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+---
+layout: post
+title: "The Death Ride"
+tags:
+- cycling
+---
+
+Endurance athletes have a misconfiguration in their brain, one that compels them
+to pursue increasingly foolish goals, for me the [Death
+Ride](https://deathride.com/) was as foolish as it was ambitious. The
+[course](https://www.strava.com/segments/25280359) is 103mi, starting at ~5k
+feet elevation, with a total of about 14k feet of elevation gain. It is not a
+_race_ per se, though I'm sure somebody is "first" back to the finish line.
+What is celebrated are _completions_. If you can survive all six passes, you're
+a winner! The mountains are steep, the road largely exposed, and the heat is
+oppressive, but hey! Good luck! Have a great ride!
+
+I managed to [complete all six passes](https://www.strava.com/activities/7481018521) in 7:58:50.
+
+Enough time has passed for me to reflect on the event, almost a month now, and
+both my brain and legs have forgotten enough that doing it again doesn't seem
+so ridiculous.
+
+---
+
+Around 5am I rolled up in my car to the starting point outside of
+Markleeville. A CHP officer was directing cars to park on the side of the road.
+Cyclists were already passing by, having ridden from their nearby campgrounds.
+Aside from [ALC](https://aidslifecycle.org) I had never seen this many cyclists
+in one spot. "If these old geezers can do this, so can I!" ran through my head
+as I put my shoes on, topped up my tires, and ate the last of my food in the
+car.
+
+The Death Ride is very well supported, there are aid and water stations along
+the way but with a new event I trend towards more self-sufficiency; better to
+have too much food instead of too little.
+
+Picking up my number the dawn's light is starting to creep over the mountains.
+The air is cool and the feeling is electric. I am **excited**! What an
+adventure! Look at all these old geezers, I'll be fine!
+
+The first mile is a coasting downhill through the town of Markleeville. The
+makeup of the course means that the _last_ mile will then be an uphill slog to
+the finish line. Something to worry about later!
+
+## Monitor Pass
+
+As I turn to start the ascent of Monitor Pass I find myself passing cyclists
+and have to intentionally slow myself down. I know that my adrenaline is making
+me all antsy in my pantsy. I don't want to use up my legs on the first climb.
+At this stage of the ride the mental effort expended is about **discipline**.
+Don't be stupid, pace.
+
+The sun streaks over the mountains as I grind up to Monitor Pass and some of
+the views are simply spectacular! Despite wildfire which had recently burned
+through the area, the landscape is still something to behold.
+
+As I crest the climb I see the first aid station and remember: "oh right, I
+have to go down the other side and _then_ back up this bastard!" I pass by the
+aid station, I'll hit it on the way back, I will need it then.
+
+Coming down the southeast side of Monitor Pass is genuinely **awesome**, the
+view opens up in a _big_ way and the massive valley is on full display in the
+morning sun. There is precious little time to enjoy the view because I am
+_accelerating_ and the descent is fucking insane. 40+ mph rocketing down a
+mountain with certain death should you be stupid or unlucky and go off the
+side. I have to remind myself a couple times to relax my grip on the
+handlebars. At one point I exceeded 49mph, which was _not_ the fastest I would
+go during the ride.
+
+Approaching the Topaz Lake rest stop the descent slows through a rock walled
+canyon, which gives me the opportunity to see the slog being endured by
+cyclists heading _back up_ to Monitor Pass.
+
+
+![Descending towards Topaz](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/monitor-descent.png)
+
+
+I don't take much nutrition in at Topaz because I intended to stop at the rest
+stop back up topside. I drop some gear in a drop bag and start my ascent.
+Falling in with a couple of doctors I intentionally chat them up a bit. If I'm
+talking, I won't be tempted to pass people on the climb as much. Eventually
+they fall back because my pace is too aggressive for them. Climbing solo my
+pace picks up as I constantly find new people to chase. My legs feel good, it's
+not too hot, the view is gorgeous, what a wonderful ride!
+
+Stopping topside at the Monitor Pass rest stop again I stuff myself full of
+food. It's basically all downhill from here until the lunch stop. My neighbor
+gave me the advice to not fill up at lunch since that's at the base of the
+Ebbett's Pass climb. As I finish chewing and drinking a pepsi (sugar water!) and prepare to leave the rest stop, somebody knocks over a rack of bikes. Oops!
+
+The descent down from Monitor Pass to the fork was **fucking fast**. I chase a
+couple people down the hill, hug my top tube, and enjoy the big straightaways
+and gradual sweeping turns. My top speed for this segment is the fastest I will
+go all day: 55.4mph. According to Strava, the [fastest person on this
+segment](https://www.strava.com/activities/7565854108#2989258323047473166)
+topped out at 70.4mph which is absolutely insane.
+
+At lunch somebody who was descending with me mentions that they saw me narrowly
+miss a rock on the road and were anxious that I wasn't going to see it in time.
+Fortunately I did see the rock coming, which could have been disastrous, but at
+high speeds it's important not to make sudden corrections!
+
+I nibble a bit and pack a sandwich in my back pocket from lunch for later. Time
+for Ebbett's Pass, the biggest bastard climb of them all.
+
+
+## Ebbett's Pass
+
+The top of Ebbett's Pass is at 8,703ft and has a variable gradient from around
+6-7% at the outset and then it gets steeper between 10-15% towards the summit.
+
+To be honest I don't remember much of this part of the ride. It was simply a
+slog, but if these geezers can do it, so can I! Honestly, much of the ride is
+really just a mental test of how much you can grind it out. All said and done,
+it was about an hour of sitting in and mashing pedals.
