~BunceMan's Death Ride 2006~

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26th annual Death Ride, July 8, 2006. A bike ride starting at Turtle Rock Park, near Markleeville, CA. It's up to the rider to decide whether to ride his or her bicycle over one to five mountain passes in a day. Doing all five passes is a distance of 129 miles with over 15,000 feet of climbing. A sticker was attached to the jersey number at the attainment of each pass. In addition to a sticker, a pin is also awarded for climbing the fifth pass.

I had done the Death Ride before. In 1988, I broke a spoke after climbing one pass. Tried again in 1989... had to stop after three passes due to exhaustion. In 1997, I was able to complete all five passes to earn the coveted Death Ride pin.

The Death Ride has become a very popular event. One can no longer just sign up and pay the entry fee, like I did in 1997. Entry in the Death Ride is now contingent upon being chosen in an online lottery system and receiving an event ticket. $83 is then charged "upon successful selection of the registrant... The event ticket can be sold or given to another person..." I was not chosen in the Death Ride lottery. It was my talented wife, Peggy, who was able to get me the ticket as a Father's Day gift. She found an organization that was auctioning donated tickets for a cancer research organization. Peggy made a successful bid on one of the tickets and I was in. My fitness level was also high, having trained for Climb To Kaiser two weeks before, so the timing was optimum. Thanks, Peggy.

With my camera ever at the ready, I was able to capture the sights and sounds of bikes, riders, and volunteers of the Death Ride 2006...

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