetop. That ride looks like my kind of ride.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

More Death Ride pictures (now with extra Ridgetop) on my RBR blog...


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

Awesome pics, Coop.

A little late on the draw with the Podium Girls pic, eh?


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

DrRoebuck said:


> Awesome pics, Coop.
> 
> A little late on the draw with the Podium Girls pic, eh?


I was blistering past em at like 45, up hill, with a headwind, bugs in my face about to pass and school a line of uberfast columbian climbers that were taking a break from the tour.


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## 10ae1203 (Jan 14, 2007)

Wow. Too bad about the hypothermia stuff, but it's best they had it looked after.

What's the story with the gals in ball gowns?


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

They were just cheering on the riders. They had signs that said Wild Women Gone Bad and Our Outfits are Worse Than Yours. They were cheering and screaming as we went by. It was great.


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Hey Congrats! Nice Job. I so want to do that ride. I'm pretty sure I'll be in for next year, so perhaps I can connect with some of you. Let's see the jersey.


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## Quicklaps (Jun 27, 2008)

Hey Coop, John here, Matts buddy, saw you at Pickett's right before the last little push. What does the 5 pass jersey look like? can you post a pic?? we made it back to the car post hail storm and a few beers later we did not make it back up to Turtle Rock.

Great pics. 

John


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

quick-laps said:


> Hey Coop, John here, Matts buddy, saw you at Pickett's right before the last little push. What does the 5 pass jersey look like? can you post a pic?? we made it back to the car post hail storm and a few beers later we did not make it back up to Turtle Rock.
> 
> Great pics.
> 
> John


Hey John, congrats on a great ride. Did the triple crown ride we did a few weeks ago help you any? After being pissed at my Polar's weak altimeter and it's wild flucuations, and then seeing your data from a few weeks ago, and Matt's data from the DR, I decided I need a Garmin.

Here's the five pass jersey from my Blog post here on RBR


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

You guys are way to chick in those jerseys!

Hey, if you haven't been tortured with enough pics here's a few more (some are repeats) at 
http://wilddescent.blogspot.com/2008/07/deathride-tour-of-california-alps.html


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## Quicklaps (Jun 27, 2008)

> Hey John, congrats on a great ride. Did the triple crown ride we did a few weeks ago help you any?


Hell yes it did... that ride is a ball buster. Last year to prepare for the DR we did some rides similiar to the triple crown and they helped the most. The triple crown will push you to your limits, if you allow, that way when you do something like the Death Ride you know when bad things may happen, like bonking and stuff like that. 

Wow, that jersey is slightly less obnoxious than the plain old ride jersey. Sorry, bro, just not a fan of orange... but hey.. it looks good on you... ha ha... (I know you got a free bowl of soup with that jersey)

NOW, time for fun rides, tonight Toro park for up the mountain, down the mountain, head back to base for debriefing and cocktails... there will be a lot of beer drinking and loud talking about the DR tonight. 

Do you own a mountain bike? :thumbsup: 

J


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

You're such a hill billy.

I have an ancient mountain bike, and am hoping to hook-up with you guys on one of your rides at some point. Would you let a free soup-drinking, ghey orange jersey wearing roadie on a cyclocross bike share the trail with you?



quick-laps said:


> Hell yes it did... that ride is a ball buster. Last year to prepare for the DR we did some rides similiar to the triple crown and they helped the most. The triple crown will push you to your limits, if you allow, that way when you do something like the Death Ride you know when bad things may happen, like bonking and stuff like that.
> 
> Wow, that jersey is slightly less obnoxious than the plain old ride jersey. Sorry, bro, just not a fan of orange... but hey.. it looks good on you... ha ha... (I know you got a free bowl of soup with that jersey)
> 
> ...


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

Wow, guys- awesome ride. For some reason, most of the ride reports go up when I`m away from a high speed connection so I see the titles over my dial-up at home but don`t have the patience to check `em out until they`ve been up for a few days. Anyway, I wanted to chime in for this one. Congratulations to everyone who did it!


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Wow, not sure if I’d be able to keep up mit Herr Diesel’s insane uphill pace, but for sure I’d love to put my body through that sort of torture just to see if I could do it. Perhaps it’s time for me to start planning for next year. Coop, I’m going to need to pick your brain.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Leopold Porkstacker said:


> Wow, not sure if I’d be able to keep up mit Herr Diesel’s insane uphill pace, but for sure I’d love to put my body through that sort of torture just to see if I could do it. Perhaps it’s time for me to start planning for next year. Coop, I’m going to need to pick your brain.


Any time braugh! BTW, Herr Diesel only attacked on one climb - Ebbett's first pass. Admittedly, I did pass huge number of riders, and was at my comfortable climbing heart rate 165-175, but there was no way I could maintain that for the other climbs. And if smarter, I would've skipped that attack altogether. I was out of sorts at the summit. Food, weird water, stomach turbulence, who knows - I wasn't in top form that day.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

Dang, the jersies are now $75, plus $10 shipping, and I can't even try one on (I'm between 2 different sizes, by their sizing information). I guess it pays to buy one at the event....

Charlie


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

bigskychuck said:


> Dang, the jersies are now $75, plus $10 shipping, and I can't even try one on (I'm between 2 different sizes, by their sizing information). I guess it pays to buy one at the event....
> 
> Charlie


What sizes are you between?

BTW, the DR jerseys are Voler's race cut, not the club fit. For reference, the RBR-Voler club fit jersey in XL is a little floppy on me, but the DR 5 pass in XL fits like a glove.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

I'm 6 ft, 200, with a size 37 waist and size 44 chest, and like my jersies fairly loose. By their sizing chart I'm between XL and XXL.

It looks like they don't post any info on finishers; do you think almost everyone who starts it finishes all 5 passes?

Charlie


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

bigskychuck said:


> I'm 6 ft, 200, with a size 37 waist and size 44 chest, and like my jersies fairly loose. By their sizing chart I'm between XL and XXL.
> 
> It looks like they don't post any info on finishers; do you think almost everyone who starts it finishes all 5 passes?
> 
> Charlie


You and I are similarly sized. I'm 6'4" / 205 with a ~42 chest and the XL was just right (I like a close fit, not loose) so I'd guess the XXL might give you the looseness you're looking for.

Reports I heard are that out of 3000 starters, appx. 1000 finish all five passes.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

Thanks for the advice, Cooper. 

Wow, so maybe 2/3 don't finish the 5 peaks. I was curious about that; from what I can tell the ride organizers don't post any of that info on their website?

Charlie


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