2017 Old Caz' 'Hopper

[Jim Hewett]

Despite a very rainy winter, the weather was perfect for my tenth run at the Old Cazadero Grasshopper.

I sold my cyclocross bike a few months ago, so it was back onto my trusty rigid mountain bike.  Honestly, I think it is a pretty fast way to go:  light and fast rolling 2.0 Bontrager XR0 tires (28/26 psi), 36x10-42 drivetrain, and an overall weight under 17 lbs.  I drove up with Cathy, Phil, and Teddy, and we met Greg, Mark and Carson before the start.  This is becoming a unique and fun early season challenge for the team and everyone is getting into the "Grasshopper Spirit" by modifying their mountain bikes or setting up 'cross bikes.

I was just completing my biggest training week of the year, as this race found me at the end of my base period.  I had some hard workouts and a lot of hours in my legs, but overall I was optimistic and ready for a challenge.  I was in a much earlier stage of training last year, and my 11th place finish was the worst I had done in many years.  This year I was ready to push for a top five finish, and maybe the first place finish that has always eluded me.

A few heavy hitters from recent races were absent, but there was still a competitive field.  Kabush, Wicks, Sneddon, and Paxson were there representing the mountain biking elite, while Ted King was the sole big time retired roadie.  Phil Mooney will be racing some mountain bike races with Team Acme Bikes and had returned to good form since his retirement.  Fellow Acme Bikes employee Teddy Hayden was there to try something different and do his first 'Hopper, and Carson Benjamin, the youngest member of our team at 19 years old, was eager to prove that he had what it takes to race at the front.  Shane Bresneyan and many other of the "usual suspects" were there, as well.

Things went pretty smoothly up Coleman Valley Road, with Carson pulling the field over to Willow Creek Road.  I took over at the front in the rolling hills over to the dirt descent, and went into the dirt in 6th place.  Phil and Shane lead the way down the winding and sometimes muddy fire road.  I tried to keep my place but not take any risks, feeling pretty confident on my rigid mountain bike.  Teddy had fallen behind a bit on the paved approach, but he pushed it hard on the way down and caught up to me close to the bottom of the steepest part.  We all stayed on the gas pretty well for a bit and backed off on the busted pavement of Willow Creek Rd as we approached Highway 1.

I took my turns at the front in the group of 12 or so along 116.  Before too long, a chasing group had closed the gap to us and we were then 20+.   My rear tire was feeling slightly low on pressure, but it didn't get any worse and I put it out of my mind, as we often do during a race with slight problems that are not slowing us down.  I tried to stay out of the wind, preparing to attack once we returned to some steep climbing.  With the turn onto Duncan Rd, I got my chance.  I pushed pretty hard, feeling the familiar burn in my thighs that means some work is getting done.  The group strung out a little, though an unfamiliar racer stayed with me.  This is no place to ride away for the rest of the day, but it is a section where some effort off the front is rewarded.  We are climbing slowly enough that drafting is no help, and a good push serves to make some separations in the field.  Also, I was looking forward to going first into the dirt on the way down, as I have been slowed there by other riders in the past, which forced me to burn some matches reconnecting to the lead group before the brutal Cazadero Road climbs.

In my haste to put pressure on the group, I missed a turn.  That is definitely a danger for someone with a bad sense of direction when they are at the front of the race.  I quickly turned back up the hill as many people started up the left turn I had missed.  No big deal, I thought.  I can get back up there and it will all pigeon hole soon at the gate crossing.  Just then, I heard the dreaded hissing of air escaping my rear tire and noticed I was dangerously low on pressure.  I jumped off the bike and proceeded to throw a tube in.  When I emptied my only CO2 cartridge into it, my hopes for catching the lead group were deflated along with the punctured spare tube.  Not sure why it had a hole, as it was a new tube, but I was now without air or spare.

I hung out while many people rode by, some offering help.  Greg and Mark came by, and Mark gave me his pump, which I used to confirm that my spare tube was no good.  I waited for a bit for my girlfriend Cathy, who I knew had 2 tubes and a pump.  It wasn't long before she came up the hill, and I grabbed the pump and tube from her jersey pocket as she rode by.  She wanted to keep riding, as she was trying to put some distance between herself and a few women behind her.  I told her I would catch up.

After fixing the flat, I moved as quickly as I could through a hundred or so people on the rest of the climb and down the log strewn and muddy descent.  I caught Cathy again at the start of the Old Cazadero Rd climb, and we rode up together.  Though I missed being at the front and suffering with my peers, it was nice to ride with her and help as I could.  I eventually rode ahead to the feed station and gave her a bottle hand up as she came through.  Then I leap frogged her again on the way to Austin Creek and videoed her crossing the swollen, thigh high water.

We rode together down to the pavement and I did what I could to pull her (and some other people that saw their chance) over to Willow Creek Road.  Cathy was starting to feel the effort, but she was moving along on the flatter part alright.  I left her as the climbing got steep, as I wanted to put in a good FTP effort for the last 3.5 miles and be in position to get some photos as she finished. 

I passed about 45 people on the 19 minute climb, finishing in 132nd place.

Not the way I had hoped the day would go, but all in all a good Plan B, riding my bicycle with my lady on a beautiful January day!

[Cathy]

Thank you for riding with me and getting me to the end!