Death Ride III - The Ride

My day started at 2:30 am. Actually I was so excited that I woke up a 1/2 hour before the alarm. Breakfast was oatmeal, banana, protein shake and yogurt. Suit up and on the road to the race start at 3:45 pm.

6 of we riders and our supportive friends and family arrive a the ride start and it is still dark. The entire team was 17 riders but the 6 of us got an extra early start to give us more leeway on the crucial time cut-offs. We do some stretching, fumble around looking for lights or long fingered gloves and try one last time to use the restroom.





























We hit the road at 4:30 am in the pitch black night in great spirits leaving a trail of blinking red lights behind us. With such a long day expected ahead of us, our coaches cautioned us to take the first 10 mile climb up Monitor pass very slowly. It was cool but not cold. It was quite an experience to see the sun rise while riding up a mountain. Here's a photo of me at the top of the first climb.















I had so much adrenaline that the two climbs up Monitor pass felt like they just flew by even though they took over 5 hours. That is good time for me, the entire group was doing very well and we were actually ahead of schedule.

We arrive back at our SAG (support and gear) stop to take a brief rest and eat. Eating lunch at 9:30 am was pretty weird. We regroup and hit the road a short time later.

The 13 mile climb up the front side of Ebbetts was glorious but extremely long. Lakes, snowcaps, Aspens, just amazingly beautiful.






























Here I am at the top of Ebbetts (the 3rd big climb of the day)















I take a 15 minute rest at the bottom in Hermit's Valley before making the U-Turn to climb back out. The heat kicked up on the backside 5-mile climb out of Hermit's Valley on Ebbetts and the going got very rough but I just kept spinning those legs and grinding it out. I can't describe how pumped up I felt cresting that 4th peak. A wave of relief passed over me as I realized that I was still feeling alive and well after 4 of the 5 climbs were behind me. The down hill was very long and technical. There were several hairpin turns with steep drops off the side.

Back to the best SAG of the day. We were greeted by cool drinks, fresh fruit and ice cold WASHCLOTHS. OMG, those hit the spot.

The majority of the team has regrouped by this point and we hit the road to the Pickett Junction time cut off with a 15 person pace line! It was over 95 degrees for the first half of the last climb up to Carson pass and I labored having to stop and rest several times. The last half was cooler but just kept going and going. Near the top, I see many people walking the their bikes.

Here I am at the crest of Carson Pass.















I get to the finish in kind of a daze and am met by the rest of the Team. The reception I got almost made me weep like a girly man. High fives, hugs and hearty congratulations.

The downhill was exhilarating. Kathryn, Sally and I bolt down in a team time trial, riding at high speed working as a group. So much fun.

The last bit was a 5-mile ride back to Turtle Rock park. I finished up at 7:30 pm after 14 hours on the bike to Christine's beautiful smiling face at Turtle Rock.















All and all, I had a fantastic ride. It was one of the best days I've ever had on the bike. The stars aligned and I had a nearly perfect ride.

Death Ride Part II - Pasta Party

We made the drive up to Minden, NV on Wed to get an extra day to adjust to the change in altitude and get in a short shake down ride to make sure that the bike made the trip with no problems. The shake down ride was Coach Jay, me, Lan and Sally. Special kudos to Sally for leaving San Diego at 2:30 am to make the 9 hour drive to arrive in time for the Thursday shake-down ride. That is some special dedication!

We had our Pasta party on Friday. Here are some photos.















Coach Jay's final pep talk



























































































































My Dinner, Chicken Picatta (YUM!)















A braver man than I

We had a nice gathering but had to turn in early. In bed by 9pm. Next post will be my ride commentary.

Death Ride Part I - Pre-Event Training

Well, it's been over a year since my last blog entry. You can blame Facebook for that. I've got a little more to say this time, so a return to the blog seemed appropriate.

Christine and I just returned last night from my latest cycling adventure. Saturday was a big day in the saddle for me. I participated in the Death Ride.












The DR, also known as the Tour of the California Alps, is a pretty epic road bike ride with an embarrassingly pretentious name. On paper it is 129 miles, with over 15,000 feet of climbing over 5 mountain passes. In real life, it is every bit of that and more. It is a beautiful, glorious test of skill and character.

Those that know me or have been following my Facebook posts, know that I have been training very hard in preparation for this event. For a variety of reasons, I started training late and had some significant ground to make up. I joined in with Team in Training's ACE (Altitude, Climbing, Endurance) team on one of their midseason training rides as a guest mentor, and got my ass handed to me barely able to complete the ride. I may not be the most skilled or accomplished cyclist, but I try to work hard. I firmly believe that if you put your time in and do the work, you can reach your highest goals. So I started on plan B, putting in long lonely solo hours on the bike, doing endless climbing repeats on local mountains until I felt that I could show my face again with the ACE team on the last few training rides. My performance improved significantly, but I still felt I was behind the curve consistently finishing last on every ride. Then I had a nasty crash on Soledad Mountain with a nice visit to the ER which slowed me down during the last crucial weeks of training. My coaches advised me to trust in my training and rest and recover, but I couldn't help feeling that I had to get one last long training ride in and pushed it a little bit. It went great so I started to get some confidence back. In hindsight, it wasn't necessary from a physical standpoint, but it was crucial from a mental standpoint. I had to get back on that horse to see how my body would react. Even with all that, I'm not going to lie to you, I went into event weekend more than a little worried.

