Northern California - active.com sucks.

That is all.

I have not tried loading the page this morning since I was able to register before. I figure one less page visit might help someone else load the reg site. Is it filled already?

I got in. I find the following combination of key-tapping helps when you are trying to register for Ironmans or Death Ride: "3-2-2-1" :lol:

Keep trying, dude. It'll be a good time when all of us suffer together.

I don't get what you mean by 3-2-2-1. I've been hitting the link for the past 20 minutes and never seen anything but that site busy page.

I just got my boss in... he was in a meeting and couldn't reg himself. 3 other friends just got in too. I had to coach them how to maximize the number of clicks. :lol:

eh? I just keep pasting the http://www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1639564 url

I don't get what you mean by 3-2-2-1. I've been hitting the link for the past 20 minutes and never seen anything but that site busy page.

Click the reg button over and over again without closing the 'site too busy' windows.

I don't get what you mean by 3-2-2-1. I've been hitting the link for the past 20 minutes and never seen anything but that site busy page.

Sorry, dude, I was being facetious. I was also hitting the link like there's no tomorrow. I ended up registering as a guest, rather than as an active.com member. Maybe that helps? Try that.

Click the reg button over and over again without closing the 'site too busy' windows.

I used the "tab" function of both IE and Mozilla and just closed off the "site too busy" tabs when they became massive (50 or so of them).

At first I was loading and closing the site busy tab. Then just left the tabs and just hit the link until a reg window came up. Like mentioned above I ended up with like 50 "site too busy" tabs until I got thru.

^haha, that's what I did the last time. This time I was a little more clean about it, and close them once I hit about 20 windows.

After hundreds of failed loads, I FINALLY got to the page that has the REAL registration link, prompts me to sign in, and then gives the site busy msg again. I tried logging in to active.com on a different tab of the same browser session, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to still take effect when I click on the reg link

Every 20 tries or so I can actually get prompted to sign in again, but then immediately get the site too busy error again.

i need to somehow get to the page with the link via a signed in session, then maybe i have a shot.

I got in and registered (as a guest). One thing I tried (and I have no idea if this had any effect) was to delete my active.com cookies after each attempt. It took me under 10 tries to get in this way.

Anyway, as of 10:40am there was still at least one spot left so don't give up yet :)

Woohoo, it's a miracle! I FINALLY got 3 consecutive login pages, and one of them actually worked.

The site hung and gave me a blank page after I confirmed my registration details, then when i tried again it told me I already had one in the cart.. checked the cart, there it was, entered payment details, and it finally went thru.

Think I can bill them for 45 minutes of time reloading in December, and another 45 minutes today?

Alright! When does training begin?

Congrats!

Congrats, Reid! What an effort.

I managed to get in after a stupid amount of attempts. First time in 10 years I have manged to get an entry in the Death Ride. :)

I managed to get in after a stupid amount of attempts. First time in 10 years I have manged to get an entry in the Death Ride. :)

Congrats! You've already cleared the highest hurdle. The ride itself will seem easy now :)

This year I plan on starting before 5:30am so by the end there will not be a horrible long line for the jersey.

I think the best area to train that is close by are the Santa Cruz mountains. Up 9, down 9, 236, either Jamison Creek or Alba to end up in Felton. Then come back either Zayante or Mt. Charlie to deal with the fun section of Skyline to get back to 9. That upper stretch of Skyline is a good simulation of the ride out of Woodfords, something that repeats of Diablo or Hamilton can't properly compare to.

Or you could join me on the 160 mi double century training route posted in another thread ;)

Geez Marco, I was thinking of getting in some doubles this year but 160 miles right off the bat with that much climbing sounds a bit ambitious for me :)

How are the grades of the five passes? Like Hamilton? Any sections like Quimby?

Really gonna have to think about getting some lower gearing now.

There are some steep bits on Ebbetts but nothing too horrible or long.

How are the grades of the five passes? Like Hamilton? Any sections like Quimby?

Really gonna have to think about getting some lower gearing now.

Maybe pick up one of the SRAM 11-28 cassettes if there is no crank option for you yet? You could probably get away with that combo all year.

The first four passes are generally steeper than the front section of Mt. Hamilton. There are a couple steep parts on Monitor but the highest grades are on sections of Ebbetts. None of it has extended sections like Quimby or Sierra. There were tons of riders on standard double cranksets. You could probably start off with a change to 12-27 then do both sides of Hamilton or Diablo from north and south and see how well 39x24 and 39x27 work over extended periods.

The altitude will affect you to some extent until you get used to it. By the time I was descending the back side of Monitor I had made the necessary adjustments to not climb in zone 5. The day before the ride was much hotter and dryer so I think we caught a break last year.

The day before the ride was much hotter and dryer so I think we caught a break last year.

Yeah, at least until the hail:rolleyes: Seriously, the event day seemed much less smoky and closed in than the day before.

Want to get really po'd at the event organizers? They're clearing out prior year jerseys - including 5 pass finishers.:notamused: I had to bust my butt last year to get those 5 passes, and now anyone with some room on their credit card can get the same jersey!

JB

You still need a proof of completing the 5 passes in order to get the finisher jerseys.

Our pride is safe. Money doesn't buy everything... yet.

You still need a proof of completing the 5 passes in order to get the finisher jerseys.

Our pride is safe. Money doesn't buy everything... yet.


Yup, proof still needed. I was happy to see the smoke clear the day of the ride too. Kinda wierd, I heard the smoke came back the next day.

I spent 45 minutes clicking before I got in too. active.com does suck. At least they didn't have the automatic magazine subscription page for the death ride (check your active.com registrations carefully!)


