Death Ride Day - 2009

Wow, I can't believe July 11 is here. I am excited and a bit apprehensive at the same time. Excited because the last two times I began training in an attempt to complete my second Death Ride I got injured. The first time I managed to tear my quad just 2 1/2 months out from the event day. In 2007, I had to bail out after two surgeries on my knee. It was good to be healthy in 2009. My apprehension stemmed from the fact that while I was back on the bike and healthy I had not done any climbing that remotely resembled Death Ride passes.

Since my mountain training was a bit sparse, I thought it best to keep my goals for event day modest. As I told John, if I was able to complete one pass I would feel blessed and two would put a big grin on my face. Of course, in the back of my mind I was hoping for all five passes (realistic or not).

The alarm rang at 2:50 in the morning. Good God, what the hell is that sound? I am totally disoriented. It seems to take me an eternity to find the bloody BlackBerry to initially disarm the thing with the first 10 minute snooze. Our plan is to leave at 4 am and start by 4:30. I finally drag my sorry, what the heck am I doing self, out of bed and stumble upstairs to down a bagel with peanut and a banana along with some orange juice. I still can't believe how early it is right now.

John and I head outside load the bikes and head for Markleeville. On arrival I can't believe how many folks are here at this godforsaken hour. The last time I started at 5:30 and even then it didn't seem crowded like it was in Woodfords five miles from the start line. I must still be delirious and not realize it.

5am - we role! OMG, we crest the smallest grade in memory and my lungs are screaming at me. What a mess, thankfully, the others in the line are laughing and joking about the same thing - no oxygen. We role through Markleeville and the weather is absolutely perfect. Any second now I will have to bid my fast friend, John, aka "C2K", adieu and pedal up Monitor alone.

On the front side I feel pretty good. I am only moderately tired. Who knows, maybe the base fitness I garnered from the TNT Tahoe season will be enough to carry me over the passes with no climbing prep. Mentally, I am feeling good when they slap the first sticker on my top tube along the five from before.

I descend to the second sticker pick-up and turn around and head up the backside of Monitor. Ok, after about a two miles I am really starting to feel tired... this is so not good. Still, I am within my heart rate zone and I am turning the pedals. However, those pedals are really moving slowly. The cadence is about 50 and I am not even catching the tandem in front me. What is going on here? About mile 4 of the ascent my legs are considering checking out. I decide to get off the bike in the shade and rest for a few minutes. I get back on the bike and I am hopeful that this is just an aberration and my legs will come back. I slog on another 3 miles or so and I stop at the water stop for an extended period in a second effort to recover in the shade. About ten minutes later I am off again, but my legs are seriously only phoning the pedaling in now. The speed is now around 3-4 mph.

I am now beginning to wonder how the pedals are getting turned at all now. It is now pretty clear to me that five passes are out of the question. I am beginning to wonder if I can even get to Ebbetts let alone make to the top... once!

Alright, the legs have now told me the game is up. I have to make a third stop about 1 1/2 miles from the Monitor summit. My legs are utterly destroyed. I am glad to have made it this far. I suppose that I will now have to come back next year and tackle the beast again after undertaking the same climbing program I used the first time around.

Still, the good news is that the knee held up and was virtually pain-free despite the stresses put on it over 20 miles of mountain pass climbs. My mind and spirit were also great even after deciding to "pull the plug" on the ride. I have to admit it was good to just be out there. I didn't even realize how pretty everything was the first time I rode.

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*** Postscript ***
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While I didn't get my second five pass day I had a great time and I also got to help my friend John complete the ride. As John was having a fantastic day, it almost came apart on Carson when he broke a spoke 2 miles below Picketts. The good news is that we both ride Campy 10 speeds and I was able to give him my rear wheel for the final climb and his third five pass completion. I may not have been able to wear the "Finisher's" jersey in 2009, but my domestique work got someone else to the top.

Photos: The Death Ride "Welcome" sign and me on the top of Monitor Pass.