May 2010 Cycle City 365

gran fondo L

New Bike Peddler Logo4/26/10

Sher yl Chapmanstudio: 707-575-5225Mobi le : 707-953-1373

HIGHPERFORMANCETEST BIKESDEMO FLEETCONCIERGE SERVICESHIPPING &RECEIVING

FEATURINGS-WORKSCERVELOIBISSURLYCO-MOTION

New Bike Peddler Logo4/26/10

Sher yl Chapmanstudio: 707-575-5225Mobi le : 707-953-1373

amgen tour of california 2010 sponsors4

B l u e J e r s e y s p o n s o r s

the Bike Peddler/NorCal Bike Sport

North Bay Vitreoretinal Consultants

Parkpoint Health Clubs

Santa Rosa Cycling Club

Sonoma County Tourism Bureau

Russian River Brewing Company

Northern California Medical Associates

r e d J e r s e y s p o n s o r s

Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery, P.C.

Carle, Mackie, Powers & Ross, LLP

Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller &

Moskowitz, LLP

Trek Bicycle Store

Santa Rosa Orthopaedics

AT&T

red Jersey CowBell sponsor

Mary’s Pizza Shack

K i d s ’ Z o n e

St. Joseph Health System –

Sonoma County

G r e e n J e r s e y s p o n s o r s

Cambria Bicycle Outfitters

Codding Enterprises

Spoke Folk Cyclery

Massage Envy

w h i t e J e r s e y s p o n s o r s

The Sales Foundry

Ty Jones & Co.

Mac’s Kosher Style Deli

Stout Brothers Irish Pub & Restaurant

La Vera Pizza

Skyline Design Studio

M e d i a s p o n s o r s

Froggy 92.9

97.7 The River

101.7 The Fox

Mix 104.9

KSRO 1350 AM

The Krush 95.9

96.7 BOB FM

Y100.9

Exitos 98.7

100.1 KZST

i n K i n d s p o n s o r s

Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc.

Pure Luxury Limousine, Inc.

Sonic.net

Friendly Feed and Supply

SIGNS par excellence, Inc.

s taG e s p o n s o rLevi’s GranFondo/Bike Monkey

y e l l ow J e r s e y s p o n s o rSutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa

B l u e J e r s e y p l u s s p o n s o rRedwood Regional Medical Group

V i p h o s p i ta l i t y t e n t s p o n s o rRedwood Regional Medical Group

STAGE 2 | MONDAY | MAY 17 | 2O1O

contents 5

p u B l i s h e r

Raissa de la Rosa, City of Santa Rosae d i t o r

Ty Jones, Ty Jones & Cº.C r e at i V e s e r V i C e s

ranch7 creativeC o V e r i l l u s t r at i o n

Sheryl Chapmanw e B s e r V i C e s

Sassy Monkey Medias a l e s

Jami JenningsDominique PachecoC o n t r i B u t i n G

p h o t o G r a p h e r s

Carson BlumeCarl Burchfiel

Veronika LenziJohn Reid

City of Santa RosaC o n t r i B u t i n G w r i t e r s

Raissa de la RosaClaire Fetrow

Greg FisherLaurie Gibbs

Heather IrwinJim Keene

Levi LeipheimerRand LibbertonSandra Lupien

s p e C i a l t h a n K s

Carlos, Greg, Ray & Jim

Tour Sponsors 4

Welcome 7

A Letter from Levi 9

AMGEN Tour 2010 12

Race Viewing Areas 18

Bike Bites 21

Gran Expectations 28

10 Santa Rosa Rides 34

Ride Atlas 36

Cycling Resources 38

WSD: The Right Fit 40

The Daily Biker: A Primer 42

Bike Gangs of Santa Rosa 45

Ride of Passage 52

Annadel 57

Bike Talk: A Glossary 62

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from the mayor 7

Welcome to Santa Rosa, a city of food and wine, a city in transition, a city on the move! Santa Rosa is the largest business and service hub for the Sonoma County wine region, and as mayor of this dynamic city, it is my honor to welcome you to our community.

Santa Rosa truly is a city designed for living and is worth celebrating. Located just 55 miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa offers a warm and sunny climate with outstanding park systems and is within biking distance to beaches, rivers, mountains, Redwoods and small artisan wineries. For the past five years, Santa Rosa has served as the prized training ground and stage for the AMGEN Tour of California (TOC). The 2007-09 Tour winner and local pro-athlete Levi Leipheimer compares the quality of our local terrain to the European topography so famous among professional cyclists.

Like fine wine, balance is the key to Santa Rosa’s appeal. Its thriving arts and emerging creative hub bustles like a big city with the friendly service of a small rural community. Situated in some of California’s most fertile soil, Santa Rosa farmers’ markets are vibrant places for Sonoma County farmers and artisans to provide a wide selection of organic foods and specialty products for customers to enjoy. Travelers appreciate Santa Rosa’s relaxed and authentic wine country experience. Our famous chefs and diverse downtown restaurant offerings—many of which source products locally—make dining in Santa Rosa an affordable and sustainable culinary adventure.

