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After re-reading my account from last year’s “inaugural” Death Ride, I had the same question you may have: why do I want to do it again? Months of training, 13.5 hours of pedaling mostly up hill, bike seat trauma, hail, and exhaustion like I’ve never experienced. So why…because I did it and I want to do it again. The support from everyone around me, the money raised for TurningWheels and the accomplishment of a life goal motivated me to go for it again this year.

Some background on the Death Ride (www.deathride.com). The ride starts at 5:30am on July 14th, from Markleeville, California (5,501 feet about sea level). From there, we climb Monitor Pass, reaching an altitude of 8,314 feet, and freeze our way down the back of the pass, only to climb back up from the other side. Up and back over Monitor completes 2 of the 5 passes. The next pass is Ebbett’s Pass, starting at the base of Monitor pass and climbing to 8,730 feet, descending back to 7,000 feet only to return to the top, completing 4 of the 5 passes and the majority of our 15,000 total vertical feet of climbing. With only one pass left, there is a lunch break at the base of Ebbett’s and a time cut off for those who want to attempt the fifth and final climb – Carson pass. Luckily, we only have to climb one side and 3,079 more feet of Carson pass and return to have completed all 5 passes. On average, the ride is 10-12 hours of riding, mixed with food stations and a lunch stop.

Last year’s goal to complete all five passes began purely as a personal one. This life goal had been to train for and complete the Death Ride because of the challenge, the novelty and the experience of training for a demanding athletic event. Not that I was looking for extra motivation, but there was a piece missing. Enter Turning Wheels for Kids.

I found Turning Wheels through my board position at the VMC Foundation (www.vmcfoundation.info). The VMC Foundation is a non-profit formed to raise funds, resources and public awareness for Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System and Valley Medical Center. The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, or VMC (www.scvmed.org) is our county’s only public hospital – i.e. the only one that cares for all in need regardless of their ability to pay. I knew I would need support from friends and family to complete the Death Ride. I felt that if I could ask for that support to benefit an organization I believed in and one which brought bikes to kids who truly needed them, what better encouragement could there be to push to the finish?

This year my goal is to raise $5,000 for Turning Wheels for Kids.

Please help support me in my goal to finish the Death Ride stronger than last year while raising support for over 1,500 smiles to children in our community at Christmas.

A few nuances of the 2007 season that will make it…interesting:

1) Bike seat blow out. As you might imagine, if you’re going to spend 10+ hours in the saddle, it should relatively comfortable. I had problems with my saddle last year and had to switch for another after the third pass. As of May 21st, I am rotating through my third saddle and found that this one won’t work either – almost immediate pain to either a nerve, muscle, tendon, not sure what it is quite yet, nor how to fix it. Still trying to get this right.

2) Lower back pain. Experienced it last year and have found a ‘bike training guru’ to help alleviate it this year. I was almost hopeful it was due to improper bike fit, but no, it’s because I have a weak core for what I’m trying to accomplish. In April I began a strengthening regime that ‘should’ happen 3-4x per week. I’m close to staying on target and so far, it has helped – my back pain is not as severe as it was last year when I began training.

3) Heart rate monitoring. I did not train with a heart rate monitor last year, but wore one for the day of the Death Ride in an attempt to keep my pace slow and steady. What I did not know was that the rate I chose to help guide my slow and steady pace made the ride more on the slow side. I am hopeful that I can train my heart as well as everything else to ride at a faster pace (and therefore in shorter overall time).

4) A Turning Wheels team!! My favorite part to this year’s ride is the dynamic duo of TWFK Executive Team member Jack France and myself. See how our training compares and the outcome on our blogs.

Training Blog:

In general, I am starting this season stronger than I did last year’s training schedule. I will update this every week and if this is your first time to the blog, thank you for reading it!!

Tuesday, May 1:
20 miles, 2 hrs: Los Gatos –> Hicks Road –> Los Gatos

Wednesday, May 2:
All day work day = day off

Thursday, May 3:
Cardio workout, weights, core strengthening

Friday, May 4:
Day off

Saturday, May 5:
25 miles, 2 hrs, 2,000 ft of climbing – Los Gatos –> Hwy 9 –> Los Gatos

Sunday, May 6:
57 miles, 5 hrs, 5,000 ft of climbing – Los Gatos –> Hwy 9 –> Boulder Creek –> Bear Creek Road –> Old Santa Cruz Hwy –> Lexington –> Los Gatos.

