To All The Death Valley Century and Double Riders.....
 

Good luck and have fun tomorrow!!!!!

Be safe out there, guys! I hope the air is clear and all goes well. :)

Good luck ! I will more than likely do the Spring ride again !

Thanks... running out the door now! Report on Sunday, hopefully...

Your good luck wishes were trumped by my stupidity. I missed a turn, resulting in a DNF. I was so aggravated when I realized it, because I was on track for coming in under my target. I'm over it now. :)

Brodsky won. And I believe his wife, Sarah, took honors on the century.

Conditions were surprisingly hazy/smoky/cloudy, but at least temperatures were perfect. Oh, and there was an Enzo sighting.

Ouch, that's gotta hurt. Oh well .. at least you now know what it's like to DNF.

Oh, well, Vance, you headed out there and went for it.:) No biggie! I think you're crazy for riding in the smoke, however. :p;)

Ron! :eek: I know you mean the above sweetly, but...

DNFing is like this bizarre trauma to some, but to most, big deal. It's just a ride. Keith Brodsky, who won the time for this one has DNFed before as have others who are wonderful athletes. I suspect most folks DNF at least once on some ride the longer they are in this sport. I expect to DNF next year or the following if I take on a truly challenging double or ride. It's all part of it.

Well, I didn't mean anything by it. Yes, it is kind of traumatic to DNF, but I figured Vance is one of those in the other category. In fact, I was on the verge of DNF'ing at the midway point at Solvang earlier this year. That's how miserable I felt, and it was only after threats from Lynn that persuaded me to at least make it past the next rest stop. So I say that with the perception that DNF'ing is a bit tramatic, and that at least you'd know how the feeling is. I have yet to DNF, and I do expect to some time in the future ... but I hope I won't.

Ha. Thanks guys. Yea, I was beating myself up pretty good for most of the ride back, but c'est la vie. I'm never going to feel too down about a 175-mile ride in a National Park!

Adam, views were quite obscured on Fri and Sat from haze/smoke. It was a bit clearer today on the drive back. I'm anxious to go back when I can take a couple days to explore and do some photography.

Make sure and go up some of the canyons and go to some of the outer areas, just do it during the winter.

Spring is a great time for DV, especially if the winter has brought some rain as the wild flowers will be in bloom. That is a spectacular sight.

First time in DV??
One of the magic places on this planet.
Enzo sighting? One of the cars or the Commendatore himself? (told you DV is magic).

Yes, first time in DV. I'll be going back (hopefully) soon.

No, Enzo as in our new BF friend Enzo Gucci.

:eek: Oh, crap. And here I thought that member was joking on the whole shoe thing (Enzo and Gucci). :o

Fall Results are up..

http://www.adventurecorps.com/deathv...llresults.html

Yes, I was in fact there. I have a thread full of pictures somewhere here. It was really fun, I took my time, stopped at all of the stops, and took almost 70 pictures (some better than others)

Vance, you should have introduced yourself, it would have been fun to have some company. I grabbed a few pacelines, but it became pretty obvious that there was a lot of inexperience when it came to riding in groups... there were a lot of guys swerving around, pulling in and out of the paceline, speeding down slowing up, grabbing brakes, etc, so I opted to ride alone almost the whole time. And I'm not one to try and correct someone who is doing something wrong on a non-competitive fun ride, as long as everone is getting along and nobody is in any real danger... I just didn't feel comfortable sitting a few inches off some peoples wheel.

What turn did you miss? Don't beat yourself up over a DNF on a fun ride, though. Any ride is a good ride.

Hey Enzo.. I was there in March for the Spring ride... Wish I had met you.

Yes Vance,

I feel your pain. Death Valley is (so far) my only DNF in 28 CA Double attempts. That was back in 2003 (or was it '04?) and dehydration was what killed me.

And as easy as it would be for me to say, "Get over it, move on, . . . " I know it's not that easy at all, since I'm still beating myself up over my DNF at DV!

Rick / OCRR