Markleeville, California is a small town (pop. 200) located in the high Sierra Nevada mountains just south of Lake Tahoe and near the California/Nevada border. The town was established in the 1860's during the silver mining boom and the rush to the Comstock Lode. It is a beautiful spot in California's least populous county, Alpine County.
For 28 years residents and businesses have welcomed approximately 3,000 bicyclists, their families and friends to the Markleeville Death Ride. The 2009 edition and 29th annual ride, also known as the Tour of the California Alps, and which has been referred to as "notorious:, starts and ends at Turtle Rock Park, with climbs over Monitor Pass (8,314'-pictured), Ebbetts Pass (8,730'), and Carson Pass (8,573'), for a daily total of 129 miles and over 15,000 vertical feet of climbing. Also some "white knuckle" descents (just ask Rabbit).
Saturday July 11, 2009 started early for Rabbit and MapBoy with a 3:45 a.m. wake up call in the campground for a 5:30 a.m. start. A beautiful cool morning, followed by warm sunshine, and later in the day headwinds and some rain on the final climb up Carson, but we were fortunate enough to "bag" all five passes...and the Windbreaker colors were worn with pride. Ride On!
