Hello friends and riders,
So, another Death Ride down. Boy, oh boy, was this one down! Worst Death Ride I've ever done. Seems alot of people weren't feeling the best on this one. Weather was not bad actually as it was about 68 at 5:30 AM at the start, got to mid-90's on backside of Ebbetts and clouded over for the climb up Carson (thunder was distantly heard and stayed distant, thank goodness!).
We rolled out and felt great. Good group, which split up quickly on Monitor. On the back side of Monitor, a bad accident that required a helicoptor to land at the top and stopped all riders for about 20 minutes. Never good to see that (a guy had a heart attack, fell and got a bad head injury)(and later died).
From there, something happened and I felt strong going up Ebbetts, but we were going slowly. Greg's knee started to have alot of pain and he really had to spin gently (how do you do that going up a climb like Ebbetts?? Not easy, but done.). We got to the top and didn't feel very good, so went to the bottom of the back of Ebbetts and it all ended there (for David and I).
No, we didn't give up. We felt like #!@&!@#, but didn't stop trying. So, YES we did complete all five passes, as did Steve, Andrew, Greg, Jamie, Ted, Connie and many other friends we bumped into. It was a real battle to win this DR pin. I was suffering brutally on Carsen. Ride a mile, stop, sit and let the nausea pass. Ride a mile, sit....etc.
It was a nasty last pass this year. I blame it on a weird reaction to altitude this year, but, maybe that's just an excuse and I simply wasn't ready...???? Anyway, mission accomplished and, of course, now that the memory of the pain is fading, yes, we'll be there next year.
Anyway, if you want more details, call and I'll be happy to regale you with minute info. Congrats to all our friends who rode the DR, and to those who finished.
Hope to see you all soon. Great riding with many of you on the Death Ride (you know who you are...) and seeing many other friends. Is biking great or what???
By the way, a personal best on the worst DR ever: I hit 53 mph on Monitor!!!!!!!! I'm so excited, I just can't hide it, I"m about to lose control and I KNOW I like it!!!!
Happy riding, and hope to see you this weekend for fun in the warm, comfortable riding environment of California, Bay Area. Are we lucky, or what???
Am I finished, or what??
OK, done,
Best,
Debra (happily-completed-DR, but-wondering-why-I-kept-going....)