More later.

Lights and Tights

Haven't posted in like forever. Lots has happened in the intervening months. I've been posting most of my personal news on Facebook and have been taking a break, I suppose.

They days have been getting shorter which is a real bummer. I try to work out 2-3 days a week after work. When your main type of exercise is cycling, the short days are a real problem. I suppose I could break out the spin trainer (ugh) or do some walking, or go to the gym, but I just prefer cycling.

Last night I decided fight nature and try a little night riding. I chose a route that I know well, the 52-Loop ride that I've been riding almost weekly for months. It has several other advantages since 10 of the 20 miles are on dedicated bike paths with no cars. Only about 5 miles actually have any significant traffic.

I rode my new Medici Gran Turismo touring bike and mounted a light on the front bars and a blinky on the rear seatpost. I wore my Cal cycling "kit" which is bright yellow and white for extra visibility and hit the road around 6:15 pm. Traffic was pretty sparse at this time and there was still some daylight. After about 15 minutes the daylight had really faded. I flipped on the headlight but it wasn't effective at dusk so I switched it back off. I did turn on the blinkly at this point. I make it to the 52-bike path and then it really starts to darken. I play with the light. Hmm, the shifter cables from my bar-ends and the front tire cast a pretty big shadow. I fiddle some more. Better. I start the 2-mile climb and it is completely dark when I reach the top. I get some occasional and incidental light from the cars along the adjacent highway. Next is the downhill for the next two miles. My visibility is limited to about 6 feet in front of the bike. I usually scream down the descent since it is pretty smooth but I'm much more cautious tonight because I don't want to slam into a cardboard box or other road debris at 40 MPH and only have 6 feet to react.

Now I'm back on the road. One brief instant of traffic, but I cross at a crosswalk to avoid the highway onramp. Riding along the road, I can see fine. Even with my blinky light I can sense that some of the drivers coming up behind are surprised to see me. I hug the curb and am more cautious than usual. I decide that I'm going to do an out and back rather than doing the entire loop to avoid as much traffic as possible. I decide to climb the big Mission Gorge road hill since it's got a wide bike lane and not much traffic. Very quiet, moon out. I look around, concentrate on my breathing and enjoy the solitude.

Another downhill and then I make the turn into Mission Trails park. The road is now closed to vehicle traffic since it is after dark. I navigate the walker's entrance, cut over to the road and pedal on. It is completely dark now with even much of the moonlight blocked by the hills on either side. I've got enough light but it starts to get a little freaky riding through an out of the way park where any nutjob might jump out of the bushes. Starting to freak myself out now. What was that noise in the bush? I move towards the center of the road, drop the bike into a big gear and haul. Whoa, a couple of hikers with no lights. That was a surprise. I reach the end and see another rider coming the other way so I guess I'm not the only dope out here. Back on the road for another couple of miles before I'm back on the bike path. I've got about another 6 miles to go. Piece of cake. 2 miles of climb and I'm feeling warm and starting to feel pretty cocky. 2 mile downhill now and all of a sudden, I'm freezing. The temperature had dropped and I'm sweaty from the climb. Shiver. I'll bring a jacket next time. A small light up ahead gets brighter and I pass another night rider. Hey!

The rest of the ride is uneventful and I make it back to the office to grab my gear and head home.

All and all, it was a very interesting experience that I definitely plan on doing again. I've got some additional reflective gear for my ankles and my reflective commuter jacket that I'll use next time. I might get another light for my helmet too for some extra visibility.

Pray for Sunshine

It's rained all day today in Tahoe and was bitterly cold. The rain was more irritating than anything else. Lights sprinkles the entire day but enough to keep the roads wet and slick. Our practice ride was canceled today so I've been off the bike for an entire week. The forecast has improved from 30% chance of rain to "mostly cloudy with isolated showers in the afternoon". Sounds like good news to me.

In Tahoe

Made it to the hotel after two flights and a bus ride from Reno to Tahoe. Resting up, then early dinner with some of my teammates at the Sushi restaurant across the street. Going to bed early tonight to try and catch up on some sleep. We've got a short 25 mile ride at 8am tomorrow morning to check out the bikes and get a first hand test of what riding at this altitude feels like.

Back down week...

...is no fun. The culmination of 18 weeks of training is on Sunday. We've been mandated to take it easy this week and stay off the bike so we can be fresh and strong on event day. I understand this intellectually but it was really hard to not attend the Big Ring Tuesday workout tonight. Just a few more days...