Chileno Valley Grasshopper 2013

[Jim Hewett]

The second ride of the 2013 Grasshopper Adventure Series was Saturday.  This one was pure road, and drew a significantly different crowd than the road/dirt mix of Old Caz'.  I had just finished my base training period and this seemed like a good 4 hour workout and one of the few options I will have this season for competitive road biking.

Registration was full the day before the race, so that meant 300 other cyclists, many of them ready to test the early season fitness.  The winter had been mild, so that fitness could be pretty good.  The weather on Saturday was perfect - sunny and in the 60s.

I lightened my road bike as much as possible for the climbing.  16 lbs., tubeless in the rear at 95psi and tubed in the front at 105.  39/53t in front and 11-28t in the back.  I started the race with 2 bottles of Osmo and lots of Shot Bloks, anticipating the bottle feed at the half-way point provided by Osmo.

I was second in the results for the series, so far, and the first place rider didn't show up.  It was nice to wear the leader's jersey and get a call up to the front, and I started the steep climbing up Coleman Valley Rd in the top three.  My plan was to stay with the first big group, though that would mean not being with the first 5-10 guys that would inevitably break away.  In the past, I have struggled with tactical inefficiency, and I did not intend to waste more energy than I had to.  Top 20 was the goal for the day, and achieving that with as little pain as possible.

A large group came back together after the steepness at the start.  The rolling hills over to Highway 1 were not sustained enough to break the group up too much, and people were still fresh enough to keep it together.  I was surprised to see many people wasting energy to quickly close gaps that would have come back together without the urgency.  I guess it is early season hubris and nerves.  It could also have been the diverse nature of the field.  Mountain bikers, 'cross guys, and all levels of roadies were in attendance.  That makes it pretty hard to read where you should be and about whom you should worry.

The descent to Highway 1 was quite fun, though a little scary when done with other riders so close.  Once we were headed South on 1, I was able to survey the group a little better.  Bartels, Zanetti, Burt, Weir, Christianson, and a few others were familiar, but most were not.  There were Ritte kids, Mike's Bikes guys, Strava riders and Giant Strawberries.  I was pleased to see that Ryan Gibson, a sophomore rider for Team Summit Bicycles, was with me and feeling strong.  We rode along about 40 strong and I tried to stay near the front but not on it.

I think it was somewhere around here that a few guys made a break that stuck.  Michael Zanetti was one of them.  After a few rollers they were out of sight and up the road.

Nothing really happened until we turned left at Marshall-Petaluma Rd.  The pace increased and we slowly started dropping people.  I stayed with the lead group on the steeper climbing, probably about 12 people.  As we neared the crest, there was a surge and I allowed myself to fall to the back of this group.  I felt confident I could reconnect on the descent, and actually preferred to do it without the danger of other riders.

Once we were on the flatter sections, it indeed came back together some.  Probably about 25 of us made our way over to Wilson Hill and the promise of a bottle feed.  As we climbed the hill, a couple of guys pulled away.  I moved to the front of the big group, as I wanted to get 2 bottles and did not want to have to stop.  I successfully grabbed 2 more bottles of cold Osmo (thanks guys!) and hurried down the hill with 4 or 5 others.  We put a bit of a gap on the big field, and I'm sure they lost some more riders as they caught up.  I think a few guys got away as we turned onto Chileno Valley Rd, but I didn't really see it at the time and our group of 20 or so motored along at a do-able pace.

Ryan was still with the group, as were Bartels, Burt and Christianson.  There was some mild pushing on the climbs and some lame attacks.  A couple disorganized attempts at working together at the front discouraged me and I decided to mostly sit in and push a little on the climbs.  We may have lost a few people along the way, but most of us were gauging our legs in anticipation of the real seperation that would happen on the steep finish up Joy Rd.

We made the left onto Joy Rd. and steeled ourselves for the last 10-15 minutes.  Once the pavement turned up, everyone shifted and stood .  I heard a chain snap, which I think belonged to Chrisianson, as he passed me later on the climb in a pickup truck.  There was a group of 10 or so that pulled away from me and I found myself alone with a gap in front and behind.  I stood to push hard at one point and felt a cramp begin, so most of the climbing was done seated.  I did not regret the 11-28 tooth cassette!

I overtook one or two stragglers from the group ahead and held off the guys behind to cross the line in 15th place.  Not as proud as Zanetti's 3 place finish in the breakaway, but a fun day and a great workout.  Ryan had a breakout ride and came in 40 seconds behind me in 20th.

A very fun day out with others that love riding bikes hard.  Stay tuned for a return to MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING!

[Adam Nuyens]

Good going, Jim!

[Carl Sanders]

Damned impressive report. Great detail regarding tactics. You is the real deal!

[Ryan Gibson]

Nice write up Jim. A great day in the saddle, and really nice to see you, Paul and Carl out there. Your strategy up Marshall and Wilson was spot on.