I did the death ride the first time this year. It's a fabulous ride, amazing roads (closed to traffic except the final pass), expansive vistas, good support.

The cons (in my opinion) -- it's a big ride with varied skill level riders. There were some very unsafe riders I saw and at least 50% of the riders were wearing iPods. I especially found pass #3 a bit unsafe because you have riders descending and riders climbing a pretty twisty, sometimes narrow mountain road.

In addition to climbing, you need to be a skilled descender to do this ride -- remember, what goes up must come down. I saw a multitude of blowouts caused by riders riding their brakes all the way down the descents.

Time management is key. Most folks roll out by about 5:30am at the latest.

The weather can be quite variable. It was freezing in the morning, quite warm while you're climbing, and we had thunder, lightening, and hail on the final pass/descent.

And, of course, there's altitude....

Good luck if you choose to do it. The lottery opens in January (I think) and they choose in March (I think). If you don't get in via lottery, there are always 100s of riders selling their spots as you get closer to the event. I got in and was able to secure five spots for other riders (from five different sources).


Lorri