As Santa Rosa continues to transition and define its position within the marketplace, citizens and policy leaders are working diligently to protect the environment and grow responsibly by supporting sustainable development. Our city features prominently in the future SMART Train system, which links Sonoma and Marin counties via a rail corridor with a bike/pedestrian pathway. Policy leaders and community groups continue to work toward alternative transportation options that nurture our growing pedestrian and bicycle culture.

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to visit, even if it’s just by way of reading this magazine. I hope our hospitality brings you back for many more visits.

My Best,

Mayor Susan Gorin City of Santa Rosa

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a letter from levi 9

Dear Cycle City 365 Reader,

If you’ve pulled back the cover on this magazine, it’s likely because bicycles compel you. I can certainly understand the attraction; I’ve made a life out of riding and racing my bike all over the globe. With the entire world from which to choose, I opted for Santa Rosa.

Here at the edge of North America, the land meets the sea in a conspiracy of hills, canyons, ridgelines and valleys. Remote mountain roads can carry you along for hours up, over and across emerald slopes before dumping you at steep bluffs overlooking crashing waves. Cool, foggy mornings regularly give way to a bright sun and skies so blue as to strain the eyes. On good days, you’ll see more deer than cars, more eagles than people. These days are plentiful, as the Mediterranean climate of this area allows for some of the best year-round (though occasionally wet) cycling.

The professional cycling industry tends to agree with me on this one. Santa Rosa has hosted pro-bike races for decades, beginning with the famed Coors Classic in the ‘80s. The modern Amgen Tour of California picked up where the Coors Classic left off in 2006. In 2010, the Tour of California will make its fifth stop in Santa Rosa, continuing our ongoing home tradition of bringing out the best in the world’s top cyclists. In celebration of this, I developed my own annual charity ride, Levi’s King Ridge GranFondo, to allow others the opportunity of riding my favorite Sonoma County roads alongside my professional buddies and me.

Not into road cycling? Hey, we all need a break from the asphalt. Santa Rosa has some of the best off-road mountain biking a few short miles from downtown in Annadel State Park. We’ve got 5,000 acres of oak woodland and Douglas-fir forest strewn with trails that regularly put a grin on my face. If you’d rather just pedal around town, that’s fine, too. We’ve invested a lot of money in local bike paths, signed bike routes and special boulevards designed specifically for bikes.

As a cyclist, Santa Rosa holds a deep place in my heart. It’s not only my home but also my favorite place to ride. I invite you to come and enjoy Santa Rosa—a true Cycle City.

PHOTO: ©2010 JOHN REID

“I’ve ridden my bike in some of the most beautiful

locations across the globe, but there is no place

I would rather ride my bike than the amazing

landscape and terrain of Sonoma County.

The roads are pure cycling heaven.”

l e V i l e i p h e i M e r

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catch myself ranting at times about how I’d like Santa Rosa’s bike cul-ture to be like that of, well, almost any great city in Europe where people commute on bikes with-

out thought–where cycling is accepted on rural and urban streets alike. Yeah, I know, “This ain’t Europe, honey,” is what you’re thinking. But a girl can dream.

I didn’t think this dream could be a reality until the Amgen Tour of Cali-fornia took hold here; and Sonoma County got recognized as one of the top cycling destinations in the world; and more and more seemingly suppressed biker tendencies started bursting forth proudly around town.

How is it that a bike race could help has-ten a change in destiny of Santa Rosa’s cultural identity? I’m not from Santa Rosa originally, so I never knew its il-lustrious cycling history. And while I enjoy a good ride, and do keep a bike at work to get about town, I’m not an avid cyclist. I only know that when I moved here about six years ago, it seemed very few people were going about their daily business on their bikes.

Sure, there were plenty of road cyclists riding hard on weekends out in the county, but the bike culture in town was not as obvious. Interestingly, the Tour seems to have changed that.

The Amgen Tour of California first came to Santa Rosa in June 2005 in the form of a sales pitch and Request for Proposal from Tour owner and

organizer AEG Sports. Eight months later on the eve of Stage One of the in-augural Tour, after a moderate atten-dance at the Prologue in San Francisco, I remember clearly the nervous antici-pation and fear that after all our plan-ning, only a handful of people would show up for the Santa Rosa finish on a potentially rainy President’s Day holi-day. Boy, howdy, were we wrong.

First off, the weather was perfect—warm, sunny and spring-like. Sec-ondly, people came out in droves. Thousands of people downtown moved in masses through the travel-ing circus that is the Tour’s Lifestyle Festival. But the real crowds came shortly before the cyclists entered town. Standing on the announcer’s stage with some of our local organiz-ing committee and city councilmem-bers, we got our first clue just how suc-cessful this event would prove to be.

Everywhere we looked—across Courthouse Square, down Fourth Street, down Third Street—there were people. People were dripping off the 4-story parking garage, lean-ing out of buildings, sitting in trees, standing on any elevated surface they could find, and lined many-deep behind the circuit fencing in anticipation of the peloton entering its final leg of the 80+ mile stage up the coast from Sausalito.

