Levi Leipheimer's King Ridge GranFondo exceeded everyone's, even Levi's, expectations in its very first edition in 2009. It continues to do so today. The 6,000 spots available for the 103-mile Gran distance sold out in only 10 days. The additional 1,500 spots for the 63-mile Medio and 32-mile Piccolo distance sold out quickly as well. So, to say that the 2011 edition of the GranFondo was a success would be a huge understatement. At the start line, the feeling of camaraderie was nearly palpable in the air of Santa Rosa for the GranFondo. Maintaining this feeling year after year is really important to Levi and he believes there are certain vital elements to keep it going. He explained, "We want to keep the community aspect; that's why we always want to have the mass start. The elite aspect is great; we want to have people that want to win. But mostly we want to get people on their bikes, mingling, and talking." 

Levi himself summed it up nicely when he told me that, “The ride isn't about me, it's about the experience. I want people to have the courage to tackle it and push themselves." After the ride finished, it was back to the Finley Center for the Fondo Sonoma Festival; where, I was told, were around 15,000 people in attendance. This wasn't too surprising since Santa Rosa has always been a popular place for cycling. But there can be no doubt that the Fondo has helped it to become more mainstream.

To gauge the overall success of the 2011 edition of Levi's GranFondo all I had to do was take a look at the event's Facebook page. Comment after comment expressed nothing short of pure enjoyment of this year's event, and eager anticipation for next year's. The course was epic, the scenery beautiful, the volunteers dedicated and the community supportive. What more could anyone hope for, besides more spots open next year? 

When we had a chance to sit down at the Festival "El Patron" shared his vision for the future of the event. "My dream is to wake up for the 25th Annual edition of Levi's GranFondo. My results will fade in people's memories, but this can last forever. I want people to think, 'It's our ride!' and the event will take on a life of its own." He was also quick to point out that the credit for putting on the event should go to Bike Monkey; "They worked their fingers to the bone to get everything organized and running smoothly."

As the ride rolled out under partly cloudy skies, there was plenty of excitement and nervous energy in the air. The Gran Fondo’s course is a challenging one, no matter what your skill level. As the ride went through the streets of downtown Santa Rosa the pace stayed mellow, giving everyone an opportunity to settle into their place in the pack. A dozen or so pro riders from the area gave the ride the elite factor that Levi feels is important. The list included Levi’s RadioShack teammate Jason McCartney, Team Exergy’s Freddy Rodriguez, SpiderTech’s Lucas Euser, UnitedHealthcare’s Chris Jones, and Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth’s Julian Kyer. About 10-miles into the ride, the pace ratcheted up a few notches as we approached the first of many climbs on tap for the day. The two-mile, 600-foot climb caused the group of thousands to be cut down to a front group of 50 or so. Levi, McCartney and a few other others kept the group lined out for the next 15 miles until we reached the day’s main event: King Ridge. Once on the 10-18 percent pitches of the first King Ridge climb it was clear why this ride has garnered so much attention and respect in two short years. A light sprinkle of rain added another dimension to the climb. Wet roads are not foreign to the area; in fact, a thin moss was growing out of the cracks in the road giving my tires cause for slippage when out of the saddle. By the top of the first of two main King Ridge climbs, the lead group of riders was down to just six. Levi looked around and said, “Man, this looks like the front of any US race”. He was right; the front group was down to just pro level riders. 

As we rode across the ridge, the drizzle of rain increased while the temperature hovered in the low-60s. Levi said, “This is the typical weather for this area. It’s riding out here that has shaped me and toughened me during my career”. Once we reached the first rest stop, we swung in for a quick water top off and a few cream cookies. Levi stayed to visit with the volunteers and ride at a more casual pace as the rest of our small group pushed on to the second climb on King Ridge. By the time we crested the1,000-foot grind, it was down to three: Julian Kyer, Chris Jones and me. Fortunately the roads dried up, making the 50+ mph plummet from the ridge to the shoreline a little less frightening. Once on the coast, the hoped for tailwind seemed to swirl in every direction, except the one that would give us some relief. 

With about 30 miles to go we reached the junction where the Gran and Medio courses intersected, sharing the rest of the course to the finish. As we passed the riders from the Medio route I was reminded of people’s passion for cycling; regardless of their pace or the equipment they were riding, everyone seemed to be having a great time. Apart from our love of riding, we also had something else in common: all that separated us from the finish line, lunch, and a cold beer at the Festival was one last climb. While not as substantial as what we faced on King Ridge, the 80-miles in my 9-hours of training a week legs made it feel more like an alpine pass than the 800-foot hill that it was. Mid-way up, Chris Jones and I were left alone to vie for the bragging rights of having the fastest time for the 2011 edition of the ride. After not having raced in over a year, I was hungry to cross the line first; Chris had just finished a full-season of International racing, and didn’t quite have the same desire to suffer on a “fun ride” as I did. Nevertheless, I took plenty of pride in unleashing a sprint to be the first finisher of the Gran route, coming in at 4 hours, 41 min for the 100-mile, 7,300 feet of climbing ride. I’m already counting down the days until the 4th Annual Levi’s Gran Fondo—358 days to go…