January 2000, I find a Spinning Class at the Apple Fitness Center, at 6:30 am, MW. It slays me, regularly. Then, with the help of Jenn Corliss, I completed three centuries in March, or was it April? Either way, it was the earliest ever. At the end of April, completed the Mt. Hamilton Challenge (130 miles, multi-thousand feet of climbing), and felt good at the end. Have I peaked too early?
Sierra Century, early June. Climb Slug Gulch, get a Pin. Gee, how fun. We go off to a multi-day tour in Montana, the last week in June. Perfect training time for the Death Ride, July 8th. LeRoy Rodriguez challenges me up each hill - "Death Ride training, get up the hill. Go back down, get up the hill. Death Ride training". "OK, OK, I'll do it". Pedal up the hill, pedal down the hill, pedal up the hill, you get the picture. Follow Bruce, Dick and Mark up the hill, can't keep up the pace, get completely dropped. How humanizing......or is it humiliating?
So it's time. Head off to Markleville, with all 162 residents there ready for the influx of 2,500 cyclists and their friends. Camping at Grover Hot Springs, go for a quick warm-up ride on Friday - 4 miles to town, and back again. It's Jeff Lostrie, who has beaten Mt. Hamilton each week since March (or so it seems), John Ardizzone, who says he hasn't trained but wants to do it anyway, and Fritz Fleischmann, who had knee surgery #2 in late March and has pledged general support for the ride.
The alarm goes off at 4:45 am. It's 45 degrees. I'm riding by 5:50, wondering how warm my tent and sleeping bag are.....Up Monitor, say hi to Don Axtell as he passes me. Down the other side. Eat. Drink. Eat. Drink. Up the back, meet Debbie and Greg from ACTC as I climb. They're faster, they move on up the hill. Down the front. Eat. Drink. Eat. Drink. Over to Ebbett's. See Ken Kennedy flying by in the opposite direction - phew, you are FAST, Ken!!! Up. Up. Hit the 12% grade, pass it, and wonder why I did I feel so bad last year? Down the back of Ebbett's. Eat. Drink. Eat. Drink. Say bye-bye to Jeff, who's off to the Y2K option of Pacific Grade.
Up the back of Ebbett's. Now I'm worried. I'm about 30-45 minutes ahead of schedule, and still feeling fine. Down the front, stop at the Lunch stop. Eat. Drink. Eat. Drink. Chat with a someone from the Silicon Valley Triathlon Club, we're both trying for 5.
Through Markleville at 3:00 pm, meet up with Fritz. After shuttling me to the start, he had breakfast, a nap and a few hours of fly fishing. Why does that sound so much better than 87 miles and 4 passes? We head out to Pickett's Junction, into the horrendous wind. The Switzer engine was humming through those first 87 miles, but it must've hit a slight hiccup, because it came to a screeching slow down up to Pickett's. Have to beat the time cut-off of 5:15, arrive around 4:45 pm. Phew. Eat. Drink. Eat. Drink. Pedal. This is becoming a routine (geesh, it *is* mile 100+, it'd better be a routine!).
For all the prep and visualizations, I forgot about Carson Pass. That last 8 miles up were pure agony - holding the bike upright at 3 MPH is something that I've become used to, but I thought Fritz was going to fall over. What a great support person, he never complained, continued to offer encouragement, and only asked for a cookie when we made it to the top! Got to the top of Pass #5, and made darn sure that the sticker was placed on my number. Bundled up for the downhill, and headed off. Now, if I'm coming up the hill at 3 MPH, you'd better be sure that I was not going DOWN the hill at 3 MPH!! With the great lead out from Fritz, I hit 53 MPH coming down Carson. The adrenaline of the finish being within 20 miles, and knowing that it was mostly downhill, carried me through all rollers and down the hill. Right turn at Woodford's, reality kicks in - like a slap in the face, we have an uphill to Turtle Rock Park, the official start/finish. Fritz zips on to get the car, I churn the pedals until I see him coming back to get me. Heck, I'm at 120 miles, have the 5 stickers, I really don't care about the last 5 miles, I'll get in the car to Turtle Rock Park!
...Where I wait in line to sign the poster, and pick up the coveted 5-pass pin. Somehow, I end up with 2 pins, I don't know how, but I certainly didn't do 10 passes.
Jeff completed 4 plus the Y2K grade, John did the first 4. Both did great, and Fritz was a great trooper - this was the latest hour he's ever ended the Death Ride, and the first time he's just done the last pass, and at 3 MPH. BTW, my official end time was 7:15 pm. Yup, that 13+ hours on my bike. I know that I am one of thousands of cyclists who have successfully completed the 5 Pass Death Ride - and each of us have special stories to tell. I'm especially thankful to the terrific and similarly nutty friends I have, who each assisted me in achieving my goal of 5 passes this year (especially Fritz, Jenn, LeRoy, Laura, Jeff, Marylynn, and the always supportive loving hubby, Larry).
End results - no flat tires, no bonk, 120 miles, and 15,000' of climbing.
Top speed of 53 mph. Mission: Accomplished.
Don't ask me about next year until January 2001. It's amazing how time mellows the memories.
--Cathy