Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century Bike Rides Oct. 27th
Come Ride Death Valley by Moonlight! October 27, 2007 - Northern route to Scotty’s Castle, Ubehebe Crater, and Hell’s Gate.
The 2007 Fall Death Valley Century and Double Century is dedicated to Deidre Rhinehart, 1963-2007. Click here to read her story.
There is a 300 rider limit and it is SOLD OUT!
Start/Finish
The Death Valley Century and Double Century will start and finish at the Furnace Creek Ranch in the heart of Death Valley, CA. If you are not staying at the Furnace Creek Ranch, please DO NOT park in any of their parking lots. Instead, please park in the gravel lot to the north of the front entrance to the Ranch.
Check-In
Rider Check-In will take place on Friday evening in at the Furnace Creek Ranch from 6:30 to 9:00pm at the Education Center, located about 100 yards south of (behind) the steak house. (This is for pre-registered riders only. We do not accept in-person sign-up. The event is SOLD OUT many months beforehand.) We will also have Rider Check-In from 600 to 645am for double riders and 645 to 715am for century riders on Saturday morning. Please come prepared and please don’t wait until the last minute to show up!
Death Valley Entrance Fee
Death Valley National Park requires us to pay a $10 park entrance fee for each entrant. The park depends on this type of income to support what they do there. It’s a great place and much cheaper than a movie!
Twilight, Sunrise, and Sunset
Twilight begins 6:44; Twilight ends 18:24. Sunrise is 7:11; Sunset is 17:56.
Time Limits
The Death Valley Century and Double Century is a timed cycling event and begins with an organized wave start at first light of day, known as “civil twilight” according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. Riders may not leave earlier or later than the official start time if they want to be timed or receive credit for completing the event. The time limit is ten hours for the century and seventeen hours for the double century. Checkpoint opening and closing times are generally based upon an average speed range of 11.5 to 20 mph.
Results and “Finishing Credit”
All riders, both 100-mile and 200-mile, are timed. Century riders must fully and safely complete the entire century route within the ten hour time limit to be recognized as an official finisher. Double century riders must fully and safely complete the entire double century route within the 17-hour time limit to be recognized as an official finisher and to receive California Triple Crown credit. Full results and several online digital slideshows will be posted to the website shortly after the event, noting each rider’s time, DNF, or DQ. Feel free to download any photos you’d like or ask us for a free copy of the original hi-res version! (But please credit www.adventurecorps.com.)
This event is specifically non-competitive and is not a race. Everybody who finishes is a winner! It’s primarily up to the participants in the events to maintain the decorum, safety, and sense of fair-play and sportsmanship that should always and in all circumstances abound in these types of events.
Wave Start Times
Each wave will have 50 riders and they will begin in ten minute intervals. Read carefully:
Before the first wave starts at 700am, riders should line up in TWO SINGLE-FILE lines in front of the Steak House in Furnace Creek. There, two batches of 25 will have their numbers marked, then will move up to the start line corral under the FC Ranch sign. After each wave starts, another 50 riders will be marked and then will move up to the start line corral. Riders starting in a later wave don’t have to be in line right at 700am. See below for the wave start order. Please get in the appropriate wave.
The FASTEST 200-mile riders will begin at 700am.
The MIDDLE SPEED 200-mile riders will begin at 710am.
The SLOWEST 200-mile riders will begin at 720am.
Century riders will begin in ten minute waves starting at 730am, 740am, and 750am, fastest first, then middle, then slowest.
All eyes - Rangers, CHP, park employees, and visitors - will be watching this event. PLEASE do the right thing, everyone! Thank you in advance for your cooperation!
Official Charity: Challenged Athletes Foundation
The Challenged Athletes Foundation was created on the belief that people of all abilities should have the opportunity to pursue a life full of physical activity and of sports. Be they recreational or in pursuit of a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, people with a physical disability are limited only by their access to funding.
What to Bring
Riders must come prepared for any possible mechanical failure or contingency. At the very least, all riders should carry a spare tube, tire, pump, patch kit, basic tools, water bottles, money, personal and medical identification, cell phone, money, credit card, and a good attitude.
