The "Death Ride"

[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.