Lake Sonoma Grasshopper 2017

[Jim Hewett]

The trails that surround Lake Sonoma make for an interesting race course.  It's mostly singletrack that contours its way in and out of the many ravines that feed water to the lake.  The trails drop into the folds of the hillside, cross some sort of creek, and then climb back toward the lake to do it again.  Pretty fun stuff, but repetitive in a strange way.  Each short, steep climb back out is short enough that you can hammer it, but they take their toll and add up to quite a workout.

I was at the end of a three week intense training block for this one, so I saw it as a great way to cap off the first fitness build period, as well as a shakedown for some changes I made to my Trek Top Fuel race bike.  I had whittled the weight of my rig down to just under 21 lbs and installed some higher volume Bontrager XR1 tires.  The tread pattern on these tires is fairly minimal, which favors easy rolling speed over grip, so I chose the larger volume 2.2 size to allow me to run a little lower psi to reclaim some traction.  I started at 24 psi front, 25 psi rear, but bumped the pressure up a few psi on each after remembering a cracked carbon rim and a couple flat tires on these trails.

We started up the initial paved climbs as a group, warming up quickly as we made our way to the dirt.  I went into the rocky single track about 7 or 8 back.  After a few minutes, we had shed some fast starters that couldn't hold the pace, and I got a pretty good look at the guys to watch.  Kabush and Wicks were obviously going to push it at the very front, with a young guy Emmet Tuttle keeping up pretty well.  I was riding with Carson Benjamin, Glenn Fant, and Shane Bresneyan for awhile.  Carson was climbing strong, and Glen and Shane were descending well.  There was a little back and forth as we made our way over and under fallen trees and rocky creek crossings, with Carson eventually pulling farther and farther out of sight.  I rode by myself for awhile, but Glenn and Shane were never too far back, making some time on me on the descents and falling back on the longer climbs. 

As we made our way  to the feed station, just over halfway through the 24 mile course, I came down hard on the back of my saddle and tilted the nose up.  This would not do for any real climbing, so I prepared to stop at the feed station to readjust it while I picked up my spare bottle of Osmo.  Glenn and Shane caught me here, and we rode out together.  It was good to see these guys pushing it, as I have fond memories of battling with them over the last 10 years.  I made my way to the front, but Glenn soon came around me.  I wanted to go just a bit faster on the climbs, in hopes of catching Carson or Emmett, so I moved around and slowly pulled away from the NorCal Cycling guys.

I rode by myself like this for miles, trying to keep a sense of urgency and purpose.  My legs were really feeling the recent training, which cost me some snap, but I was able to go at an okay pace and recover on the down sections.

I passed Emmet, apparently the victim of a puncture, but still didn't see Carson.  I luckily made the right route-finding choices and found myself on the fire road climb out.  I think I slowed down here, uninspired by anyone close behind or ahead, until I abruptly rounded a corner to see the finish.

I enjoyed a cold beverage and some food while I waited for my team mates to come in.  There was some frustration about course markings, as Cathy, Mark B and Greg took some wrong turns that lead to extra distance and climbing.  Mark I had to deal with multiple tire issues, but still finished well, just ahead of Dave B.

We all rolled back down to a catered lunch and cheered for Carson on the Pro podium, his first top 3 finish as an Acme Bikes racer.

All in all, a good workout and good prep for SoNoMas in two weeks, which does the same trails in reverse.