When the advance cars came, cow-bells started ringing and thunder sticks started banging, so that by

BISTRO 29

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the time the peloton did arrive, the pitch was fevered with ecstasy. It was thrilling. The cyclists sa id they were shocked by the welcome, that it was so noisy they couldn’t hear their headsets, that they had never ex-pected anything like the r e c e p -t i o n t h e y re-ceived that first day of the race in Santa Rosa. Andrew Mes-sick, president of AEG Sports, called it a moment of truth. Indeed, it was.

This is what has made Santa Rosa a mainstay of the Tour. Well, that and the guy who keeps winning it. No doubt about it, we’re lucky to be home to Levi Leipheimer, three-time Amgen Tour of California champion, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and third place winner in the 2006 Tour de France. Without him, we may not have been considered as a potential host city. But we were, and for five years now we’ve made the best of it.

How, you ask? We’re one of only two cities who have participated in all five Tours, which means we’ve had five good years to shore up our bike culture, increase our cycling

infrastructure, and really claim a place in the pantheons of cycling destinations.

It would not be a stretch to say that five years ago our bike-related subculture was sub- rosa. Also, from an economic s t a ndp o i nt , f i v e years ago we had only six bike stores in town. Today, we have eleven, plus a handful of related b u s i n e s s e s a n d startups, including those driven by bike tou r i sm. A more o b v i o u s c u l t u r e shift, though, is the increase in the num-ber and types of bikes and riders you see on the road—gutter bunnies, fix-ies, Freds and Wil-

mas, and the retro-grouches. It’s a vibrant and colorful scene.

On top of this, the Sonoma County terrain and temperate weather re-ally do make for ideal cycling con-ditions, and we provide folks ways to experience it all. In its first year, Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran-Fondo attracted a sellout crowd of 3,500, hauling tail up multiple kill-er hills with equally killer vistas. For visitors and locals alike, Santa Rosa Cycling Club, Sonoma County Bi-


cycle Coalition, and any one of the local bike shops around the city and county put on numerous rides. But it’s not all road cycling all the time. It’s velo Valhalla here for mountain bikers considering Howarth Park, one of our largest city parks, flows seamlessly into scenic Spring Lake Regional Park, which, in turn, leads beautifully into Annadel State Park.

Ever see the YouTube footage of someone with a headcam chasing Levi as he bikes down a mountain? One can’t help but notice how content Levi looks. That’s the effect Santa Rosa’s landscape can have on an individual. Come on, check it out!

Raissa de la Rosa, an economic development specialist for the City of Santa Rosa’s Economic Development and Housing Department, has played a key role in coordinating the Tour in Santa Rosa since its inception in 2006. Cycle City 365 is a publication of the City of Santa Rosa’s Economic Development and Housing Department.

Open Roads

Race Route

Closed Roads

Limited Access

Public Parking( o p e n )

Event Parking(Closed)

Festival Area

leG e n d route detail s day: Mon, May 17

start: Davis

Finish : Santa Rosa

start tiMe : 11:00 AM

Mi: 109.5

Km: 176.2

end eta: 3:00-4:00 PM

downtown race viewing 19

a | FINISH LINE – 3RD ST & SANTA ROSA AVEAn obvious choice, of course. Not only is it the finish line, where the announcer’s and awards stages are located, it’s also where the Tour’s Lifestyle Festival starts, extending down Santa Rosa Avenue to Fifth Street. Since the jumbotron is also located here—which provides continuous coverage from the Davis start to the Santa Rosa finish—you won’t miss a thing.

B | 3RD STREET BETWEEN D & E STREETSA second jumbotron will be placed in this second festival area. It’s actually an extension of the core Lifestyle Festival on Santa Rosa Avenue, but with a slightly different atmosphere. There will be a big beer tent and an entertainment stage with local band Baby Seal Club playing. Add to that food and vendor booths, bouncy houses for the kids and visibility of the peloton race up 2nd Street and back down 4th Street (if you stand at Third and E Streets), and you got yourself a most excellent race experience.

C | 4TH STREET BETWEEN B & E STREETSThere will be a third jumbotron located on Fourth and D Streets. Additionally, the bars and restaurants along this stretch (and even some enthusiastic merchants) tune their TVs to the Versus TV coverage. You can enjoy some fine cuisine and local brews while watching those crazy fit men speed by you all lean and sinewy in their wind-efficient spandex. You might feel like a glutton, but you’ll be well sated as you enjoy the festivities. If you park yourself right at Fourth and D, you’ll be ideally situated to roll right into the evening activities with the Bike Monkey crew and their Gold Sprint shenanigans. There will be a DJ, stationery sprint races and some local booths.

d | RAILROAD SquARE – WILSON ST BETWEEN 3RD & 6TH STREETSIf you’re looking for an area that’s a little quieter and more charming than the thick of the Courthouse Square festival areas, Railroad Square is your place. There’s no jumbotron, but some of the city’s finest hanging out can be had in this location. Two great coffee shops are on the route—one at Fourth and Wilson and the other at Fifth and Wilson. If you want to hang at a pub before dashing out to meet the race, you can do that on Fifth Street. Wine tasting? That’s on Fourth. Food? There’s plenty of it. Eat, drink, be merry, get over to Wilson Street to watch the race, then eat, drink and be even merrier. The bonus shot in this area is at Wilson and Third Streets. That’s the final corner for the straightaway sprint to the finish line at Third and Santa Rosa Avenue. There are no circuits this year, so the riders will be taking this corner hard if they want to win. And who doesn’t want to win?