Monday, May 7:
1 hr, 30 min power yoga (with mom!)

Tuesday, May 8:
1 hr weights and core strengthening

Wednesday, May 9:
Day off – spent 1 hour trying three different bike seats, ended up purchasing a Terry to try out for a few rides.

Thursday, May 10:
1 hour hike up Jones Trail, Los Gatos

Friday, May 11:
1hr 15min: Weights and core strengthening

Saturday, May 12:
25 miles, 2 hrs, 3,000 ft of climbing – Los Gatos –> Hwy 9 –> Eureka Canyon Rd –> Los Gatos
Wildlife viewing: Jackrabbit crossed the road, followed by a coyote a few minutes later in the Saratoga foothills.

Sunday, May 13:
58 miles, 5 hrs, 6200 ft of climbing – Los Gatos –> Lexington –> Old Santa Cruz Highway, Summit, San Jose Soquel –> Scotts Valley –> Mountain Charlie –> Hwy 9 –> Los Gatos
Riding notes: Solid day, good effort up Mtn Charlie, although Terry bike seat does not seem to be working out.

Monday, May 14:
Rest day – still in bike seat pain to get on the bike.

Tuesday, May 15:
1 hr: Cardio/core stability

Wednesday, May 16:
Rest day

Thursday, May 17:
1 hr, 15 minutes: Cardio/Strength training/core stability in gym.

Sunday, May 20:
48 miles, 5 hrs, 6000 ft of climbing – Los Gatos –> Palo Alto, via Hwy 9, Skyline, Old La Honda, Alpine and back (almost).
Riding notes: Major set back today. Not only was my bike seat increasingly painful on my sit bone, but I began experiencing very sharp pains in my right knee. So bad that I could not finish the ride. Unfortunately, I was far from my starting point and only half way up Alpine Road, a long and steep climb. When I thought it best to call for my sister to pick me up, I found that my cell phone was completely dead. There were no other riders or cars on the road, so my only choice was to continue riding very slowly and in the lowest gear. I made it 5 more miles (took me over an hour) before I came to a fire station, where I called sis to come save me. Set up therapist appointments for the next week – I have no idea what this will do for training.

Wildlife viewing for the ride: one lone, 2ft snake, sunning on the side of Alpine road. Veered way left to avoid being anywhere near it.

Monday, May 21:
No training – pain management day.

Tuesday, May 22:
Appointment with first PT. Discovered the source of my sit bone pain was pain was from an interior lump/mass/cyst/who knows that had formed along my pelvic bone. Not muscle related, nothing exterior and probably has something to do with the new seat I was using, the repetitive nature of many pedal strokes and probably poor form on the bike as I tried to compensate bike position for less pain while riding on Sunday. Because it is not muscle related, I’ve been directed to an orthopedic surgeon for a diagnosis.

Wednesday, May 23:
30 minutes gym cardio, 30 minutes core strengthening.
Still in pain, although lessening.

Thursday, May 24:
1.5 hr ride, 20 miles: Summit Rd to Soquel and back.
Appointment with ortho doc. An ex-ray showed nothing odd, no solid leads, but set up for an MRI next week.

Friday, May 25:
30 minutes gym cardio, 45 minutes of upper body strength training
Appointment with my trainer/PT. Highly encouraged (okay, I was ordered) to stay off the bike. Spent one hour on and off my bike (set up on a trainer) attempting to diagnose a possible culprit for the pain, but could barely sit on my seat long enough to do so. Most leg muscles have tightened considerably in reaction to the pain – going on regimen to relax these muscles, continue core strengthening and plotting out an off-bike training routine for the meantime. Recommended to see another Physical Trainer.

Saturday, May 26:
1hr hike, 30 min swim, 30min core strengthening

Sunday, May 27:
1.5 hr power yoga class

Monday, May 28:
45 min gym cardio, 45 min lower body strength training.

Notes: Appointment with 3rd PT who had seen the pain I was having in a previous patient (yeah!?). She treated this patient in four sessions and ‘fixed’ it! I have no idea if the same treatment will work, but issue seemed centered around body position on the bike in relation to rotated hips and not pedaling evenly. Also will work on very specific lower back muscle strengthening. Still encouraged not to ride, so I began to wonder how far off-bike training will take me for an endurance ride like the Death Ride. Maybe not as far as I’d like, but I’m still determined to try.

