Northern California - So who's doing Death Ride this year?

Where do you start the repeat for the Mt. Diablo climb repeats? How would Mt. Hamilton compare as a good training hill?

Both mountains are great training for the Death Ride. For Dialblo I think most people start at either side, go to the top then descend to the other side and go back up. The north side is harder from a grade standpoint though if it's windy either side will do.

The front side of Mt. Hamilton is a gentle grade and is easier than the first four passes however it's a long climb. The back side of Hamilton is much harder than any of the passes.

Climbing HW 9 up to Skyline gives you many options as well.

You can't really train here for altitude, something to keep in mind when starting the first climb up Monitor around the masses.

My suggestion would be to email the Executive Director & Executive Assistant (http://www.deathride.com/contact.html) and ask them to reinstate this policy. Maybe if enough people do this, they might think twice about it.


I emailed the above folks this morning and here's a (*same-day-fast-turn-around*) reply:

"Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the change in “bag drop policy.” We will not have an organized bag drop for the event on July 11th as we are encouraging all riders to keep their layers with them. The change in weather caught many people unprepared over years with rain, wind, hail and cooling temps. It has also become a logistical challenge to get the bags back for folks to pick up their belongings with road closures. Our staff and volunteers were verbally “beat up” last year by many riders who could not understand why their gear was not waiting for them upon arrival at Turtle Rock Park. We are giving this a try for the 2009 event and will take ideas/ suggestions into account as we plan for the 2010 event.



Thanks,



Amy



Amy Broadhurst

Executive Assistant"

Pretty much received the same response. I told her they should post on the website that people need to behave or else.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/3702/photo071208018mediumm.jpg

If we are stuck lugging around our cold weather stuff, I'll be sure to bring my Specialized Rain Jacket (http://www.specialized.com/ja/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=33110). It breathes fine, and provides good wind protection. It would be handy later in the afternoon if the heavens open up. It is very light and packs down to just about nothing.

http://www.specialized.com/media/equip/6447-132_d.jpg

In the OR we use disposable soft breathable garmets. I might supplement by putting a scrub shirt (http://www.dmesupplygroup.com/disposable-scrub-wear-non27212l.html) or jacket underneath my jersey, and then throw it away at 395. It is a Pro move, after all, to stuff a newspaper under the jersey on a descent.

+1 Who would have thought it'd go from 85 degrees to a hailstorm in about 15 minutes? When the thunderstorm blew in, I figured I'd get wet but still be warm, but that was pretty miserable. Arm warmers and a vest at a minimum will be with me on all rides in the sierras from now on!

JB

I never drop anything off at rides, especially the Death Ride. You just never know! Good lesson learned, JB, but even though I didn't drop my stuff I was still FREEZING with the vest and arm warmers. I was wishing I'd brought my showers pass jacket. :rolleyes:

and I'm in for # 5... :D Our TNT team is well prepared for this, but we are REALLY going to miss jobob!!! :(

To echo some of the comments made by other DR veterans: you will not "win" the DR by going out too hard on Monitor. Let that be your warm up. Enjoy the wheezing railroad car imitations of the folks who are passing you hammering on that first climb, knowing that in a few passes they will probably be suffering from having gone out too hard and you'll just keep riding.

I started recording "lap times" on my Garmin at the top and bottom of each pass 2 years ago. So I have some good truly geeky data of real time elevation gain and MPH on each pass of your truly average, not so speedy climber who still does 5 passes with relative ease. If anyone is interested in that level of geekdom, I can cut and paste it.

Where do you start the repeat for the Mt. Diablo climb repeats? How would Mt. Hamilton compare as a good training hill?

I switch up the sides - South Gate, North Gate, South Gate. Makes it a little less boring. Plus, if I'm trying to do 4 I won't be tempted to quit after 3 if I'm at the North Gate and my car isn't. :D I go down to the tire poppers on the South Gate side, and down to the guard house/day use pay station on the North Gate side. If it's a warm day, I'll park my car near the tire poppers with a cooler in it. Otherwise, I just start the ride from my home.

JB

edit - Mt. Hamilton can give you a really good workout, too. The side from San Jose is long enough that it's pretty much as hard as you choose to make it - push hard and you will suffer. There's enough of a grade that you will be doing some good climbing. The other side is shorter but steeper - noticeably steeper than Mt. Diablo. That was the only HC climb on the Tour of California. And I keep hearing that Quimby Rd is stupid steep (never done it myself).

our tnt team is well prepared for this, but we are really going to miss jobob!!! :(

+ 1000

jb

I'll be going again, second time in a row. Last year I didn't even get a bike until early April, didn't start training much till early May. This year I thought I was ahead of the game though I've only taken 3-ish long rides and I find myself in early May, probably in better cycling shape than last year, but almost 10lbs heavier... kinda worried. It's a busy summer for me already so I'm just hoping I have the time/motivation to get in enough training.