Hydration
Death Valley got it’s name because it is a place were living things go, get dehydrated, and die. Death Valley has the driest climate on this planet. Most of the time there is practically no moisture in the air at all. This means every breath goes in dry and comes out wet. When you are sleeping in Death Valley your body processes about a pint of water an hour by breathing. This means at the end of 8 hours sleep you have consumed about 1 gallon of water. You must hydrate and replace your electrolytes even when you are not cycling. Therefore we suggest you bring a Camelbak!
Lights
All riders riding in hours of darkness must have a legal front and rear lighting system and have reflective gear on their body and/or bicycle facing in all four directions. This means a white headlight that can be seen from 500 feet and a minimum of TWO red taillights (non-blinking) secured to the bicycle and visible from 500 feet, plus lots of reflective gear and as many other lights as possible. Do not mount taillights to your helmet or backpack because they become invisible when you lean forward. We recommend two headlights and we REQUIRE two taillights because loss or failure of lights is an extremely dangerous situation which jeopardizes your safety AND the future of this event! Be safe and be visible! You will be DQ’d if you are on the course, or arrive at the finish line, without proper lights.
Riders will have the option of having their lights delivered up the course from the start line. We will have bags available at check-in or you can bring your own lights bag. Please write your name and number in clear large letters on the bag. These bags will be transported to Scotty’s Castle at mile 121 for this route.
Route Description
Extensive route descriptions, including a larger map, elevation profiles, and more, are available for each distance: Click here for the century route and click here for an even more extensive description of the double century route. For a photographic tour from when we created this route in 2003, click here.
Support Provided
Entry includes entry to the ride, Death Valley National Park entrance fee, Death Valley Ultra Cycling water bottle, route sheet, excellent rider food at the checkpoints, “Subway” lunch, roving SAG support, an ambulance on patrol, and event results and images on this nifty website. Checkpoints, and their opening and closing times, will be clearly marked on the route sheet. At these checkpoints, riders can reasonably expect to find oranges, bananas, PB&J sandwiches, prezels, peanuts, Clif Bars, Sustained Energy and/or Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, HEED, and Endurolytes, plus, at one designated “lunch stop” we’ll also serve Subway sandwiches, soda and chips. “Lunch” is at Scotty’s Castle at mile 121. Several support vehicles will roam the course continuously. We’ll sure help you and keep you on the road if we can!
Century Checkpoint Locations: 18mi (Mud Canyon Turn-Off), 40.5mi (1000′ Sign - Water Stop), 54.2 (Scotty’s Castle), App. 75mi (Water Stop), 90.4mi (Mud Canyon Turn-Off).
Double Century Checkpoint Locations: 24.5mi (Stove Pipe Wells), 32mi (Mud Canyon Turn-Off), 54.5mi (1000′ Sign - Water Stop), 68.2mi (Scotty’s Castle), 94.6mi (Hwy 95 Turn-Around), 121mi (Scotty’s Castle), 130.1mi (Ubehebe Crater - Water Stop), 169.1mi (Mud Canyon Turn-Off), 175.6 Hell’s Gate.
Personal SAG Vehicles
Not allowed! Death Valley is a beautiful, generally traffic-free place to ride, so why spoil it with more cars? The definition of a personal SAG is any non-staff motor vehicle that is providing any type of aid, assistance, or motivation to any rider. No RAAM crews in training, personal cheering squads, photographers, video crews, or the like, please! If your family or friends want to be there, we’ll be happy to put them to work at a checkpoint!
Special Park Service Regulations
The National Park Service requires that we ride single file at all times. We must also ride as far to the right hand side of the lane as is safely possible. Always use front and rear lights while cycling at night. Do not turn them off! Remember, your behavior on the road dictates whether or not we get to host this event again. Take this seriously. We do!
Source: AdventureCorps: http://www.adventurecorps.com/dvfall/index.html
To read more about the desert, go to DesertUSA.com.