Monday | May 17 | 2o1oFestiVals & eVents | 11:OO AM - 4:OO PM

For a Full sChedule, Visit

srcitytoc.com

BIKER BAR.HOPMONK TAVERN IS RIGHT ON THE JOE RODOTA TRAIL

230 PETALuMA AVENuE • SEBASTOPOL • hopMonK.CoM7o7. 829 . 73oo

bike bites 21

ou may have been born to ride, but unless there’s some serious fuel behind those pedals, you may as well pack it in. Fortunately, there are plenty of amazing restaurants dotting popular bicycle routes from southern Sonoma to the coast, vineyards and beyond.

Ready to tuck away some grub? Check out some of our favorite cyclist-friendly eateries . . .

Coast BoundRio Nido Roadhouse: Tucked into a redwood grove along the Russian River, this funky roadside dive is all about the Hot Brown: turkey, bacon and tomato on grilled Texas toast that’s covered with cheese sauce. The rest of the menu is equally artery clogging (buffalo wings, fries, burgers and pizza) along with a smattering of salads to wash things down. In warmer months, live bands kick things up on the outdoor stage, and you can take a quick dip in the outdoor pool (Memorial Day to Labor Day). 1454O CANYON TWO, RIO NIDO | 7O7.869.o821

Wild Flour Bread: Make the pilgrimage to this funky Freestone bakery that’s become a must-stop for bicyclists and the beach bound. Follow your nose to where weekenders congregate around a communal table with steaming plates of sticky buns and fruit-studded scones or chase children through the garden. Don’t leave without feasting on a dense, seeded boule and an extra fougasse stuffed with savory cheese and veggies straight from the brick oven. There’s a catch, however: The bakery is only open Friday through Monday, they don’t take credit cards, and speed isn’t a virtue here, so sometimes there’s a wait, which only heightens the pleasure of finally getting that first bite. 14O BOHEMIAN HIGHWAY, FREESTONE | 7O7.874.2938

bike bites 23

Morning Fuel-UpFremont Diner: Oozing nouveau decrepitude, a heavy dose of John Deere chic and the irresistible lure of a butter- and pork-soaked menu that would bring a tear of recognition to grandpappy’s eyes, this burger-joint-turned-diner is everything good about, well, roadside diners. On the menu: buttermilk waffles, cheesy house ground grits and Braeburn apple donuts ($5). Here, “Praise the Lard” isn’t just a quirky tag line but a mission from 7am to 4pm daily. 2660 FREMONT DR., SONOMA | 7O7.938.737o

Jeffrey’s Hillside Cafe: Rib-sticking comfort food from one of Wine Country’s top chefs. You’ll likely fly by once or twice in search of this well-hidden cafe, but it’s worth a little extra recon for the chow. From blue-collar classics like huevos rancheros, chicken fried steak and cheese grits to highbrow fromage blanc blintzes, Chef Jeff has culinary range as wide as his smile. Open 7 days a week from 6:30am to 2:30pm. Entrance to the cafe can be a little confusing if you’re heading east on Route 12. Best bet is to turn left on Farmer’s Lane and follow the curve around to the entrance of the Hillside Inn.

2901 FOuRTH ST., SANTA ROSA | 7O7.546.6317

Among the VinesJimtown Store: Hollywood would be hard-pressed to concoct a country store with as much ambience and yesteryear charm as this Alexander Valley provisioner. But rustic needs vision, and New Yorker Carrie Brown and her late husband John Werner (a Silver Palate partner) have revamped Jimtown into a tourist-friendly Wine Country destination, complete with a 1955 red pickup out front, gourmet local foods, local wines and a top-notch deli/cafe. Best bets: Chain Gang chili, pulled pork and buttermilk coleslaw. 6706 STATE HIGHWAY 128, HEALDSBuRG | 7O7.433.1212

Love the country store vibe? You’ll get a similar experience (charming knick-knacks, local olive oils, gourmet sandwiches given a shabby-chic design boost) at the Dry Creek General Store, conveniently located in the tasting room-heavy Dry Creek Valley. 3495 DRY CREEK RD., HEALDSBuRG, 7O7.433.4171

The salads are fresh

and the steaks are sizzling,

but in the end,

it’s all about the whiskey.

bike bites 25

Burgers & BeerBarley and Hops Tavern: One the few watering holes within a 20-mile radius between Sebastopol and Bodega Bay, this Occidental pub caters to about 85 percent locals on any given night—friends and neighbors catching up over a beer and wings at this quintessentially neighborhood bar. What makes it destination-worthy, however, is...well...pretty much everything. Owner Noah Bolmer is a beer fanatic with an extensive menu of tasty brews. Homemade fish and chips, burgers, onion rings, hand-cut fries and their classic cottage pie with ground beef, porter and mashed potatoes round out the menu.