I, too, am slow. Most passes I grind out in the granny gear at 6.5-7.5mph. I started last year at 5:15 with my lights on (15 mins before the official CHP start) and finished around 6:45pm. Main problem was waiting out the hail for an hour. I'm hoping to finish more around 5 this year. I didn't really run out of leg until the start of the 4th pass. I had plenty left in me to grind it out up the hill, back thru town, and up Carson. This year I might push myself harder on the earlier passes -- I don't think I'd have run out of muscle any sooner if I had pushed harder.

I am not looking forward to having to lug arm and leg warmers, plus carry my headlamp with me. But they would have been nice in the hail. I use a headlamp since I have no handlebar lamp, works fine. Last year it was plenty warm at 5:15am, actually I could have gotten by with no leg warmers or arm warmers. So if it feels warm enough, leave 'em at the car before you start?

Ditto on bringing supplies. I brought 32oz of protein shake plus a gallon of extra accelerade with me. I drank the cytomax on the ride once my bottles ran out of my accelerade from home, but it was SO nice to stop by my car for 10 mins before Carson, pound some protein, and refill my bottles with ice-cold accelerade.

The altitude didn't bother me one bit. YMMV.

As for it being a zoo, it wasn't too bad. I didn't find the crowds concerning at all. But maybe that just makes me the crazy one who was passing 4 wide coming down Monitor. *shrug* STP is like 10k people, so 2800 doesn't seem that big to me.

quimby rd is stupid steep (never done it myself).

qft.

I've never used the clothing drop for the DR. I start out a bit light and just deal with being cold for the short ride to the base of Monitor. It's not that long, I warm up when I start climbing and the temps warm up fast when the sun comes up. It usually doesn't rain until afternoon in the Sierras so I leave some jackets in the car at TRP where I can pick them up on the way through. But I haven't done that either. I've been fortunate to finish before it rains.

If you are worried about the weather suddenly turning cold you can take some small things that will help you stay warm. A Tyvek USPS mailing envelope folds up pretty small. You can stuff it under your jersey to block the wind. A medium sized garbage bag also folds up small, and you can put it under your jersey or if you cut head and arm holes ahead of time you can use it as a rain jacket.

I've done a lot of Mt Hamilton repeats for the DR.... west side, east side from the creek (2000' climb), and then the last 2000' of the west side (from the CDF station) again. That's about 60 miles (from Alum Rock) and 8800' of climbing. More recently I have been doing Mt Diablo repeats for Everest Challenge training.... south gate, north gate, south gate. Diablo is the most similar to the DR climbs, just a little longer than the longest one.

I don't like the drink mix that the DR provides so I bring my own powder, and have a bottle of it in the car at TRP.

The Hammer recommendation to eat 3 hours before the event or not at all doesn't make sense to me. Maybe for a race but not for an endurance ride like this. I eat as much breakfast as I can stand an hour before the ride. I'm not going hard enough that having a bit of food in my stomach would be a problem, and I need the food or I'll run out. But everyone is different and you should experiment to see what works for you.

The first couple years I did the DR I set strict heart rate limits for each pass. They started out low and went up for each pass. That way I wouldn't be tempted to try to stick with faster riders and pay for it later. My first DR was miserable- it was very hot, I didn't know about electrolytes and I wound up suffering from hyponatremia. Now I bring Endurolytes and salt tablets- endurolytes alone aren't enough for me.

I had a notion I would look for ran entry. Then I checked my calendar and realized I'd be on a 8-day bike trip. Maybe I saved myself...

Maybe next year, if I'm riding as much as i am this, I'll try multiple trips up Diablo just to see if it's possible.

The fact that I'm even talking about multiple rides up Diablo is kind of amazing....

I'm in for this year. Doing the Alta Alpina challenge as part of my training too :)

I booked a room in Minden, NV about a month before the ride. Most places close to Turtle Rock park are booked well in advance. Minden is a easy 20-25 minute drive to the start. The other option is to camp on the side of the road.

I just booked a room in Minden, NV. Thanks!

I snagged a ticket, so I'll be there again.

This will be the last time I do the DR....they never had a 5 pass jersey when I did 5 so I guess I want one.

Yesterday I did the 1st four passes of the Alta Alpina Challenge/Wild Sierra. I was sweating buckets up Kingsbury and Woodfords Canyon. By the time I was done with Luther, Carson and Blue Lakes I had been majorly rained and hailed on threes times. Carry what you need!

Got some great pics on My Cycling Blog below. I was going to do the other 4 passes today but luckily forgot my cycling shoes.......phew! didn't feel like driving back....maybe tomorrow.

Hope I can do all 8 passes of the Wild Sierra June 13.