07-14-07-The Markleeville Death Ride for 2007.gpx-t0

My Garmin died after just 73 miles, so I had to switch to my backup Garmin to record the rest of the ride – we started nice and early, at about 4:40 am – in the dark! – and went at a very modest pace (for me) – and I had my new ‘08 Trek Madone 5.5 bike – it was the first time riding the bike – wow! It performed just fine and I didn’t have any lingering problems with saddle soreness or sore knees or sore back – it was great! I forgot to hit the lap button properly at the bottom and top of the different climbs, but it doesn’t really matter, since our finishing time was just over 12 hours riding time, slower than my time last year. I probably should have ridden with the faster group (Kirsten, Dave, and Mark), but then the conversations would not have been as much fun! It was a hot day after we did the first 3 passes – the back side of Ebbetts and the transition to Carson Pass were especially brutal – but the climb up Carson was not too bad – it had cooled off a bit and we did not have the horrible head winds. All in all, it was a great ride, as usual! Next year, I will go for a new PB – either with some other riders that are at my same strength, or just by myself. And, I’ll start at a more reasonable hour, like with the 5:30 am crowd!