# Death Ride 2010 Brief Comments & Pictures



## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

Hi Guys - 

Back from Markleeville for a few days and can't say enough times how much fun the Death Ride is and how forward I look to next year. Made all 5 passes again, under beautiful sunny skies. I started at 4:05 am...and was loading up and heading home by 4:30 pm. Monitor was...well...Monitor, and I constantly reminded myself to ease back. 

































Took off my jacket and arm warmers at the base of Ebbett's and headed up the LONG/STEEP climb. Once past the campgrounds, I knew the switchbacks were coming and then I just kept waiting for the reservoir - knowing it was just a bit farther to the top. Even with the climb, I kept looking at the scenery and joking with people, "sucks to be here riding...." 

















































Both sides of Ebbett's done and I stopped for a quick snack - this ride had my body rejecting almost all solid food and electrolytes, yet I rode better than last year by a noticeable amount. Woodfords rest stop had lots of fruit on ice, cold drinks, ice for water bottles, and the cold water shower ready for riders....hmmm - a sign of things to come?

















I was heading up Woodfords Canyon around 1:00 and it was HOT and WINDY. Felt like I was in a convection oven, as my Garmin was reading a consistent 102* F  Never thought I'd be so glad to get to Pickett's Junction where the terrain opened up. Up on top of Carson with just one or two little white clouds in the sky - couldn't have asked for a prettier day. 








Back down Carson and cursing the last 2 miles of rolling/climbs back to the start.










A special thanks to the "Skeleton Crew" (volunteers), Alpine Chamber of Commerce, and the various sponsors...you make the event what it is - one of the premier rides on the West Coast (IMHO).

Back to training/riding....Fall River 2x Metric this weekend and Mt. Shasta 2 weeks later!!!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

I will forever be jealous of you guys that get to/*can* do that ride.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

One of my favorite routes of all time.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

jd3 said:


> I will forever be jealous of you guys that get to/*can* do that ride.


Jealous? Hah, hah, hah .... good one.


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## EBrider (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks for the report. This was my first time for the DR and the scenery was pretty spectacular. 

I had about the same mileage and altitude change on my Edge 500. It may have picked up another 5 miles with the cadence sensor, which is on a different bike than the one I road Saturday.


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

FWIW, my Garmin read within 1 mile of what the Cateye Enduro 8 I had last year. Also took the Garmin out for a "test ride" on Friday before Markleeville, and it recorded nearly the exact same distance as the Bontrager Node 2 it replaced - at least for a 25 mile +/- ride.


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## hanyu (Oct 21, 2005)

Interesting that your GPS recorded 124.5 miles. My wireless Cateye registered 125. I rode every inch of that damned course and wasn't sure how I only got 125 miles. My most hated part wasn't Ebbetts; it was the slog between Woodford's and Picketts. Freakin' hot and windy and uphill all the way. Congrats on finishing!


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Hey NorCal, glad you had a good ride this year! We ended up skipping out after five previous completions. I wasn't sure I'd be around this year to do it so we decided to ride the 125 miles around from Reno to Tahoe and back instead. My wife got taken out by a texting girl on a cruiser bike . Anyway, we're probably going to be doing the D.R. again next year and hope to see you there. If not the DR, we'll tackle Shasta.


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

Hey Ridgetop - I kept looking for the Lounge kit, now I know where you were. Sorry to hear about your wife - hope she heals up quickly.


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## MaddSkillz (Mar 13, 2007)

Geez, that looks awesome! I wanna do that!!!!


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Really regret that I had to bail this year...


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

It seemed like there were way more ambulances this year, than when I rode it in 2008.

Charlie


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## EBrider (Aug 9, 2009)

bigskychuck said:


> It seemed like there were way more ambulances this year, than when I rode it in 2008.
> 
> Charlie


I saw a lot of carnage going down Carson.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

I saw riders being picked up after crashes on Carson and on the east side of Ebetts, and ambulances picking riders up on the 1st climb of monitor, and at the top of Ebetts. Then, when I was headed back to Tahoe, the road was closed near Picketts while a helicopter picked someone up (when I got to the site, I couldn't see a wrecked car or bike). Add to that 4 or 5 other ambulances with lights on, heading up one or another canyon.

It also seemed like there were a LOT of riders with flats and other mechanical problems.

Charlie


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

bigskychuck said:


> I saw riders being picked up after crashes on Carson and on the east side of Ebetts, and ambulances picking riders up on the 1st climb of monitor, and at the top of Ebetts. Then, when I was headed back to Tahoe, the road was closed near Picketts while a helicopter picked someone up (when I got to the site, I couldn't see a wrecked car or bike). Add to that 4 or 5 other ambulances with lights on, heading up one or another canyon.
> 
> It also seemed like there were a LOT of riders with flats and other mechanical problems.
> 
> Charlie


I was wondering what happened on Carson. I was heading down when CHP, Fire Rescue, and Medics all headed up running redlights/sirens. I figured there were rider/heat issues - didn't realize riders were "touching ground". Also saw the ambulances on West Monitor and East Ebbetts - but never came across any of the actual scenes...

