I'm back from the CA Death Ride (2800 cyclists, 125 miles, 5 mtn passes, 16,000ft of climbing, all in one day!) and from two weeks vacationing back east. I was able to complete the entire ride and do all five passes on my first attempt, so I'm pretty stoked. Thanks for all your good ju ju, loungers, I'm sure it helped. The ride was intense and I really had to dig deep to finish. The last 15 miles were the hardest, but I was triumphant, in the end.

We started the day, in the dark, with helmet lights, at 4:40am and ended at 8pm. Whew!! I probably burned over 10,000 calories that day, seriously.
Total time, including breaks: 15hrs, 20min.
Total saddle time: 12 hrs, 10 min.

A view of the sun rising over the Sierras, as we make our way up Monitor Pass, the first climb of the day.


Heading toward Carson Pass, the last big climb of the day, in 95+degree heat.


On the top of Carson Pass, getting ready to eat our well-deserved ice cream bars before the long ride back down the mountain. (I'm the one on the left)


Here I am, signing this year's Death Ride poster. Only the 5-pass finishers get that honor. As you can see, since we came in so late, it was hard to find an area that wasn't already covered.


At the end of the day, we were victorious, happy and TIRED!!


It's good to be back home.