Northern California - Where's my death ride jersey?

Dammit, I ordered my finisher jersey around the first of August and haven't seen it yet. I need something new to wear, and since I've already got one on order, I don't feel like buying anything else right now..

Anybody else order one after the ride, seen it yet? I think they said 6-8 weeks. It's like being a kid ordering the free prize from the cereal box all over again!

I called them two weeks ago. They should be shipping them by the end of the month. The 6-8 weeks delay started the day they stopped accepting orders for the jersey, August 12 I think.

Thanks for the info, good to know! I was indeed wondering if it was going to be one big order starting after the ordering period closed, or what. I ordered mid-July and they somehow never got my order, so I sent in ANOTHER and this one they confirmed by email, and they charged me up front (just for the one order) so I should be set.

It took a long time to get my jersey last year. It seemed like forever but it did show up like 3 months after I did the Death Ride. This year I made sure I was fast enough to be back at Turtle Rock so they weren't sold out. However the jersey sizing is on the large side. Last year I got a medium and I thought it was too big but fit okay. So I wanted a small this year but they didn't have any. I was told they didn't order any small in the 5 pass jersey which I found highly doubtful. Anyways I bought a medium and its even larger then last years. I don't get the sizings with the jersey. I have a lot of Voler jerseys in medium and they all fit the same except the Death Ride jerseys.

This year I made sure I was fast enough to be back at Turtle Rock

Yeah, yeah, rub it in! :roflmao2:

Yeah next year I will start earlier to get there when finished. Kinda lame to wait in the long zig zag line for 40 minutes to have them tell you out of stock and here is a form.

This year I made sure I was fast enough to be back at Turtle Rock so they weren't sold out.

Well, for the regular (should I say slow) guys like me all the main sizes were sold out. They only had XXL and XXXL left. I don't remember many riders fitting that profile on top of Carson Pass.

They only had XXL and XXXL left. I don't remember many riders fitting that profile on top of Carson Pass.If someone needing an XXXL jersey did the full Death Ride, I say they get a free damn jersey...

If someone needing an XXXL jersey did the full Death Ride, I say they get a free damn jersey...

ESPECIALLY if they run a size small :)

I order the jerseys for Climb to Kaiser. Production date is usually 8 weeks after the order is placed, then a week to arrive back here in Fresno. CTK was June 28th, I received the jerseys last Friday (almost 10 weeks due to a production problem), and shipped them out Tuesday. We also use Voler.
Cytoman

my DR jersey arrived via USPS today. It was mailed certified and I had to sign for it -- good thing I work at home. I found they run larger than typical voler (it's a club cut, not a race cut) and I'm kinda bummed it's not a full zip. but the design sure is pretty.

pics?

Got mine today as well. Had to signed for it which is good as the street number was incorrect on the address.
I got a large, it fits perfectly. It's seems a bit tighter than another Voler jersey I had in XL (just what I needed) and only a little bit shorter which is good. It's definitely a club cut.

Now I can brag. :D

Got the notice from mail man today so I'll have to hit up the Sunnyvale main PO tomorrow to pick it up.

** picked it up this morning, yay! **

I was going to get one of those jersey's from this year, but the color was I thought a tad hideous.

I believe the green in the finisher jersey is a little easier on the eyes.

Looks like mine's at the post office; redelivery or pickup tomorrow.

how funny! the only reason I did the DR jersey this year is it's the first time I really liked the logo and the colors. it's bright and sweet!

how funny! the only reason I did the DR jersey this year is it's the first time I really liked the logo and the colors. it's bright and sweet!

I read that as "the only reason I did the Death Ride this year was for the T-shirt" - now that's impressive.

Actually the Large is exactly the same size as a Voler X-Large I got at the Sierra Century in 2006. It's definitely wider and longer than a standard large jersey. I am glad I changed my order from an XL to an L. I think a Medium could have fit as well (I am 5'11.5" and 175lb).

http://gpelpel.startlogic.com//photos/biking/BF-9-20-08/DR_Jersey.jpg

Regarding the colors... well it's not discreet but for safety on the road nothing beats a combo of hi-viz green and hi-viz orange. It's garish but I tend to like it.

Got mine today. The colors should work perfectly for a Halloween ride!

JB

I read that as "the only reason I did the Death Ride this year was for the T-shirt" - now that's impressive.

and what's wrong with that?

and what's wrong with that?

Nothing, that's why I was impressed :thumb:

and what's wrong with that?

It's amazing but I postponed riding the DR last year in part because I found the 2007 jersey to be really ugly. This year it was garish but looked fun so I signed up, trained, and conquered.
The 5 Pass jersey was actually a motivation factor during the ride, I didn't intent to buy the regular jersey but always had in mind the 5 Pass one if, and only if, I deserved it. This strategy had previously helped me as well on my first really hilly century (10,000' at the Grizzly in North Fork 3 years ago).

Got mine today. The colors should work perfectly for a Halloween ride!

JB

You got it! I heard it glows in the dark after a very hard ride and the eyes start flashing. :thumb:

http://gpelpel.startlogic.com//photos/biking/BF-9-20-08/DR_Jersey2.jpg

The 5 Pass jersey was actually a motivation factor during the ride, I didn't intent to buy the regular jersey but always had in mind the 5 Pass one if, and only if, I deserved it.

