Surviving the Death Ride: My Trip Through the California Alps on the GVR
Words by Calvin Serban
Some rides you train for. Others just kind of happen to you.
That's how I ended up at the Tour of the California Alps, a.k.a. Death Ride, a legendary 103-mile, 15,000+ foot gutpunch through California’s Alpine County that's been humbling cyclists for decades. I wasn't originally planning to line up at 5 a.m. in Markleeville. I originally came to California to camp and hike with a few friends. But since I was in town, my other local friends (and pro triathletes) Jenna and Miguel asked me to tag along while they took on Death Ride. I thought, why not?
So I just showed up to one of the country’s toughest road rides at the last minute, and I rode my Obed GVR, which happens to be a gravel bike. Somehow, that combination worked out fine!
Explore Performance Gravel Bikes
Riding a Gravel Bike at a Road Cycling Event?
Death Ride is 100% a road ride. Nearly the entire field is on road bikes. Me? I rode my Obed GVR in its full gravel racing setup: 50mm Panaracer GravelKing X1 tires, GRX Di2 gravel gearing, and a set of carbon HED Stillwater aero gravel wheels. This is a setup made to conquer UNBOUND Gravel, not exactly the standard Death Ride loadout. But on a course with pitches regularly hitting 12–13%, I was genuinely glad for the extra-low gears. That, at least, turned out to be an asset rather than a compromise. I never had to bail out and walk a climb, and I also had more traction on the ragged edges of the pavement. My setup survived a full day of tough climbing without complaint.
I only saw one other rider on a gravel bike out there. If you want to ride road on a gravel bike, you might not be optimized, but you’re not making a mistake!
Five Passes, One Long Day
The Death Ride's format is simple to explain and brutal to execute: conquer as many of the route's mountain passes as you can, out-and-back style, before the course closes. It's untimed, unranked, with no bib numbers or podium to chase. You just have to reach checkpoints, beat the cutoffs, and go as far as your legs will take you.
Monitor Pass kicked things off, and it did not ease me in. I found a group to ride with near the summit, which made the long grind more bearable. At the top, some random guy was playing bagpipes, because apparently that's just how the Death Ride does business. I got my selfie, then dropped into the descent toward the Nevada state line, and on the steep and straight roads, I hit the fastest speeds I've ever hit on a bike, around 55-56 mph!
The food choices at the aid station were… interesting. I ended up refueling at the bottom with boiled eggs and pickle juice, and since they didn’t have hydration mix (I was kind of banking on Skratch being there), I filled up my bottles with plain water. I’ve never fueled a ride with boiled eggs before, but Lachlan Morton is known for using boiled eggs, so surely it could work for me too.
Then it was back up the same climb. Out and backs like this are always brutal, and this is the format's signature gut-check. I rode up into what I'm pretty sure was the hottest day Tahoe had seen all summer. Also, I forgot sunscreen (yes, dumb, I know), so I got zapped by all the UV rays. At least my roadie tan got nice and crisp, I guess.
The final section, out toward Pacific Crest Trail, is where the day turned to hell for me. I hit hairpins with 15-16% grades. There were endless sustained pitches around 10%. It got to the point where riding a section with a 6-8% grade actually felt like a rest. I seriously considered bailing more than once. But I didn't. I descended the backside, turned around, and climbed it again. By some miracle, I made the time cutoff by 4-5 minutes.
I only found out afterward that most people on course weren't even attempting the full version of the route. They simply take advantage of the closed roads, do as much as they want or can, and have a great day. By climbing every pass, I had accomplished something generally attempted by elite riders and stronger amateurs. Maybe I can finally call myself “strong?” Eh… I’ll wait a bit on that!
With a Little Help from My Friends
By the time Markleeville came back into view, I was deep in survival mode. My phone was nearly dead. My legs, which had nothing but water and pickle juice in them, were running on fumes. Then my friends showed up to support me. They came up alongside in their car, sunroof open, cameras rolling, cheering me down the final stretch like I was in the Tour de France.
Because it's the Death Ride. Sometimes the finish line brings out a little chaos, competitive or not. I don't even know where the energy comes from, but having people yell and hype you up while you're riding just hits different. Eggs and pickle juice be damned, I decided to empty the tank and attack a group of strangers on the last climb back to the parking lot. Did they know we were racing? Definitely not. Did I win my unofficial little sprint? You bet I did! I gassed it all the way across the finish.
The Death Ride Debrief
Worth it? Oh yeah — for the views alone!
Would I do it again? Yes.
What would I change? Bringing my own nutrition instead of gambling on aid-station offerings tops the list for me. There was a lot on offer, including full breakfast sandwiches and bacon, but the whole time I was suffering, I just wanted my regular gels and hydration mix.
Maybe I’d swap my GVR to a more road-oriented gravel setup with road wheels and tires. It would give me a little extra speed on the tamer sections. Ultimately though, wider tires and gravel gearing definitely aren’t going to hold you back, and they might even help on the steep stuff. If I were to get a bike just for this event or style of riding, the Obed RVR is the obvious choice. It’s light, aero, and comfy, and I’d probably make the final cut-off with a bit more than 4-5 minutes to spare!
The one thing I wouldn't repeat: going straight from the Death Ride into a hiking and camping trip the next day. Only made it halfway up the mountain! Recovery is important, even for a soul ride.