News
ENLARGE
On Oct. 4, Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge Gran Fondo took place in Santa Rosa, Calif., with 3,500 participants representing 39 states and numerous cyclists from overseas.
What is a Gran Fondo? It's part bicycle race, part ride, and all epic experience.
A Gran Fondo is typically 100 to 140 miles in length. It's a mass-start event, it's timed and it's a very popular format in Europe. In places like France, Italy and Belgium, Gran Fondos usually follow the famous routes of Grand Tours and Classics.
Tour de France rider Levi Leipheimer, who resides in Santa Rosa, decided to host a Gran Fondo in his back yard to showcase his favorite cycling roads. The first-year event filled quickly to capacity, and was well attended by cycling celebrities, including Bob Roll, Axel Merckx, Odessa Gunn, Steve Hegg and Tom Ritchey. Truckee residents Paco Lindsay, Bill Owen and Martha Bellisle also participated.
Saturday morning, I lined up in the “pen” at the start. The roll-out is, in a word, chaotic. Cram 3,500 cyclists on narrow roads of Santa Rosa, all at once, and there is bound to be a few close calls. But somehow, everyone in the front 300 were able to keep their bikes upright.
Once the ride reached the namesake climb, King Ridge Road, the pack spread out. Levi is to be commended for the route choice — the ride along King Ridge is beautiful and difficult. King Ridge rolls along for miles, dotted with oak trees, vineyards and golden grasses. On this day the weather was perfect, and the support top notch.
After King Ridge, we traveled Hauser Bridge Road and Seaview Road, going from sunny grasslands to cool, dark forests on narrow roads that twist and turn while challenging the cyclists with steep ups and downs. We descended precipitously on Meyers Grade Road, exposing Highway 1 and the jagged, rocky, stunningly beautiful Northern California coastline.
We rolled down the coast with a brisk tailwind before tackling Coleman Valley Road, a steep climb used in the Tour of California. Levi passed me effortlessly on this climb (Leipheimer had been taking his time, stopping at all the rest stops to pose for photos with his clients).
With tired legs and the satisfaction of a great ride behind me, I rolled into the finish festival, redeemed my coupon for a free beer at the New Belgium tent and socialized with friends, re-living the 103-mile course with 7,500 feet of climbing (65-mile and 36-mile options are also offered).
Paul Skilbeck of O2 Sports Marketing in San Francisco said, “Working for this ride was like being back in the parts of Europe where it's common for communities to embrace cycling. This ride shows what's possible when a city throws its resources behind an event — there is world-class terrain, and a top international competitor as the ride leader.”
Learn more about Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo at www.levisgranfondo.com/home.
— Team rider Paul McKenzie is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy. For more information, results and upcoming events, visit www.cwcracing.org.
What is a Gran Fondo? It's part bicycle race, part ride, and all epic experience.
A Gran Fondo is typically 100 to 140 miles in length. It's a mass-start event, it's timed and it's a very popular format in Europe. In places like France, Italy and Belgium, Gran Fondos usually follow the famous routes of Grand Tours and Classics.
Tour de France rider Levi Leipheimer, who resides in Santa Rosa, decided to host a Gran Fondo in his back yard to showcase his favorite cycling roads. The first-year event filled quickly to capacity, and was well attended by cycling celebrities, including Bob Roll, Axel Merckx, Odessa Gunn, Steve Hegg and Tom Ritchey. Truckee residents Paco Lindsay, Bill Owen and Martha Bellisle also participated.
Saturday morning, I lined up in the “pen” at the start. The roll-out is, in a word, chaotic. Cram 3,500 cyclists on narrow roads of Santa Rosa, all at once, and there is bound to be a few close calls. But somehow, everyone in the front 300 were able to keep their bikes upright.
Once the ride reached the namesake climb, King Ridge Road, the pack spread out. Levi is to be commended for the route choice — the ride along King Ridge is beautiful and difficult. King Ridge rolls along for miles, dotted with oak trees, vineyards and golden grasses. On this day the weather was perfect, and the support top notch.
After King Ridge, we traveled Hauser Bridge Road and Seaview Road, going from sunny grasslands to cool, dark forests on narrow roads that twist and turn while challenging the cyclists with steep ups and downs. We descended precipitously on Meyers Grade Road, exposing Highway 1 and the jagged, rocky, stunningly beautiful Northern California coastline.
We rolled down the coast with a brisk tailwind before tackling Coleman Valley Road, a steep climb used in the Tour of California. Levi passed me effortlessly on this climb (Leipheimer had been taking his time, stopping at all the rest stops to pose for photos with his clients).
With tired legs and the satisfaction of a great ride behind me, I rolled into the finish festival, redeemed my coupon for a free beer at the New Belgium tent and socialized with friends, re-living the 103-mile course with 7,500 feet of climbing (65-mile and 36-mile options are also offered).
Paul Skilbeck of O2 Sports Marketing in San Francisco said, “Working for this ride was like being back in the parts of Europe where it's common for communities to embrace cycling. This ride shows what's possible when a city throws its resources behind an event — there is world-class terrain, and a top international competitor as the ride leader.”
Learn more about Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo at www.levisgranfondo.com/home.
— Team rider Paul McKenzie is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy. For more information, results and upcoming events, visit www.cwcracing.org.