Hope everyone is doing well...hate to see/hear about accidents...then again there seems to be a lot of riders lacking the experience for this type of ride. Mix them in amongst the speed demons, and there are bound to be problems either due to rider-rider or rider inexperience issues. Just my $0.02 - YMMV.


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## bigskychuck (Jul 14, 2008)

I was headed up Carsons when all those vehicles blazed by. When I got there they had traffic narrowed to 1 1/2 lanes and were putting a rider on a stretcher. I saw a mangled front wheel, and heard someone comment about how they were going to avoid carbon wheels, but didn't hear anything else about it.

On the descent of the east side of Ebetts it looked like 2 bikers may have collided - their bikes were a bit twisted.

There seemed to be a lot of health and mechanical problems this year compared to '08 - or maybe I was just more cognizant of them this time. There was a helicopter buzzing around on my ascent of east side of Ebetts, too; hopefully they weren't picking someone up.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Hey Nor Cal...Good job on what is a substantial undertaking...That is not an Easy Ride, by any means and yet you sound like you pulled it off without problems...other than I bet your butt was sore and you were pretty tired at the end. 

I've done the passes and really love that riding but I'd never go on "Death Ride Day" for just the reasons mentioned in some of the other posts..
.Heliocopters and ambulances? Cops and Volunteers and traffic controls? Who needs all that on a bike ride? 

Good photos, too.. 

Try the Everest Challenge in Sept...same type riding but with real racers mostly and fewer 'sketchy riders' I would imagine... Check the website below.

http://www.everestchallenge.com/


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## nor_cal_rider (Dec 18, 2006)

Gnarly - thanks for the comments....honestly I ride enough that my butt was fine, and I had enough energy to make the 4 1/2 hour drive home immediately after finishing the ride, and then kicked back with the wife/kids for a few hours once home. I'm lucky enough to run on minimal sleep and train/ride enough all year that the "big rides" don't hurt that much anymore. As to the Everest Challenge....maybe, but I'm not all that fast (obvious by the Garmin data), and a ride full of real racers sounds a bit fast paced for me - maybe 10 years ago, but not anymore.


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

Congrats to all DR riders!! Looks like you had great (hot) weather. Several years since my last DR but I'm thinking I might register for next year's edition.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*cool*

Good ride. I did it back in 2001, but won't forget it. Very nice scenery and support.

Part of the problem is doing several out and backs, coming back down narrow roads that others are climbing. I think the climbing and the altitude shuts down their brains, as I had to panic brake many times because of stopped riders on my side of the road, where apparently they thought it was better to impede a rider descending at 40 mph than others climbing at 5 mph. Others were traversing the entire road on the climbs. They almost need a barrier down the center line.


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

nor_cal_rider said:


> Gnarly - thanks for the comments....honestly I ride enough that my butt was fine, and I had enough energy to make the 4 1/2 hour drive home immediately after finishing the ride, and then kicked back with the wife/kids for a few hours once home. I'm lucky enough to run on minimal sleep and train/ride enough all year that the "big rides" don't hurt that much anymore. As to the Everest Challenge....maybe, but I'm not all that fast (obvious by the Garmin data), and a ride full of real racers sounds a bit fast paced for me - maybe 10 years ago, but not anymore.


 It is amazing the speed some of the EC racers can sustain, given the severity of the climbs and the altitude. They do have age categories...but that doesn't mean the old guys are slow... In a ride like the EC, the field soon splits all over...ends up being a TT or maybe you team up with a few guys and help each other...Some guys will take an hour out of everyone on the first climb...and then you see em again up the road...later. Some will 'lurk' off the back and then come on strong on the later climbs..At my level of masters it is not such a tactical race...more of an endurance contest or a battle between just you and gravity...

They also have a randonee class, same at the Death Ride... The support is outstanding and the routes are really spectacular...A lot of very long vistas, much more wide open than the Markleeville passes. The 'ambiance' the 'feel' of the EC is pretty 'small'...You get to know all the course workers, as they 'leap-frog' around the courses from summit to summit. There aren't large packs of riders...often everyone waves at each other. 

But it can be brutal with weather...the year I tried it we had to change the courses some because of ice and snowstorms. I dropped off the final climb of the first day with altitude sickness and hypothermia...(my excuse) but returned to the fray on Sunday and rode that day as an un-timed rider.. I'm pretty old, too, but I still like to race if I can find anyone my own age to race with...and there are plenty who'll happily rip my legs off on the climbs..

Anyway..Excellent ride at Markleeville and good write up. Makes me want to revisit the area again.


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## utahlife (Jul 6, 2010)

is there a forum where people post elapsed time? we rode in the 2010 death ride and rode for 8 hours 21 minutes. however, we flatted and ate a long lunch and were out on the course over 10 hours. 

congrats to all who finished! what a great event. i definitely want to participate again...


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## utahlife (Jul 6, 2010)

also, we came up on two riders on carson. both looked fine. the rider you mentioned with the wheel taco was a fulcrum racing 1 wheel (aluminum) and the rider has big facial gash, but no back pain and moving all 4 extremities. looked like he would do well. 

as with the rider we came across on the way up. pelvic pain but no back pain. hope everyone comes away with minimal injuries. 

i loved the ride. the support was amazing with so many smiling happy volunteers and an amazing ambiance. i hope to make it again next year...


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