3688 BOHEMIAN HIGHWAY, OCCIDENTAL | 7O7.874.9o37

Carbo-loadRosso Pizzeria: With a menu that reads like a Sicilian love letter, Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar ain’t your average pie shop, instead focusing on paper-thin prosciutto, fresh-made tapenades, signature salads, antipasti and bubbling wood-fired pizzas. 53 MONTGOMERY DR., SANTA ROSA | 7O7.544.3221

Light & HealthyEast/West Café is kind to the meat-free, focusing its omnivorous menu on Mediterranean and veggie-centric dishes with a lighter touch. Plus, it’s conveniently located right near Annadel State Park.

557 SuMMERFIELD ROAD., SANTA ROSA | 7O7.546.6142

East-Bay-born Café Gratitude is keen on the raw edge, along with self-affirmation. Dishes made with all manner of sprouted things carry names like I Am Graceful, I Am Fruitful and so on. Personally, it feels a little silly to declare, “I Am Awakening,” when you really aren’t, but perhaps the cashew cream will help.

206 HEALDSBuRG AVE., HEALDSBuRG | 7O7.723.4462

Heather Irwin is a food and dining writer for the Press Democrat, a New York Times Regional newspaper. Check out her always-updated and always-opinionated blog, BiteClubEats.com.

{ bike friendly}

1301 Cleveland Avenue, Santa Rosa 707.280.4658 | dargenziowine.com

CUCINA TIPICA ITALIANA

75 MONTGOMERY DRIVE

7O7.579.2682 • R IVIER AR ISTOR ANTE.NET

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Race, Tour of Flanders, Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. They are usu-ally more than a hundred miles long and climb several thousand feet, and they are filled with throngs of enthu-siastic riders. These are epic events, full of superlatives and designed to celebrate the exuberance of physical

exertion in some of the most beautiful country on earth. Some of the more fa-mous gran fondos outside of the U.S. boast more than 40,000 riders, some with routes up to 140 miles long or with 17,000-foot climbs. Drama is in-herent in a gran fondo; anything else would just be a ride.

n the spring of 2009, two friends—one an Italian restaurateur, the other a professional cyclist—met for a training ride in the hills of western Sonoma County. The

restaurateur wore a jersey bearing the name “gran fondo,” an event from his native Italy. His cycling buddy asked him about it. The idea, he explained, was to attract hordes of enthusiastic cyclists to a long, difficult and famous course where riders would be timed as they rode alongside cycling’s biggest names. He felt it would surely be suc-cessful in Northern California—at least a couple hundred people would attend. The pro-cyclist just gave him a nod and a smile.

The pro in question was Santa Rosa’s own Levi Leipheimer, and his rid-ing partner, Giampaolo Pesce, had just planted the seed for the first Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Gran-Fondo. With some (very) quick plan-ning, the ride was organized, word went out and, within 6 weeks, it had sold out. More than 3,500 cyclists from all over the world ended up coming to Santa Rosa to ride Levi’s favorite training routes. It was one of the first gran fondo events in North America and has since set the stan-dard for these rides outside Europe.

Literally translated from Italian as the “big deep,” gran fondos have long been a part of European cy-cling lore. They follow the routes of grand tours and cycling classics like the Paris-Roubaix, Amstel Gold

gran expectations 31

In addition to these impressive ele-ments, gran fondos offer finer logisti-cal details like closed roads, stocked food stations, mechanical help, tim-ing chips, route markings, vehicle support and, in some cases, sizable prize money. They typically have an upper time limit within which the course must be completed. The al-ready lengthy route will usually have some climbing incentives, sprints or gravel/cobblestone sections–just to keep things interesting.

While the extremes in terrain and physical exertion make for a thrilling event, the value in a gran fondo is in the subtle sense of adventure and ca-maraderie. You’re brought out to an area filled with cycling mystique. The way is guaranteed to be rough and dif-

ficult. You’ve seen the route on a map, but you’ve also heard stories of these famous courses passed from rider to rider. You’ve done some training, but you still have lingering doubts about how well you’ll do. In the end, you’re asked to push yourself to new physi-cal heights; but, given the massive level of participation, you’re allowed to engage others, socialize, and bask in a kind of temporary community. This sense of community is often strengthened by shorter, less challeng-ing routes within the same event so that all can participate.

You would think that popular, success-ful charity rides in the U.S., like the AIDS or Breathe Easy events, would have spurred the growth of gran fon-dos, but they’re largely unheralded on

The already lengthy route will usually have some

climbing incentives, sprints or gravel/cobblestone

sections—just to keep things interesting.

PHOTO: CARSON BLuME

gran expectations32

these shores. For most, a century ride is enough of a challenge; the rest of us wouldn’t dream of participating in a grand tour like the Vuelta d’Espana. But there’s a lot of space in between those two options.

Does one need to travel across Spain with the world’s top athletes in order to challenge oneself? Hardly. Does one need something more exciting than a century ride designed to accommo-date every cyclist that signs up? That’s a little more likely. There is a signifi-cant component of the American bike community that’s been waiting for an event to test its mettle, but doesn’t of-fer the pressure and distant exclusivity of a classic road-racing competition.

It is in this exciting spirit that Santa Rosa’s own event, Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo, gives it an-other go in 2010. With all the promise of the inaugural year, the 2010 King Ridge GranFondo will expand to in-clude 6,000 riders from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom. They’ll all be lining up to experience the best our area has to offer in a new kind of ride that’s distinctly Santa Rosa.

