The Death Ride is a five mountain pass, 130 mile, 16,000 feet of climbing bike ride that takes place in the Sierra Nevada Mountains close to Lake Tahoe California. It was my second time riding and Chris' first. Kim and Jesse Washburn, a bunch of their family members, and friend of ours, Mike Scheuller were there doing the ride with us. We started just after five in the morning and headed out for the first climb, Monitor Pass. Kim and I spent the majority of the time on Monitor catching up on things we hadn't talked much about since Kim and Jesse are in Missouri going to medical school. A couple of people asked us how we could climb the mountain passes and talk the whole way. It was pretty chilly in the morning, especially cruising downhill at 35 - 40 mph. The day heated up pretty quickly reaching 106, which made us wish for the earlier cold temperatures. And who would have thought, but the day ended with us hiding under the overhand of a fire truck waiting for the hail to subside before we would ride 45 minutes downhill in the freezing rain. Chris finished the ascent up Carson Pass just behind Jesse and Mike Scheuller, Kim and I showed up somewhere around an hour later.
This is Chris and I freezing just after finishing our descent down Carson Pass. We were so cold we couldn't hold our handle bars straight because we were shaking so badly. One guy offered my a hundred dollars for my arm warmers, which were actually Chris', if I would give them to him for the ride down. Not a chance.
This ride could very well be my favorite rides ever. I love the scenery of the Sierra Nevadas, and the ride is very well supported with lots of good food and plenty to drink. I think having family and friends is really what makes it seem so great. Chris and I are just glad we enjoy doing the same things and can share in these experiences together. (Together meaning he is an hour ahead of me, but you get the idea).
1 comment:
Paige, you guys are so cute! I'm just happy to have you as my crazy friend.
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