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2003 Markleeville Death Ride to be held on Saturday, July 12th Below is information from past years Death Rides, which might help you prepare for the 2003 event. In addition, we have an email list you can sign up for, located in the "menu" box at the bottom of this page. We'll try to update you whenever there's a change on the official DeathRide website. --Mike-- The 2003 DeathRide registration process is... as interesting as ever! You can learn all about it on the official website, but before trying to actually enter, you might take a look at a new page on our website where people have emailed us their experiences attempting to register. Also, there will only be a 5-pass ride this year
(not 6), without a Pacific Grade
option (last offered in 2000). It's the same course as the 2002 & 2001 ride, so read all about the Y2K ride and get prepared
for the time of your life! |
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| Pass #1 & 2 take you over the top of Monitor Pass & back. This is the epitome of bare but spectacular Sierra scenery. You will climb over rugged terrain that ends atop a landscape that can best be described as foreign...pretty much the exact top of the treeline. The descent down the opposite side is high speed and fun! Don't worry too much about missing the beautiful hidden valleys off to the side, as you'll have plenty of time to look at them on the way back up! | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 On the left is the west side of Monitor, the first climb of the day! Above is the east side. Neither is really steep, but it is a bit long and may wear on you. |
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Pass #3 is far and away the most beautiful on the ride...Ebbetts
Pass never disappoints! This
 is quite a bit longer climb than
Monitor, but it's worth it, with many switchbacks affording great
views. The grade seems steeper than it really is, since you're just
now beginning to feel the miles and the thin air, but by now you've
removed your leg warmers & jacket and life is good. Watch for
the odd little house about 3/4 of the way up the climb, on the left-hand
side. If you're just doing three passes, this is the end of the big
climbs...it's downhill all the way to the Carson River (near where you
turned off to climb Monitor), and then some rolling climbs back to the
start. |
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 Here's a map showing the climb up the east side of Ebbetts. The zig-zag section towards the bottom is the place the photo above was taken...this is breathtakingly beautiful riding! |
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| If you're doing 4 or more passes, then it's down the backside of Ebbetts to Hermit Valley. This is a pretty easy climb back up, so for many, the difference between 3 & 4 passes won't be that big a deal. It's not too steep, just a bit on the long side, but there's a beautiful valley on your right (as you're climbing back up) with a noisy creek to keep you company. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| If you really don't think Pacific Grade could be all that bad, then look at this map and think again! Those elevation lines...see how close together they are as you approach the lake? This will be an experience you will never forget. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Note: The optional 6th pass listed below is
no longer part of the DeathRide. Too bad, as it's a spectacular
piece of road. Highly recommended to go out and ride it on your own
sometime! But the real fun comes if you're crazy enough to ride up the optional 6th pass towards Bear Valley...taking you over the legendary Pacific Grade! This will be the only really steep part of the ride, and really steep just doesn't do it justice. You cruise along through Hermit Valley, the road curves around a big rock, and then it's UP UP UP! 24% grade up!!! This was a crazy idea you just had, your legs are screaming at you, you're wondering why you only have a 39/25, and you wonder just when it's going to end. Then at the top you turn around and melt your brake pads on the way back to Hermit Valley and on over Ebbetts and back to base camp. |
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 Shown above is the climb up 89 from Markleeville past Sorenson's and on to Carson Pass. |
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| For 5 & 6 pass riders, it's lunch at base camp (Turtle Rock) and then up the long climb to Carson Pass. This is by far my least favorite part of the ride, as the road is too straight, the grade too unchanging, and the wind is nearly always in your face. And I almost forgot...it can also get outrageously hot on this climb! But eventually you make it to the top, and this is the only pass where the descent is really the big attraction...no sudden turns, good pavement, no problem keeping up with the cars etc. Here, you can fly! Almost no climbing remains except for a small hill back to Turtle Rock and you're home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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PAST USEFUL INFO [Did you miss the 1999 ride? Reports from many of our customers indicate that it was, for the most part, a beautiful day with generally good support. Anyone concerned about it getting cold in the Sierras was unpleasantly surprised by high temps in the Turtle Rock area between passes 4 & 5. Below we offer the route map, which might help you to plot your own ride. You won't be disappointed by the scenery, the challenging hills and the exhilarating descents.] For those of you not aware of this ride, it's incredible. The scenery, the roads you'll ride, the screwball weather you might encounter...this is an experience you'll never forget. And this year they've made significant improvements by placing Ebbetts Pass, the most beautiful part of the ride, up near the "front" (Pass #3) so more people get a chance to see it. A word of warning...if you haven't done high-altitude riding before, please force yourself to drink more water than normal! At higher elevations, it's not a direct effect of reduced oxygen that does you in, but more likely the fact that the increased breathing results in much greater loss of water (through your lungs) than would be the case at sea level...and the effects of even subtle dehydration include headaches and a general lack of strength (lethargy). Find something you really like to drink (I use Cytomax) and go for it. Put yourself on a water-schedule and make sure you stick to it (for example, make sure you've drunk one full water bottle every 15 miles). Of course it goes without saying that you should use two water bottles, and maybe even a spare emergency drink stowed in your seat pack (I've used Mountain Dew). Another helpful hint on century rides in general...bring along enough food & water so that, even if the organizers run out of food or water, you're still OK. There's no reason to risk a poorly-run event turning what should be a beautiful ride into a personal disaster.
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 Want an overview of the
entire ride in one photo? Here it is, from 37,000 feet courtesy of
Northwest Airlines! Of course, there won't be quite as much snow in
July as there was on April 14th, 1999. Sorry the window wasn't a bit
cleaner, but you can still tell you're looking at the southern end of Lake
Tahoe, with the mountains surrounding Markleeville behind. |
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