Greg Fisher has traveled far and wide on two wheels. He ended up in Sonoma County 10 years ago and is now spoiled for any other spot on earth. Currently, he edits Bike Monkey magazine and helps produce Bike Monkey’s signature cycling events.

PHOTO: CARSON BLuME

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TYPE:

paved road

DIFFICULTY

•

oakmont loopFROM HOWARTH PARK

630 SuMMERFIEld ROAd, SAnTA ROSA

lenGth: APPROxIMATEly 10 MIlES

duration: 1-2 HOuRS AT 15 MPH

Take Spring Creek Trail to Channel Drive. Follow Channel Dr. through Annadel State Park to White

Oak Dr. L on White Oak Dr., R on Oakmont Dr. into the Oakmont retirement community. Oakmont Dr. turns into Oak Leaf Dr./Fairfield Dr., and loops back into White Oak Dr. R on Channel Dr. to Spring Creek Trail into Howarth Park.

TYPE:

dirt/gravel

DIFFICULTY

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santa rosa creekRAIlROAd SQuARE

PIERSOn ST., SAnTA ROSA, CA 95409


duration: 1-2 HOuRS AT 10MPH

From Wilson, head west on 6th St., L on Pierson

St., then R on bike path to the end. Cross over the creek on the Fulton Bridge. Take path all the way to Willowside and retrace your route back to Railroad Square. Suitable for families. Trail map: http://go.northbay.pressdemocrat.com/clip/outdoors.

annadel state parklAKE IlSAnJO

6201 CHAnnEl dRIvE, SAnTA ROSA

WWW.PARKS.CA.gOv | 707.539.3911

lenGth: 10.3 MIlES

duration: 2 HOuRS

This gradual trail passes along a creek under a can-opy of bay trees. Circle the lake on dirt roads, then return via a series of scenic and varied single tracks. www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=12365

TYPE:

dirt/single track

DIFFICULTY

• • • •

annadel state parklEdSOn MARSH lOng lOOP



lenGth: 16.3 MIlES

Bypasses Lake Ilsanjo in favor of the high ridge a few hundred feet below the summit of Bennett Mountain, the park’s highest peak. The route leads around Ledson Marsh on the park’s east side. www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=12365

TYPE:

dirt/single track

DIFFICULTY

• • • •

annadel state parkWARREn RICHARdSOnnORTH BuRMA lOOP



lenGth: 11.95 MIlES

duration: 2.25-3.25 HOuRS

Warren Richardson begins at the base of the moun-tain in a shady grove of pine and bay trees. This chal-lenging loop goes up and around Ledson Marsh. www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=12365

SOURCE:

janice eunice

SANTA ROSA CYCLING CLUB

WWW.SRCC.COM

SOURCE:

jim keene

BIKE PEDDLER/NORCAL

WWW.NORCALCYCLING.COM

SOURCE:

trails.com

WWW.TRAILS.COM

SOURCE:

trails.com

WWW.TRAILS.COM

SOURCE:

trails.com

WWW.TRAILS.COM

TYPE:

dirt/single track

DIFFICULTY

• •

10 santa rosa rides 35

TYPE:

paved

DIFFICULTY

•

santa rosaTO WIndSOR PlAIn

yOuTH COMMunITy PARK , SAnTA ROSA


From Youth Community Park, N on Fulton Rd., L on Wood, R on Woolsey and cross River Rd. onto Laughlin. L on W. Laughlin, R on Slusser, R

on Windsor. L on Reiman, L on Starr, R on Mark West Station, L on Trenton-Healdsburg Rd. Cross River, bear L on Trenton, loop under River to a L on River. R on Old Trenton, R on Oakwild, L on W Olivet, R on Olivet, L on Piner, L to Park.

TYPE:

dirt trail

DIFFICULTY

•

crane creekREgIOnAl PARK lOOP

5000 PRESSlEy ROAd, SAnTA ROSA

707.823.7262

lenGth: 7 MIlES

duration: 1-2 HOuRS

Depending on the trail, you find some steep, short hills. You can bypass them for a lighter ride. The 128-acre park offers outstanding vistas of Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa. Parking is $6 per vehicle day use. www.sonoma-county.org/parks/pk_crane.htm/

TYPE:

paved/some dirt

DIFFICULTY

• • • •

santa rosaTO THE COAST

PIERSOn STREET, SAnTA ROSA


Take the Creek Trail to Willowside Rd., L on Wil-lowside to Hall, R on Hall to Occidental, all the way to the town of Occidental. Up Coleman Valley

Rd. to the coast, up Hwy 1 to Willowside Rd. back into Occidental, down Graton Rd. and return the way you came. An 11-mile dirt climb up Willow-creek—doable on a road bike—conjures up visions of the Giro d’ Italia back in the ‘30s and 40s.

