Tour of the California Alps: AKA The Death Ride

By Rod Monsees

"The Death Ride".  The name itself is intimidating.  What crazy person would want to participate in an event that suggests it might end your life?  This year, there are three such crazy people right here in Sun City Lincoln Hills; Mike Rubino, Doug Smith, and Rod Monsees (me).  Mike and Doug have done the event more than once in recent years, so they helped me do the right kind of training to prepare.  I had never done the Death Ride or anything like it.

Preparation was very necessary for such a grueling ride, which covers 6 mountain passes, 103 miles, and over 14,000 feet of climbing.  The most important training is simply getting enough base miles and climbing early in the year.  All three of us have done over 4,000 miles and 350k feet of climbing since January.  It’s also crucial to practice the kinds of long, sustained climbs characteristic of the Death Ride.  We did several of those training rides, including Robinson Flat (53 miles, 5,000 feet), Lemond Loop (3 mountain passes, 85 miles, 8,500 feet), Monitor pass, both sides (45 miles, 6,400 feet), and Ebbetts and Pacific Grade passes (67 miles, 7400 feet).  Each of those were difficult, but necessary if we wanted the conditioning to finish the Death Ride.  We also had some fun comradery getting to and from the ride starts in Mike’s minivan, and encouraging each other on the challenging routes.

Ascending Monitor in the dark

Finally, the day arrived, July 11th.  Packet pickup was the day before, so we lined up on the start line in the early morning hours.  Doug and Mike started at 3:00am, I needed a bit more sleep so didn’t start until 4:30am.  Lights were obviously required that early, and on the first climb up Monitor we had a Christmas tree effect of blinking taillights snaking up the mountain switchbacks.  About 2/3s of the way up the sun started to rise, and there were striking contrasts of light and shadow on the barren slopes of Monitor.  At the top, a bagpipe player dressed in full Scottish garb was playing encouragement for all the riders.  The descent on the other side had smooth roads, but the sections still in shadow were surprisingly cold.  After refueling at the bottom, we turned around and climbed back up.  The sun had gotten a little higher now, and even though it was early morning, it got pretty warm on the treeless landscape.  After passing the bagpiper again, I refueled at the summit rest stop and ran into Doug.  He’d been struggling with atrial fibrillation (afib), and it turned out to be particularly bad that day.  He made the smart call and decided to shorten his ride and head back to the start.  It’s disappointing after doing all that preparation to not finish the full route, but he did far more than I would have done under those conditions.

The Bagpiper encouraging you up the pass

Doug at the Topaz Lake rest stop

The descent on the other side of Monitor was smooth and fast; I hit 49.5 mph at one point.  Even so, there were young kids riding like it was the Tour de France and passing me going much faster.  After the descent, there was a stretch of rolling hills that brought us to a rest stop near the base of the next climb, Ebbetts.  After refueling, I started grinding up, trying to keep my effort and my heart rate manageable. There are trees on Ebbetts, so the shade kept me from getting overheated.  It gets a bit steeper towards the top, and I could feel the fatigue increasing.  I had mixed feelings reaching the top, because I knew after the descent I would have to climb Pacific Grade.  The descent on Ebbetts was not as fast, nor as comfortable as Monitor.  Tree roots had caused bumps in the road, and that mixed

with occasional potholes made it a bit rough.

The summit of Ebbets Pass

After the descent, I started the comparitively shorter climb up Pacific Grade.  This section has the steepest sections on the entire course, with a couple of spots around a 17% gradient.  On two of the switchbacks, I had to stand on the pedals and lean over the front wheel to keep it on the pavement.  After that climb, I was very fatigued, then did the short descent into Lake Alpine for a rest stop.  I saw Mike there, and another cyclist we know named Juan.  At this point, I felt full body fatigue, and only kept going because I knew I had to get back.   The climb from Lake Alpine back up Pacific Grade wasn’t as steep as the other side, so I managed that OK.  On descending the steep section, I saw several riders having a tough day walking up.

Pacific Grade Summit

Then came the final long climb up the other side of Ebbetts.  5 miles of 8% to 12% gradient.  My strategy early in the ride had been to keep my heartrate in a certain range while climbing.  That went out the window on that final climb.  My whole body was fatigued, and I could not get my heartrate up, my body wouldn’t allow it.  I just kept pushing the pedals as best I could, focusing on the road in front of my wheel.  It was much warmer as it was early afternoon, and the trees were not providing as much shade because the sun was higher.  I knew I needed to drink, but couldn’t manage to do it while riding with such effort, so I pulled over about 2/3rds up the mountain and downed a water bottle.  I finally slogged my way to the top, tired but happy, the hard part was done.

Mike got to the top a couple minutes later, and after resting, we started the final descent to Markleeville.  The road on that side of Ebbetts wasn’t as bad, and we descended pretty quickly.  After the Ebbetts descent, it is mostly downhill into Markleeville.  The main street of Markleeville was filled with cheering people, and about 6 kids with water cannons.  I was focused on the road when suddenly I’m getting soaked with cold water.  A bit shocking, but it felt good in the heat.  Unfortunately, we still had to get to Turtle Rock Park about 4 miles outside of Markleeville, and most of that was uphill.  Not a significant climb in the overall scheme of things, but after doing well over 13,000 feet of climbing, it felt indecent to require another 400 feet to get to the finish.

Rod Monsees at the finish

Mike Rubino at the finish

Mike and I did the traditional finish line ritual of signing the finisher poster and taking pictures, as well as partaking in ice cream and beer.  Doug was at the finish line as well to congratulate us.  We didn’t linger long as it was pretty hot in the afternoon.

Doug Smith, Rod Monsees and Mike Rubino

Although this was a challenge for all three of us, some people on the course chose to make the challenge bigger.  I saw at least 3 people riding an Elliptigo (elliptical machine with wheels).  Those things looked heavy.  I saw one guy with a strange bike that had no seat tube and no seat.  He had to stand on the pedals the entire time.  There were also a few mountain bikes and gravel bikes mixed in with the road bikes, and at least one electric mountain bike.  He had to have stashed batteries along the course, I would think each climb would use up a battery.

Afterward while looking at Strava results, we realized there were several pro bike racers and ex-pro bike racers that did the event.  Levi Leipheimer (ex Tour de France racer, now 52 years old) was 5th place overall on Strava.  Of the 1540 people who started the ride, only 771 finished the entire route.  Mike and I were two of those, and Doug was probably the only guy in afib to finish half the route.  It was a difficult event, but that was kind of the point.  Committing to a difficult target event focuses training throughout the year, and stretches you beyond what you might think your limits are.  Will the insanity hit some Sun City Lincoln Hills cyclists again next year?  Probably.