by Hurricane Hillary came through Death Valley and dumped a lot of rain in the desert. Roads were covered in sand/dirt and some were washed out. The JDRF ride had to moved from October to January. Meaning the 2023 Death Valley was actually in January 2024. That also meant the weather would likely be cool instead of hot.
Friday started off with a warm-up ride. Allan suggested a ride up Artist’s Drive.
It was a challenging climb into the hills rising out of the desert. The reward for the climb was a wonderful, fast descent through slot canyons back to the desert floor.
It was a great way to warm up for the event. Allan was great company, even way ahead of me on the climb.
Friday night is a celebration of the JDRF mission. Raising money to fight Type 1 Diabetes and help those living with the disease.
Saturday morning was a cool start, with a bit later start time. The sun rises later in January.
I lead out the “coyotes” for the ride. We went flying into the desert with a 20+mph pace, with about two dozen riders.
This was my second ride acting as a JDRF coach. That meant I was there to help the riders achieve their goals, not to set my own goals. As the coyotes dropped back from the pace, I fell back with a B-group, and back to help riders. Those fast coyotes didn’t need my help.
I joined with a group of Novo Nordisk team riders for the climb up Jubilee Pass. This is the hard part of the ride. It rises 1200 feet for 6 almost six miles for an average gradient of 4%.
With a big climb, you get a long descent. There were lots of riders still on the climb. Some looked be having a hard time. So I turned around and went back up to help a few groups up the climb.
Back down, again to help riders get back to the start/finish line. Time to get back up to sea level.
The JDRF coaches are a great group. We lined up just before the finish to come in as a group to celebrate the end of the ride.
Come join me on a future JDRF Ride: JDRF.org/ride. Or make a donation to find a cure.