Now I’m asked why I don’t let the ride go this year and try for next year. Two part answer: I’m ¼ just plain ‘ol stubborn and ¾ pushed by Turning Wheel’s philosophy of ‘the kids are worth it’. Even if I only finish one pass, supporting the kids and pushing for all those who have donated to this cause in support of my goal isn’t something I’d back away from.

Tuesday, May 29:
Day off:)

Wednesday, May 30:
1.25 hr hike, Jones Trail in Los Gatos

Thursday, May 31:
45 min gym cardio, 30 min core strengthening

Notes: Had MRI today…hoping for results next week.

Friday, June 1:
45 min gym cardio, upper body strength training, core strengthening

Notes: Back in for a session with my trainer (Curtis, aka – Bike Master Guru). Spent most of the hour trying to find a ‘cushy’ bike seat that caused the lowest level of discomfort. Probably tried 8 seats and settled on one that I could use while I continued to let the pain subside. Plotting out off-bike training routine for the upcoming weeks…looks like a lot of gym time. Was given the ‘ok’ to get back on the bike – 30 minutes at first, increasing by 10-15 minutes thereafter provided no pain returns.

Saturday, June 2:
Day off – spent most of the day walking around Bear Valley (yeah altitude).

Sunday, June 3rd:
1.5 hr hike in Bear Valley (am); 40 minutes cardio, core stability (pm)

Monday, June 4th:
1 hr 10min of gym cardio, 45 min core stability and lower body strength training

Tuesday, June 5th:
1 hour cardio machines, 2 hours of climbing
Notes: One hour physical therapy with Curtis – mostly hamstring work which seemed to lessen pain when I got back on the bike at the end of the hour.

Wednesday, June 6 (happy 40th wedding anniversary mom & dad):
45 min on bike, CTS trainer video (pm)
Notes: Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) was started by Chris Carmichael (one of Lance Armstrong’s former trainers). He created a DVD line of training workouts to be performed on a bike trainer. Fortunately, I bought a trainer a few months ago and only need to lock the back wheel into the frame, set the resistance and I can start riding at home.

Thursday, June 7:
1.15hr cardio in gym, 45 min strength training.
Notes: Received MRI results – showed nothing blaringly abnormal. The doc said this was a good thing, but still frustrating because we cannot pinpoint the problem.

Friday, June 8:
30 min, CTS trainer (am), core stability with weights and 1 hr. hatha yoga (pm)

Saturday, June 9:
50 min cardio, 30 min upper body strength training and no-weights core stability

Sunday, June 10:
1.5 hour power yoga

Monday, June 11:
1 hr ride, 11 miles; 45 minutes weight-training; 25 minutes gym cardio
Notes: Hamstrings still extremely tights, no pain, but not feeling quite right on the seat. 2nd appointment with PT #3.

Tuesday, June 12:
30 min core strengthening (am)
40 minutes gym cardio, 1.5 hrs climbing (pm)

Wednesday, June 13:
30 min gym cardio (am)
1 hr 10 min RIDE, ~11 miles (pm – YEAH!). First outdoor ride in weeks. Starting on Hicks, 15 minutes warm-up on the rolling flats and stubbornly took on the front and back side of the Hicks climb. It had been a 100 degree day, and it had cooled off to the high 80s/low 90s by 6:00. Definitely felt the effects of the heat and lack of bike time heading up the grade, but I was still thrilled to be riding.

Thursday, June 14:
100% day off.

Friday, June 15:
1+ hour gym cardio, 1 hour upper body strength & core work.

Saturday, June 16:
1 hr 30 min RIDE. ~19 miles, Los Gatos –> near top of Hwy 9 –> Los Gatos.
Headed out with Jack France and his Death Ride crew who were going for 100miles that day. Rode at 90% max up Hwy 9 on my 19lb road bike, being chased by Jack on his 30lb+ mountain bike with slick tires the whole way. No pain , but right hamstring is extremely tight and my temporary seat and its position need to change soon if longer rides are in my future. Spent the remainder of the day packing/moving/climbing stairs and all those other things that going along with changing residences.