Ditto; I don't care if maybe it sounds kind of odd, but training for the DR was what got me back into cycling after too many years away, so the jersey was the motivation to finish. I had to pick a ride that was somewhat challenging to strive for, because I knew that even with years off the bike, I could hop on and do a century without question or training.

BTW just picked mine up today, and I'm amazed y'all say it runs large. My yellow Canari is a large and is a lot more roomy. This one just *barely* fits. I'll have to make sure I don't let it shrink an inch.

I guess cycling gear is designed for the more slender among us :lol:

Moving on from my brain-challenged earlier post (no offence meant velogirls), how long do you guys plan ahead for the Death Ride/what other rides serve as milestones to give you encouragement that you were ready for it?

I hadn't ridden at all in 5 years, and was sitting at 5'10", 215lbs. I started training almost daily last October (I'd say I averaged 5 days a week) just generally trying to get in shape, an hour on the stationary bike and some weight lifting. I was down about 20lbs in 4-5 months, and 30lbs by the death ride.

Didn't own a road bike until early April of this year, but once I got one I quickly got into doing quite a few rides. My only organized ride was the Sequoia Summer century in early June, so 2 months after I got the bike. The 'century' route is 112 miles and with my out-and-back from home, the day was 144 miles and 10,500 feet of climbing. I think I did at least 60,000 feet of climbing in June.

If you're already in shape for cycling, just go hit the hills. If you can do the long Sequoia route you shouldn't have a problem on the death ride.

Moving on from my brain-challenged earlier post (no offence meant velogirls), how long do you guys plan ahead for the Death Ride/what other rides serve as milestones to give you encouragement that you were ready for it?

I would say the DR is more a psychological ordeal than a physical one.

On the latter you need to train your body to go long and up for a long time. All the climbs are around 10 miles long with a steady but not overwhelming grade. They are very similar to Mt. Diablo. Imagine climbing Diablo 5 times in a row and you will end up with around 120 miles and 15,500' of climbing, very similar to the DR. If you can ride 60% of that length and climbing two week before the event you should be able to make it without a problem. So a double or triple Diablo is a good goal to accomplish during the last month of training (I only did a double). Riding a couple centuries in the months prior to the DR would also be great (I rode the Wine Country in early May and the Sequoia in early June). My totals for the year before the big ride were roughly 1,000 miles and 63,000' of climbing with in incremental steps each months of the year. Nothing extraordinary.

The key is controlling your tempo and prepare your mind for long climbs. We all tend to go to fast early so starting slow is important as well as managing your fluid and food intake (my weakness) so you don't blow yourself up.

What helped me a lot was reading all the available ride reports available on the web. One excellent one is on the DR website. I knew what to expect all along even though I had never ridden these roads. Start early, very early, way before the official start (you need front and rear lights otherwise they won't let you past the road block at Markleevile) so you don't have to rush to make the cutoff times at each major rest stops. Many riders fail to make the 5 passes because they are too late at the last cutoff with only 7-8 miles to the top of the last climb.

As far as what I have seen of your riding at the recent East Bay ride you shouldn't have any problem at all if you set your mind to it.

Man, I'm soooo inspired right now! When do I get to sign up for this thing?

(You know, re: jersey, I think it'd make a super cool kit if they also have that theme on the bib; imagine the skull, with eyes blinking, at the rear end area!)

January is when you can get into the lottery. Results are available in March. If you do not get in, there're always entries available on Craigslist all the way until the last week before the ride.

Moving on from my brain-challenged earlier post (no offence meant velogirls), how long do you guys plan ahead for the Death Ride/what other rides serve as milestones to give you encouragement that you were ready for it?

I'm probably the poster child for showing that most cyclists could do this ride. 18 months ago, I hadn't ridden in more than 10 years. After 6months of training, I was ready to give it a try (that ended badly - I broke my bike before I even got to the first climb). This year, after doing the same training, I finished all 5 passes. The climbs aren't that steep - if you can climb Mt. Diablo, you can do any of those passes. It's more of an endurance challenge. It was the 3rd and 4th passes that hurt me the worst.

I started really focusing on the Death Ride in February. I also joined the Team in Training team - they did an awesome job of really laying out what it would take, and setting up a training program to get us there. 2 years in a row, more than 75% of the TnT riders finished - and many of us had never done a ride like this one before.

As for milestones, some big ones were doing a loop that included Old la Honda and Tunitas Creek; another that went up Redwood Gulch, Empire Grade, down to the coast then back up Alpine; a 100 mile loop in Sonoma that hit the big climbs from the Terrible Two double; the Tour of the Unknown Coast; the first half of the Devil Mountain Double and of course Mt. Diablo repeats (the most I've done is 3 1/2). The toughest training ride we did was a loop going down Mines Rd, up Mt. Hamilton, then up Sierra Rd before going back to Livermore.

I never worried so much about time on the training rides - but then again, it probably showed in how long it me took to do the Death Ride. I'd like to get faster on these long hard rides.

JB

Yep finally got mine too. Got the notice from letter carrier last week, couldn't get to the post office until yesterday and after standing in the endless line they couldn't find it grrr.

I was really impressed that it came with my 5 pass finisher pin too. Somehow I missed getting one at Carson pass; when I ordered my jersey I asked if I could get the pin too it was in the package with the jersey. Probably could have gone with a medium, I'm 5' 9" 165lbs.

jw