TYPE:

paved

DIFFICULTY

• • • •

santa rosa TO CHAlK HIll

PIERSOn STREET, SAnTA ROSA


Creek Trail to Willowside, R on Willowside , L on Piner, R on Olivet to Trenton, Trenton to River Rd., out to Wohler Bridge and onto the Westside/

West Dry Creek Rds. Dry Creek to Canyon via Yoakim Bridge, on into Geyserville. Hwy 128 to Chalk Hill back into town via Faught Rd. and then Redwood Hwy. Not easy, but never too difficult. Runs through all appelations–a wine lover’s dream.

TYPE:

paved/uneven

DIFFICULTY

• • • • •

santa rosaTO glEn EllEn




Howarth Park to Channel Drive, cut through Oakmont and onto Pythian, Pythian to Hwy 12,

go through Kenwood and get on Warm Springs Rd. to Glen Ellen. Arnold Dr. to Madrone, back onto Hwy 12 heading South. L on Cavedale Rd. for the sickest, sweetest 7-mile climb to the top for an amazing 4-mile plummet down Trinity Rd.

SOURCE:

trails.com

WWW.TRAILS.COM

SOURCE:

SANTA ROSA CYCLING CLUB

WWW.SRCC.COM

SOURCE:

jim keene

BIKE PEDDLER/NORCAL


SOURCE:

jim keene

BIKE PEDDLER/NORCAL


SOURCE:

jim keene

BIKE PEDDLER/NORCAL


Geyserville

Healdsburg

Windsor

Roseland

SebastopolOccidental

Graton

Forestville

Guerneville

Monte Rio

railroadsQuare

youth parK

7

8

9

36 10 santa rosa rides area map

COlEMAn vAllEy Rd.

WE

ST

SId

E R

d.

EA

ST

SId

E R

d.

CH

Al

K H

Ill

Rd

.

AlExAndER vAllEy Rd.

HIgHWAy 12

HIg

HW

Ay

101

Fu

lT

On

Rd

.

PInER Rd.

guERnEvIllE Rd.

HAll. Rd

OCCIdEnTAl Rd.

HW

y. 116

HWy. 116

RIvER.RdRIvER.Rd

RIvER.Rd

RIvER.Rd

BOHEMIAn HIgHWAy

JO

y R

d.

AnnadelState Park

Kenwood

Glen Ellen

Roseland

Santa Rosa

railroadsQuare

howarthparK

Crane CreeK

reGional parK

Calistoga

St. Helena

1

2

34

5

6

10

this map shows the general areas of our 10 rides.

We heartily recommend purchasing the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s excellent map

for all your two-wheeled adventures.

The map lists bike shops, traffic density, grades, amenities, schools and medical care. The map is durable, waterproof and

well worth the investment.

www.sonomabike.org

10 santa rosa rides area map 37

TRInITy Rd.

CA

vE

dA

lE R

d.

CA

lIS

TO

gA

Rd

.

ST. HElEnA Rd.

MARK WEST SPRIngS Rd.

PETRIFIE

d FOREST R

d.

HIgHWAy 12

HIg

HW

Ay

101

cycling resources38

TourismhoriZon air www.alaskaair.com

CaliFornia welCoMe Center www.visitsantarosa.com

sonoMa County tourisM Bureau www.sonomacounty.com

wine Country BiKes www.winecountrybikes.com

Getaway adVentures www.getawayadventures.com

EventsMay BiKe to worK Month www.bikesonoma.org

Gran Fondo www.levisgranfondo.com

terriBle two www.srcc.memberlodge.com/TT

tour oF CaliFornia www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

wine Country Century www.srcc.memberlodge.com/WCC

Organizations & ClubsCyCle sonoMa www.cyclesonoma.com

sonoMa County BiCyCle Coalitionwww.bikesonoma.org

sonoMa County Go loCal www.sonomacounty.golocal.coop

hillJillys www.hilljillys.com

santa rosa CyClinG CluB www.srcc.memberlodge.com

sonoMa Valley CyClists www.sonomavalleycyclists.org

Santa Rosa Retailers & Rentalsaria Velo www.ariavelo.com

BiCyCle CZar www.bicycleczar.com

the BiKe peddler

www.norcalcycling.com

CaMBria BiCyCle outFitter www.cambriabike.com

CoMMunity BiKes 707-579-5811

eChelon CyCle & Multisport www.echeloncycle.com

norCal BiKe sport BiCyCles www.norcalcycling.com

rinCon CyClery www.rinconcyclery.com

treK BiCyCle store oF santa rosa www.trekstoresantarosa.com

Hand Made & Frame Buildersautuori CyCleswww.autuoricycles.com

BruCe Gordon CyCleswwwbgcycles.com

inGlis & rentroteCwww.ingliscycles.com

reBolledo CyCles www.rebolledocycles.com

soul CraFt www.soulcraftbikes.com

syCip desiGns www.sycip.com

Publications & MediaBiKe MonKey www.bikemonkey.net

CyCle City 365 www.cyclecity365.com

This is just a snapshot of cycling resources in and around Santa Rosa, California. There are 100s of others—big and small, discovered or not—all for you to find & enjoy.

cycling resources

5 1 2 M E N D O C I N O A V E . S A N T A R O S A , C A 9 5 4 0 1

707-546-8735

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40

bout 60 percent of the clients that visit my bike fit and cus-tom bike studio are women. I can only venture a guess why. Recently I’ve wondered

if it has something to do with the fact that women are more likely to pull over and look at a map, while many men stubbornly drive around insist-ing they’re not lost.