Notes: 4th session with PT #3…we may have found something! Lots of muscle work, learning that the right side of our upper body affects the left side of our lower body and becoming familiar with terms like SI joint, L5 (lumbar 5), spine stepping, etc. More work and exercises to come…

Sunday, June 17:
1 hr 30 min power yoga
Notes: Need to pay attention to lower back with all the moving and increase in riding. Looking forward to a potential of 3 riding days this week. Fingers crossed.

Monday, June 18:
70 min core and strength training, 20 min cardio

Tuesday, June 19:
1 hr 45 min RIDE. Los Gatos –> Top of Hwy 9 –> Los Gatos
Notes: Ride felt good, although slower than Saturday’s jaunt up the same route. No pain, but will need to have bike fitted (i.e. seat adjusted) by Curtis. Knees wouldn’t have been feeling as great if the ride had gone longer.

Wednesday, June 20:
Day off (unless you include packing & unpacking boxes into the car)

Thursday, June 21:
1 hr ride, 22 miles (Los Gatos hills – Shannon, Kennedy, etc), 15 minutes core strengthening.
Notes: Session with Curtis, mostly spent fine tuning my seat position on the bike and strategizing a training routine to follow over the final 2.5 weeks until the Death Ride. I don’t have much time and endurance training is not an option for fear that we haven’t found the exact source of my pain and it could come back with a quick upswing in long rides. Trying to remain patient with the idea that I have no idea how far I’ll be able to ride on July 14th.

Friday, June 22:
2 hr ride, 25 miles: San Jose –> Sierra Road –> Calaveras Rd –> San Jose
Notes: Today’s strategy was supposed to be focused on heart rate levels and sustaining different levels for varying amounts of time. Funny thing, though – either my heart rate monitor is out of whack or my heart is really poorly trained. I had been referred to as a ‘hummingbird’ last year (heart beats fast (150bpm) when others are hardly working (120 bpm). I was shooting for a sustained effort between 157bpm – 163bpm. When we started climbing Sierra, a low amount of perceived effort resulted in a range between 170bpm – 180bpm and I was still able to carry on a moderate level of conversation. My understanding is that at this heart rate range, I should not be able to carry on much of a conversation at all. So…next step is to play with my heart rate monitor and see if that is indeed my actual heart rate, or if my monitor is not reading correctly.

Saturday, June 23:
1hr 15min gym cardio
Notes: Physical therapy session with Curtis (bless his heart for fitting me in at 6am on a Saturday – must put a plug in for my bike guru, Curtis Cramblett, with Revolutions in Fitness – www.revolutionsinfitness.com!). Went well – now thinking that the seat I used a month back that resulted in pain combined with misaligned hips caused a nerve to become stressed. The stress caused swelling and abnormal growth, which lead to a very painful mass. That’s our theory, anyhow…

Sunday, June 24:
3 hr ride, 29 miles: Los Gatos –> Hwy 9 –> Skyline –> Old Santa Cruz Hwy –> Lexington –> Los Gatos.
Notes: Thrilled that I’m increasing mileage without major pain, although it is pretty clear that the lack of training on the bike tires different muscle groups. Worked in Zone 3 heart rate goals to improve endurance ability. Also, while the ’soft’ Fizik seat is comfy, like last year, it’s a little too soft for long distance and ends up decreasing circulation along the hamstrings.

Monday, June 25:
Day off – 1 mile walk

Tuesday, June 26:
2 hour hike in Bear Valley (am)
30 min gym cardio, core strengthening (pm)
Notes: Another PT session with Curtis, fitting my old (and much stiffer) bike seat to my bike. Now I have a ’soft’ option for the ride, should I chose to switch seats like I did last year if/when my sit bones cry ‘no more hard seat’ at the bottom of the third pass.

Wednesday, June 27:
35 min – Core strengthening (am)
2 hr ride, 23 miles (pm): San Jose –> up Calaveras Rd –> down Sierra Rd –> San Jose
Notes: Worked on zone 4 heart rate goals (3 bouts of 10 minutes between 163-171+), with 3-4 minutes recovery in between. Good ride – felt great!