I think Diablo,especially the north side, is the local climb that is most like the majority of the death ride passes. About the same length and avg grade as the two Monitors. The south side has a short downhill, but so does Monitor 1. Last year there were a lot of people out doing Diablo repeats the couple weeks before the death ride. The grade on Hamilton is a little easier than the DR climbs and the descents break it up too much. But you can go over the hill and do the other side (just go down to isabell creek). That's a 2000' climb in only 4.5 miles. It's often hotter there than anywhere else in the bay area, making it good for heat training.

If you haven't done a long hot ride with a lot of climbing before, bring at least one gear lower than you think you will need, in case you have a bad day. On my first Death Ride I got hyponatremia and had the most miserable time on Carson, barely crawling in a 30x28. But having that low gear let me finish.

I got mine, for both Mrs. Ritterview and myself. Whew!

I just checked, and it is now full.


How are the grades of the five passes? Like Hamilton? Any sections like Quimby?

What we need to do now is equate each pass with a specific climb in the Bay Area.

http://www.deathride.com/images/photos/elemaplg.jpg

Diablo is a great training climb. Many will disagree, but I think Diablo (north or south) is a tougher climb than any of the 5 passes.

Now is the time to find out what your body likes on long rides. I brought a full tube of Nuun tablets to use in my water bottles instead of the Cytomax that is provided at each stop.

You still need a proof of completing the 5 passes in order to get the finisher jerseys.

Our pride is safe. Money doesn't buy everything... yet.

Oh, good. I really should read the fine print on their website at some point!

JB

Diablo is a great training climb. Many will disagree, but I think Diablo (north or south) is a tougher climb than any of the 5 passes.

I don't know if it's tougher, but it's certainly in the same ballpark as either side of Monitor or the first side of Ebbets.

I think we're pretty lucky to have Mt. D, the Oakland hills, etc. in our backyard for training! Not to mention Mt. Tam, Mt. Hamilton, all the climbs on the peninsula (I've heard from more than a few folks that they found the Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge tougher than the Death Ride) all just a short drive away.

JB

Diablo is a great training climb. Many will disagree, but I think Diablo (north or south) is a tougher climb than any of the 5 passes.

Interesting! I think the back side of Ebbet's is a bit tougher than Northgate.

I found what worked best for my training is serious hill climbing (Diablo, Tam, Hamilton, Auburn, Forrest Hill or the Sierra's), Diablo repeats (junction-to-top on weekdays & bottom-to-top on weekends), eating right and getting plenty of rest.


...I've heard from more than a few folks that they found the Santa Cruz Mountain Challenge tougher than the Death Ride...JB

By then, you should be in pretty good shape after training for the DR. The old adage, use it or loose it applies here. I thought doing the full 137 miles of the Auburn Century was a tougher ride.

See you in the hills!

BR

Got on to register....Filled! :(
life sucks...

I cursed active.com for 50 minutes before getting a registration for me and a friend of mine. They have some obvious scalability issues.

Got on to register....Filled! :(
life sucks...

That's a bummer. However, I'm sure there will be *plenty* of people selling their numbers before the event.

Interesting! I think the back side of Ebbet's is a bit tougher than Northgate.

I should credit the adrenaline and excitement of the ride that made the 5 passes easier. 3 Diablo repeats, riding solo... now that was torture!


I thought doing the full 137 miles of the Auburn Century was a tougher ride.


I did the Lone Ranger this year! It was on par with the Death Ride for sure.... and about 2600 less people.

Got on to register....Filled! :(
life sucks...

THat sucks! Maybe you'll have to do Team in Training with us?:innocent:


JB

THat sucks! Maybe you'll have to do Team in Training with us?:innocent:

JB
Felt like I did last year, I ran into you so much!!!

I had 3 browsers going at the same time. Finally got in after 50 minutes. I also had a friend trying on another computer to sign me up. I must have tried 150-200 times. This process is really ridiculous. There has to be a better way, but I don't know what it is.
I'm using the DR as a backup to STP. Both are on the same day. If rain is forecast during the STP, I'll ride the DR.

I was able to register along with a friend back in December. We've been riding for a year and it's definitely one of the craziest things we've done. However, we figure the desire not to die in July will be our motivation to get out there and train. :D

We're on the peninsula, so tons of great hills to train on. This will be a good excuse to finally do Diablo, too.

I thought doing the full 137 miles of the Auburn Century was a tougher ride.

See you in the hills!

BR

Wow, that's interesting. I thought the 108 miler was tough, but then again, I thought I was a wimp when it came to climbs. It's good to know that others also think Auburn is tough. It's a well run ride, and not that full. My favorite part of the ride was the top of Iowa Hill, with the cheering blonds at the top ... should have taken a picture with them. :D

I rode the Auburn Century when they called it the "Worlds Toughest Century". That was probably the hardest climbing event I have ridden. The Corkscrew wall was a killer. I ride the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge every year and it is pretty tough but not in the same league as that old Auburn monster.

Wow.. I had actually debated on signing up for this.. glad I skipped the headache. If I do go, I'll do it via Ramon registration... = craigslist :)

...The Corkscrew wall was a killer...

My Auburn friends and I do the Corkscrew during our Deathride training sessions. Great ride.

BR

Devil Mountain Double registration is open. There is a group discount for multiple registrations in one envelope.

Three months away... much training to be done.

Devil Mountain Double registration is open. There is a group discount for multiple registrations in one envelope.

Three months away... much training to be done.

Yep.. I DL'd the PDF for Ruth and I

Ramon... you want to put yours in our envelope.