2017 Lake Sonoma Grasshopper

[Mark Ingwersen]

The trails around Lake Sonoma are impressive, that much is true. Like so much of our outdoor play paths in Marin though, they have been equally ravaged by the unusually wet winter this year. Downed trees, mud slides, countless exposed roots, enough mud to make small children giddy and on this course a foot bridge that had, until recently, been completely submerged combine to a technical masterpiece. But that isn't what makes Lake Sonoma a tough ride... it's the relentless short but steep climbs.

Knowing that fellow ACME riders were signed up, I added myself to the list for the day and prepared my faithful Pivot LES, once again outfitted with carbon wheels and Maxxis Ardent Race/ Ikon 2.25's set to 28 psi. My day started at a bus stop on highway 101 where I was picked up by the unofficial ACME transport (Greg's truck). Greg, Mark B and Paul (who bravely signed on for ALL Grasshopper events!) were already wide awake as we made our way north to Sonoma. We arrived early to an empty parking lot, signed in and decided to hang out so our warm up wouldn't be followed by a cool down before the start. At 9:45 riders began lining up without needing to be prompted and I saw Jim had wisely grabbed prime real estate at the front left side of the group. Greg, Mark B and I were near the front and middle pack which had me looking for a way out once we casually rolled from the start on Miguel's call to head out. On the road riders began aggressively jostling for position and the yellow center line rule was completely ignored. I searched the field for a friendly jersey, saw one near the front and worked my way towards it. By this time I realized I'd set my pace too fast and resigned myself to slow to something more sustainable watching rider after rider pass me. When I noticed Greg and Dave were with me I knew I was in the right place. We alternated pulls to make our way forward up the 2 mile climb. Just after the right hand turn up the paved climb to where the dirt begins, I sprinted to the gate to get in front of as many as I could before passing would become more of a struggle. We rode at a surprisingly quick pace considering this was just the beginning of a long morning, but after a few minutes I settled into some kind of fluctuating groove as we flew down then grunted back up hill after hill. Shortly before mile 6 I'd finally caught up to Mark B who had been near the front the entire time in an amazing show of force. Feeling bold I whipped down a switchback and misjudged a turn. Luckily I managed to find a good sized rock to slow me down. Hitting it dead-center with my front tire, I decided to inspect the flora and fauna briefly. Mark shouted out as he shredded past to end my researching. I flung the bike back onto the trail and powered off. Moments later I was being sprayed in the face not only by mud, but valuable Stan's sealant which was supposed to stay in my front tire. As designed though, it eventually sealed leaving me with usable pressure and I didn't bother to stop. As the miles progressed so too did the loss of air pressure. It was still enough but far from ideal giving the feeling that I was riding in sand around the switchbacks. The decision as to whether or not I should loose time fixing the leak at the front was made when my rear tire failed. With mud caked all over the wheel and tire, I'd hoped it had just burped on a turn, so I dumped some CO2 in and rode on. Not much later, at mile 12, the bad news was undisputable and I had no choice but to toss in a tube due to a cut sidewall. Mark left me his inflater as he cruised past me again and shortly after that Greg flew by also. The mud, leaves and Stans acting as a boot to the cut, I was finally riding after what seemed an eternity. I put the hammer down and caught back up to Greg with an effort that consumed too much fuel. With two damaged tires and over half the course to go I backed off and tip-toed descents in hopes I wouldn't be hiking the rest of the course.

When we'd neared the final few miles I picked up the pace again and motored past several riders on the Canoe trail. I was beginning to tire and missed a turn while following the wrong markers. Realizing my mistake far too late I turned back and eventually got back on course. No small amount of profanity announcing my presence followed by an equal amount of adrenalin had me out of the saddle hammering the final climb before the last of the singletrack to finish 28th. Congratulations to Carson on his 3rd place finish!

My frustrations aside, Lake Sonoma did not disappoint. Two weeks till SoNoMas. I'm bringing a pump.