+
+The rest stop is perched right at the top and a welcome reprieve. They were
+serving instant ramen, sprite, pepsis, and all manner of snacks with salt and
+sugar in them to replenish the tired muscles. As I sat in one of the graciously
+provided camp chairs eating my ramen I overheard a couple other cyclists
+talking about how many passes they were going to do. One geezer said "nope,
+this was it, I'm just doing this one."
+
+I vaguely recalled registration where you selected the number of passes. I was
+signing up for the Death Ride, so I said "six". I'm going to do them all
+damnit! The nuance of that registration form was lost on me. A _lot_ of
+cyclists do shortened versions of the ride, picking and choosing which passes
+they're going to do, enjoying their ride, and going home! A lot of these
+geezers were going to do six passes, but not all of them. I had to re-orient my
+motivational tactic slightly 😄
+
+![Ebbett's Pass](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/ebbetts.jpg)
+
+
+Either way, I had summitted Ebbett's Pass, that was the "hard one" in my head.
+Three of six passes completed. "I'm practically done!"
+
+## Pacific Grade
+
+Cycling is a constant lesson in humility. The distance between the Ebbett's
+Pass rest stop and the turnaround point was only 14 miles, but four of those
+miles were painfully steep. After 50 miles of work already, the steep climbs up Pacific Grade were brutal, for the first time of the day I started to see cyclists stopped taking a breather.
+
+One of the punchier sections of the climb is a brief stint at 32%.
+
+My bottles were full as was my stomach so I passed some water stops and decided
+to keep my momentum pressing onwards to the turnaround at 69 miles.
+
+Upon arrival I found some shade where other cyclists were sitting on rocks
+hiding from the sun. I took my spot and started eating my warm sandwich.
+Despite those climbs there was a *lot* of downhill that was about to turn into
+uphill on the return.
+
+The sun was in full effect, it was only going to get hotter. I filled my
+bottles, saddled up, and started to climb back up the backside of Pacific
+Grade.
+
+## Long road home
+
+Ebbett's Pass is a mother fucker.
+
+The rapid descent from Pacific Grade is followed by 5-6 miles of 8-10%
+gradient, exposed in the full afternoon sun, with little wind, and nothing to
+do but look at the road in front of your handlebars. Letting your eyes drift
+any further ahead and you'll be reminded of just how hopeless it all is.
+
+I slowly crank by cyclist after cyclist hiding from the sun under the few trees
+providing some shade near the narrow mountain road. The previous climbs had
+conversation and sometimes even laughter. The climb back up to Ebbett's Pass is
+silent. Nobody is talking, nobody is following, nobody is happy, we're all just
+surviving. I have difficulty deciding whether it's better to drink or douse myself with
+hot water in my bottles.
+
+Thinking about the geezers doesn't help.
+
+My legs feel fried, it's hot as shit, the view doesn't matter, what a miserable
+ride.
+
+Getting closer to the top I hear echoes of what I think are cowbell and
+shouting, the rest stop must be just up ahead! I fooled myself more times than
+I can remember with that mirage. By the time I finally arrived at the rest stop
+I was almost surprised it actually existed this time.
+
+Give me water, give me electrolytes, give me a couple of these sprites, I'll
+take some of that watermelon too. I need to sit in one of those alluring camp
+chairs and reconsider the erroneous decisions which led me here.
+
+As I sit and contemplate whether I'm hot enough for cartoon steam to shoot from
+my ears, I see people finishing the _first_ ascent of Ebbett's. Those poor
+souls, it's just going to get hotter, the climb back up from the turnaround is
+a already a bastard.
+
+Once my core temperature lowers a bit, I pull myself up and back into the
+saddle for the "easy" descent to the finish line. My plans change slightly, I'm
+confident I will finish, I now want to get off this route as quickly as
+possible.
+
+The descent off Ebbett's back towards the fork has some hairpin turns which
+slow me down quite a bit. I've come too far to eat shit on some mountain road
+just before the finish line. But as the road straightens out, I speed up,
+pushing my top speed for this segment of 44.9mph. I also fall in with a couple
+other guys and we start a paceline towards the finish. Teamwork always makes
+for fun cycling and high speeds, both of which I'm glad to have at this point
+in the afternoon.
+
+Climbing into Markleeville I somehow fumble my water bottle when trying to
+return it to its cage. While I'm fatigued, I'm not about to leave my water
+bottle! We've come so far together! Of course, the problem with a cylindrical
+bottle on a _hill_ is that as I dismount it starts to roll away from me. Water
+bottle no! Come back!
+
+Clickety-clack go the bike cleats as I jog downhill 15 yards to capture the
+bottle. I cannot help but laugh at how ridiculous the scene must have been as I
+sprint back to try to catch my group.
+
+
+The last three miles are uphill. Only a 5% grade, but fully exposed with a
+headwind, and after 100mi of absolutely mind-warping riding. I don't think I
+have ever hated a stretch of road like I hated that one.
+
+
+## Completion
+
+The relief of crossing the finish line was delayed. My core temperature was
+high, my heart rate was high, i felt dehydrated. There was live music, beer,
+ice cream, and food. That would all have to wait. I sat on a bench shirtless
+for probably 30 minutes slowly taking in water and electrolytes before I
+started to become functional again.
+
+![Finished](/images/post-images/deathride-2022/finish.png)
+
+At a rational level I understand that the Death Ride was a brutal slog which
+was more of mental challenge than a physical one. Did I enjoy it? I think so.
+
+The brain of an endurance athlete seems to have a misconfiguration, one which makes
+it difficult to distinguish between a challenge, punishment, and fun. The Death
+Ride was all three, so who knows, maybe I will be back next year.
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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: alc2022"
+tag: alc2022
+robots: noindex
+---
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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: dataeng"
+tag: dataeng
+robots: noindex
+---
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+---
+layout: tag_page
+title: "Tag: software development"
+tag: software development
+robots: noindex
+---