Midnight Death Ride with Destiny

The Midnight Death Ride with Destiny (MDRD) is a road bicycle ride that takes place at Death Valley, CA on the anniversary of the 2nd hottest day in recorded history (July 10th, 1913 - Furnace Creek 134F). It is the lowest, hottest, driest place in North America. In the history of time, only Libya has been hotter!

image

The ride begins at 3:00am on the Nevada side of the state park. After a brief straight away, you are assaulted by the saw toothed passes of the Sierra Nevada's. Then you drop down into the valley and the temperature continues to increases with your decent to below sea level. As the early morning temperatures climb, try to to make it to the southern mountain range in time to catch some shade. The grand finale is a 1,200 ft. climb up Jubilee pass to escape the valley and reach the finish.

image

December, 1849. More than 100 emigrants from the mid-west passed through this natural gateway in search of a passage to the gold fields of central California. All suffered from thirst and starvation. They are the Death Valley Forty-Niners.

image

image

The valley is surrounded by mountains, where its surface is mostly flat devoid of plants, to which a high percentage of the sun's heat is able to reach the ground, absorbed by soil and rock. The atmospheric pressure is higher at very low altitudes, which traps the heat near the ground, and also creates wind currents that circulate very hot air, thereby distributing the heat to all areas, regardless of shade and other factors. When air at ground level is heated, it begins to rise, moving up pass steep high mountain ranges, which then cools slightly sinking back down towards the valley more compressed. This air is then reheated by the sun to a higher temperature moving up the mountain again, whereby the air moves up and down in a circular motion in cycles similar to how a convection oven works, albeit a natural one.

image

image

The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley (Furnace Creek) was 134F (57C) on July 10, 1913, also that same year saw Death Valley's coldest temperature, on January 8 the temperature dropped to 15F (-10C) at Furnace Creek. During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached 129 F (54C) or above.

The highest ever night time low temperature in Death Valley was 103F recorded on July 5, 1970 and July 24, 2003. Summer nights provide little relief as overnight lows may only dip into the 86F to 95F (30C to 35C) range.

View the Midnight Death Ride with Destiny in a larger map

Some MDRD tips:

  • Carry four water bottles. We recommend carrying two under your seat with a seat mount, and two on your frame. Water bladders that are worn on your back do not help you beat the heat.
  • A thicker lip balm that will not melt in your pocket is recommended. We prefer Lip Trip, which has a lower viscosity and melting temp than common lip balms. Also, sunblock with an SPF of 50+ and salt tablets are key.
  • Take lighter consistency bars, and stay away from post-workout type protein bars. Also, trail mix with dried fruit gives longer term energy from the nuts and the fruit gives you some natural sugars.

Image