Thursday, June 28:
Rest day

Friday, June 29:
1 hr 30 min power yoga (am)
3 hr ride, 29 miles (pm): San Jose –> up Calaveras Rd (8 miles up) –> down Sierra –> back up Sierra (3 miles back up, steep grade) –> back down Sierra –> San Jose.
Notes: Wanted the steep hills for climbing, but exerted too much effort on lower back (i.e. I stubbornly told myself I ‘needed’ to climb back up Sierra). Lots of stretching.

Saturday, June 30:
1 hr hike up Jones trail in Los Gatos (am)
40 minutes upper body and core strengthening in gym + 30 min swim (pm)
Notes: Giving lower back a break…great day otherwise!

Sunday, July 1:
5 hr ride, 56 miles (yeah!): Los Gatos –> Redwood Gulch –> Hwy 9 –> Boulder Creek –> Bear Creek Rd –> Old Santa Cruz Hwy –> Summit Store –> return to Los Gatos.
Notes: Fantastic day. No training goals in mind, just wanted to see how long I could ride for and kept the pace moderate. Although I was restricted by time to ride longer, felt I could have continued another 15+ miles if I had the time, which was very encouraging. Focused on using my legs and core more than my back to pull up the hills and lower back did not fatigue like it did on Friday. However, hills were not as steep as Friday’s ride.

Monday, July 2:
35 minutes core strengthening
Notes: Lower back sore from ride yesterday – attribute it to lack of training on the bike, but all and all, feeling fairly solid.

Tuesday, July 3:
25 minutes light cardio, 25 minutes light upper body strengthening
Notes: Last session with Curtis before the ride. ¾ time spent on physical therapy, ¼ time spent planning out training schedule until the day of the ride. For the most part, training is winding down so that muscles are fully rested for the day of the ride. Medium to low intensity planned.

Wednesday, July 4:
1 hr 30 min ride, 20 miles: Los Gatos –> Hwy 9 –> Los Gatos (am)
1 mile walk (pm)
Notes: Worked on zone 3 (157-163bpm) intervals, 10 minutes in higher zone, 5 min rest: repeat 3 times. Drove to Bear Valley (altitude +7,000ft) where I’ll be until the ride is over. All training now taking place at altitude.

Thursday, July 5:
40 min swim, Bear Valley Lake

Friday, July 6:
1 hr hatha yoga

Saturday, July 7 (aka, 7/7/07 – little brother’s wedding day:):
28 mile ride, 2hrs 20min: Bear Valley –> Utica Reservoir –> Bear Valley
Notes: Goal was interval training in heart rate zone 4 (164-170bpm) on rolling hills. Legs were tired though, so spent more time with zone 3 (157-163bpm). Switched back to the Fizik seat (the cushy one) from the Specialized seat (the hard one). Haven’t decided which one I am going to start the ride with, leaving the other with my ‘support group/mom & sister’ at the bottom of pass 3.

Sunday, July 8:
35 minutes core strengthening, physical therapy exercises

Monday, July 9:
15 mile ride, 1hr, 30min: Bear Valley –> Mosquito Lake –> Bear Valley
Notes: After warm-up, goal was 3 intervals at Zone 4 for 5 minutes each, 2-3 min rest in between.

Tuesday, July 10:
Day off

Wednesday, July 11:
40 minutes of light walking, flat to rolling hills.

Thursday, July 12:
30 minutes of core work and physical therapy exercises

Friday, July 13 (LAST DAY BEFORE THE BIG DAY):
10 miles, 45 minute ride: Bear Valley –> Bear Valley Mountain Resort –> Bear Valley
Notes: Just meant to get the legs spinning. 3 repetitions of zone 4 for 45 seconds, 1-2 minute rest between. Lots of preparation today for tomorrow’s early wake up call: going with the ‘hard’ bike seat, all food is ready to go and measured out (attempting to avoid last year’s problem of taking in too many calories (and the wrong types) during the day), drinking 2x the recommended water intake during the day and eating 2x the amount of food. Registered in Markleeville for the event – I’m #2732! No expectations for how far I’ll get, but after learning that my family AND members of the TWFK team will be at the bottom of pass #4, I’ll just have to make it at least that far.

I also also received our official TURNINGWHEELS FOR KIDS bike jersey so I’m all set! Jack France and I are officially riding for Team TWFK:)

Saturday, July 14 (DEATH RIDE DAY!):
Full details coming soon, but WE DID IT!