Originally Posted by Rick@OCRR

The only actual death so far has been on a descent.

The risky part (where Death may find you) is on the (relatively) narrow roads, where there are riders climbing at 5-7 mph, being passed by riders ascending at 8-9 mph, while on the other side of the (narrow, remember) road, riders descending at 40-45 mph and being passed by riders descending at 50-60 mph.

In both cases, i.e. on both sides of the road, the space between a rapidly descending rider, and a slowly ascending rider can be very small indeed. One minor mis-calculation of road position by either (or both) riders will be a disaster (at the very least).

Suffice to say, The Death Ride is the only ride I've ever been on where a Medevac helicopter was parked at the rest-stop/check-point!

Other than that, no worries. Five long climbs, but none terribly difficult. Tedium was my worst enemy, i.e. climbing slowly for hours on end.

Still, that said, it did feel great to get my 5-Pass stickers which allowed me to purchase a 5-Pass jersey at the finish! Yeah, a fun ride, but due to the road situation noted above, a bit scary at times. Note: Does not apply to Carson pass (the last one), which has plenty of room.

Rick / OCRR