Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Levi's Gran Fondo Post Ride - Jett';s Adventure

I ended driving out to the coast to pick up Jett in the afternoon. Her own personal SAG wagon.

Here's the story: After we parted, she and our friends took off to do a 40-mile loop encompassing King Ridge and about 6000' feet of climb. After the major climb there is a wicked steep descent. Even in the best weather conditions this is scary.

Yesterday I had pretty good weather. Fairly warm with coastal clouds. I never felt cold or uncomfortable. I brought a jacket but only used it for the downhill at Coleman Valley.

Not true for my friends on King Ridge.
It was freezing cold, rainy, foggy, and windy. At the climb, our friends went ahead and Jett got herself up the climb, slow and steady.

I am so thankful that Jett was familiar with this descent from last year and that she is skilled in wet weather riding. And that she had a premonition that someone would crash on the descent.

Because the roads were so wet, there were a lot of crashes, slipping, and falling, and considerable chaos and mayhem on the descent at Hauser Bridge.  Jett saw two cyclists in the ravine, clearly very injured.  She tried to get down to them to provide medical assistance, but wasn't able.  Then she saw another cyclists with a head injury who lost control and plowed into a group of cyclists.  It was crazy.

Then as she continued to ride, she was totally socked in my heavy fog on Highway 1. Very scary as the visibility was about 30 yards and she did not have lights and was wearing black. She flagged down a SAG wagon and learned that the fog continued for another 1.5 miles. She got a bump to the next rest stop, and by then was cold and stiff and decided to call it.

In her words, a status report for the day:

wet, slick, unsafe.
Great, fun, awesome
Scarey, hard, great climb-felt good
King Ridge done, fog, sagged for safety
cold, stopped at bad crashes, got waylaid, packed it in.
too many riders, too technical for many and that caused accidents-some very serious
Spoke with patrick dempsey..........that was worth the price of admission..........even for a lesbian......

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Levi's Gran Fondo - Last Rest Stop

15 miles to go. All flat. Coleman Valley Road behind me. I just slowly made my way up. Legs will pay for it later. Thus ride without King Ridge is nice but so ordinary. King Ridge and Coleman Valley at mile 78 are what makes this ride epic.

Heading to the hotel to shower and wait for my peeps. Can't wait to hear their war stories!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Levi's Gran Fondo - Rest Stop 1

24? Miles in. Decided to do the medio and split off from Jett and friends. Sad and alone with slowly swelling thighs. Great weather. Actually I love it out here and I love this ride.

Levi's Gran Fondo Pre-Ride

Arrived yesterday evening and staying at the $$ Hyatt as we did last year. It paid off last year as we had a couple of Levi sightings and chatted up Andy Messick in the elevator. Totally paid off last night as Jett opened our hotel door and saw Patrick Dempsey walking by. I was dawdling and she came back to me and hurried me along. After I chatted him up in the elevator (something about giving Meredith hell), we took a photo. The man is super-humanly gorgeous in real life.

As fir the rude today... My legs ached last night after walking 1/2 a mile. Trouble... Oh well, I had my Dr. McDreamy encounter, so who cares?