First time, last time, but at least I can say I did it! What a day riding with my brother.

All five passes, too. Congratulations!

I guess you have to ride it in July to get the true "Death Valley experience." I'd probably opt for winter if I was going to check that off my bucket list.

Congrats! Knew some guys who tried but sadly failed this year. Truth be told they weren't prepared.

Congrats! No small feat, you should be proud.

Thanks gents, although I may have set the slowest time of the day while still completing! It was a true test no matter how you look at it.
BTW Dunbar, this was not in Death Valley (Thankfully!) It was in Markleeville, Ca. (Tour of the California Alps is the official name...)

what are the stats on that?

125 miles, 15,500 feet of climbing...

Broid: How long did it take you to finish? My stats: Age 68, road biking 6 months, did all 5 passes, total time 14 hours, started at 4:30 Ave speed 9.7 mph, max speed 43mph. My butt was sore but otherwise felt pretty good at the end. Drinking a lot of liquid is the key. And dance a bit with the belly dancers on the way up the East side of Ebbets.

I'm 55, been riding much longer than 6 months! Still took me 14 hours to finish, average speed of 10.4, top speed 49.9. Yes, hydration is key, but at a certain point nothing helps. Endurance events like this are interesting to see what gives out first. My experience is your mind is the first to go...

I told myself the same thing my first time on the DR. But I came back for more self-inflicted punishment. I had a pretty good time out there when I wasn't suffering on Hwy 88 towards Pickett's Junction. That part was just heinous. Congrats Broid and everybody else who was out there.

Thanks uptight, not sure I'll ever forget the pain...at some point it's just no fun...but at least I finished, would have hated myself if I hadn't!

Congratulations for everyone who finished.

I'm 53. This was my 10th DR. It took me 9 hours total, 8:12 riding time. 5 minutes faster than before. I'd like to break 8 hours ride time but I am not sure I can do it.
Even though I am fast compared to most people that last part up Carson is a long slog into the wind.

In my book that makes you a beast! Carson was where I stared into the face of death, that last 2-3 miles were the longest of my life, the last mile to the summit was truly a near death experience, at least it felt like it!

Agree with you on that point. It was the first DR for me and I felt good throughout the day until that last couple of miles up Carson. I was very glad to see the top. Overall, though, it was a very enjoyable day. Nice weather, beautiful scenery, friendly folks, what better way to spend a Saturday.

That's a boat load of climbing. I rode the Colorado Death Tour this year and that was the hardest thing I have ever done. Your ride was even tougher. It would be interesting to somehow measure the difference in elevation. 10,500 ft elevation is much different. I rode up to 14,200ft a few weeks back and the car people were saying they could hardly breath at the summit and couldn't believe we could ride our bike up to the top

Altitude was a factor for me, but I live at sea level, so standing on a chair is elevation to me. Markleeville (Where the DR starts and finishes) is about 5500 feet. We rode three passes, Monitor Pass is 8,314', Ebbetts Pass is 8,730' and Carson Pass is 8,652. Not particularly high, but for me it was an issue. Some guys I know arrive as much as a week early to ride and acclimate, I have to work so I went up Friday, day before the ride, and rode just a bit. Biking up to 14,000 would be impossible for me...

Where does this ride begin? I'd like to be able to pull it up on Strava.

You can look under "Death Ride"
in Markleeville, Ca.

My brother (On the right) altered the welcome sign to more accurately reflect the ride itself. As they say, "Punctuation is everything"...

Nice job...I've done it a bunch of times, Death Ride is a tough day of riding for sure.

That is actually better than arriving a week before. You either want two weeks to acclimate, or arrive as close to the event as possible.
I did the Mt Evans race (finishes at 14,100) after a week at 5000'. I was first weenie flatlander Californian in the M45s... well down from the leaders. I tried to eat a single bite of bar at 11,000 feet. Missing just a couple breaths gave me tunnel vision. It took a long time to catch up and I did not try it again. As I neared the finish I got stupid(er) from lack of oxygen. The view was spectacular but it felt very unhealthy to be there so I went down ASAP.

Yea, there comes a point where our "endurance" and "testing our mettle" becomes foolish and even dangerous. I stop about the time it ceases to be fun...

I have a couple friends that have done the ride two years in a row. Neither finished last year. The heat was BRUTAL! This year, he finished, she crashed and had to sag out. She's hating herself, and will do it again until she conquers it. I'm in no shape to ride it yet, but I will someday!

But half of it is downhill.