Death Ride - July 8th, 2006
Distance: ~ 130 miles
Vertical Feet: ~16,000'
Max Grade: 18 %
Time: 10 hours (for Paul)
Paul nearing the top of Carson Pass - his 5th and Final pass of the day
After taking last Summer off from the Death Ride due to a poorly timed illness, Paul came back strong in 2006 to ride his fastest Death Ride ever: under 10 hours. Todd and I caught up with him near the top of his last huge climb on Carson Pass. We were dying in the heat while the riders crawled by us, I can't imagine how exhausted they must have felt.
First though, since we arrived at Carson Pass a little early we drove out to the Patch off of Forestdale Divide Road to kill some time. We were amazed to see this jib fest going off (it's mostly a skiing site, so I had to throw this in):
But we came back and parked on a pullout near the top of the final climb up Carson Pass:
Shortly there after Paul arrives, looking like he's still got some left in the tank:
Pretty good time for over 100 miles and 5 passes:
The end is in sight on Carson Pass:
Arriving at the Final Aid Station at the Meiss TH (top of Carson Pass):
Exact same parking lot we use when skiing Red Lake and Stevens Peaks, as seen here and here.
Time to finish it with the downhill:
Good job Paul!
Can't wait to see what goes down in next year's ride.
Click the links below for a detailed report:
Ride 1 - Salmon Falls / Prospector Grade
Ride 2 - Hills of San Francisco
Ride 3 - Death Ride Trainer - Ebbetts Pass
Ride 4 - Staple Ride - Hills of Serrano