The "Death Ride"

[mariposa]

Hi there,

I'm interested in doing the Death Ride next year - it would be great motivation to do a ton of hill work in the spring!

As I understand it, you get into the Death Ride by lottery? What time of year is the lottery? And what is the approximate cost if you do sign up?

Also, the website mentions that not everyone attempts all 5 passes. Phew. Anyone here deliberately set out to do fewer than 5 passes? I am thinking I could do 3 (76mi) without a problem, but is it worth it to sign up and not do the whole 129 miles? Maybe wait till 2008?

Thanks for all your thoughts!

[Bike Goddess]

I suggest you sign up. Since it's lottery no telling if you'll get in or not.

Some of my friends have gone and not completed all passes. They say the ride is hugely fun because all the locals come out and support the riders. The area isn't very populated so having the community support is pretty neat!

Also,if you do get in, you'll have a chance to find out if you want to do the whole ride the next time if you don't finish. I know of people who start earlier than the published start so they can at least try to finish by the cutoff times.

Go for it!

[Trekhawk]

I think Aka Kim has done this one. Yoohoo Kim where are you???

[velogirl]

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

[aka_kim]

Maillotpois and other TE'ers may be doing next year's ride, per the Cycling goals thread.

Yep, the Death Ride is a great motivator to do hill work. I've done 3 passes twice (1999 and 2002), but never again for me.

Go for it!

[maillotpois]

I have done it twice - once four and once five passes. I was set to go for five again this year with a group I had been coaching, but ended up in the hospital (not related to training for the Death Ride!).

It is a beautiful ride. The most beautiful ride I've done in the US, period.

Team in Training will have 2 Bay Areas teams doing it this year. Training for the Death Ride with TNT will include a guaranteed entry into the ride, a training program with supported rides, an altitude camp to preview some of the course and great motivation and support! In exchange, participants agree to raise money for a great cause (and really, the fundraising is the easy part - trust me!) Training starts at the end of January.

I will have more details soon, including dates and locations of informational meetings. The group I am in charge of will cover Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Solano counties and include rides North (or east) of the Golden Gate Bridge - in wine country. The general Bay Area team will have rides mostly south of the bridge.

Even though I wasn't able to do the ride this year because of health, all of the folks I coached (there were 7 or 8) did all five passes and thought it was an amazing experience!

If you'd like details on the TNT program, feel free to PM me! I am looking forward to a great season!

Edit: PS - on the whole "do I have to do all five passes" issue: TNT will support riders doing 1 to 5 passes, period. You don't have to commit to a certain number of passes to do the ride or train with us. My personal philosophy is, start the ride (early), believe that you can do all five passes (because if you've trained, you can do it) and then just see how the day goes. Sometimes a five pass rider can have a 3 pass day and a 2 pass rider can have a 5 pass day - if that makes sense. It all depends on how the day goes and how you feel. I have a very good friend, a super strong rider, who's done 5 passes many times and this year, he just didn't feel good and quit after four. You just have to see how the day goes for you. That's one reason, though, that I feel our altitude camp is good - you can preview the course and get an idea of how altitude affects you. Everyone's different in their reaction to altitude.

[mariposa]

Thanks for all your replies so far.

Do you recall the approximate cost of registration?

thanks.

[maillotpois]

registration is about $80 - 90.