Whatever the reason, below are some thoughts on women and cycling from one bike fitter’s perspective.

The Bike• Women don’t fit particularly

well on men’s bikes, but neither do men.

• Women’s specific (WSD) bikes? They work well for some women, but they also work well for some men. I used to maintain spread-sheet of bike geometries that al-lowed me to sort and identify the best stock bike options for my cli-ents. My male clients would always have at least one women’s bike in their top three–and, often two or all three.

• Stock bikes—men’s, women’s or otherwise—are designed based on assumptions, averages, guesses and marketing. YOU are not.

The Body• While the discussion of women’s

fit is usually focused around how a woman’s body compares to a man’s

the riGht Fit?

women’s specific design 41

(since bikes and cycling gear have historically been designed, at least in theory, for men), the reality is every body is unique. With so many exceptions to the rules, the rules have been rendered useless.

• Common assumptions about a woman’s body: wider hips, narrow-er shoulders, relatively short arms, smaller feet and hands, shorter torso and longer legs. (Most of these assumptions developed out of anthropomorphic data from mili-tary studies, most notably Anthro-pometry of United States Military Personnel, 1991.)

• There is not a shred of data to sup-port the “short torso” idea. None. Dr. Andy Pruitt and Gale Bern-hardt, two of the most well-known and well-published names in cy-cling fit and performance, disagree with the assumption. In fact, recent studies suggest that the anatomical differences are much less than once thought (data assessment using The Measure of Man and Woman: Hu-man Factors in Design, 2001).

The Saddle• It’s definitely harder for women to

find comfortable saddles; they sit directly on the most sensitive part of their bodies.

• Most women tend to stand less than men when riding, exacerbat-ing saddle discomfort.

• Women’s saddles usually do work better for women.

• Saddle cutouts work for many women, but for some it creates two painful edges right smack in the middle of the saddle.

• Being seated properly on your sit bones is more important than a hole in the saddle. It lifts the soft tissue away from the saddle.

What does it all mean? Watch out for the marketing. Question any general-ization (don’t believe anything I wrote is or isn’t true for you). In short, keep pulling over and studying the map, and you can make cycling work for you.

Rand Libberton is the owner of Aria Velo, a fit and custom bike studio in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square. Aria Velo offers one of the more sophisticated and compre-hensive fit processes in the industry.

42

s the weather warms up in Sonoma County, it can be hard to resist the lure of sunshine, fresh air and blossoms. Even if you love

your job, you might be tempted to play hooky and spend more time outside.

It’s easy to give yourself some mini vacations and turn that time you normally spend cooped up in traf-fic into the best part of your day. How? Bike to work. It’s good for your health, your mood, your budget and the environment. And, there’s more: studies show that people who bike to work are more productive and miss less work than their car-commuting counterparts (read: bike commuting could help you get a merit raise!).

It’s easier than you think, and the payoff is huge. Below are tips for ad-dressing some of the most popular bike commuting questions.

HOw DO I GET My KIDS TO SCHOOL? Make it family time. Get a trail-a-bike, tandem, kid seat or trailer. Learn great riding skills and teach your kids. Have fun with it. Bike the kids to school, then continue on to work.

HOw DO I CLEAN UP?If your company doesn’t have onsite showers, advocate for them. In the meantime, stow toiletries in your desk and bring a shower in a coffee cup (a warm washcloth in your por-table mug).

HOw DO I TRANSPORT My CLOTHES?Get a wardrobe pannier. This is a wardrobe bag that attaches to the rear rack on your bike. Your suit will be crisp as can be.

HOw DO I FIND THE ExTRA TIME?If your commute is just a few miles, you might find yourself getting to work more quickly when you bike. If it’s a longer commute, deduct the time you spend biking to work from your regular workout schedule.

HOw DO I RIDE ON THE ROAD wITH ALL THOSE CARS?This can feel intimidating, but with a little education, biking on the road becomes second nature. Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition’s monthly Street Skills for Bike Riders class is a great resource.

THE DAILyBIKERa primer fortwo-wheeledliving

a primer for two-wheeled living 43

The key is to give yourself a break. Don’t put too much pressure on your-self to bike every day. For long com-mutes, drive part way and ride the rest. Try it once a week for starters, and build from there. And, most im-portantly, have fun (OK, this part is involuntary).

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition (SCBC) is a nonprofit organization that promotes bicycling for transportation and recreation. Visit www.BikeSono-ma.org to learn how SCBC is making Sonoma County a better, safer place for everyone who rides a bike.

who makes the best bike map

in the county?

WHO ELSE?750 Mendocino Avenue, Suite 6

Santa Rosa, CA 95401(707) 545-0153 www.bikesonoma.org

HOw DO I CARRy wHAT I NEED?Bike commuting is hot, and the bike industry knows it. New racks, bas-kets, bags, trailers and cargo bikes make it easier than ever to tote every-thing you need on your bicycle.

HOw DO I RIDE IN THE RAIN?Get started in spring and summer, and you’ll be ready to don rain gear come January. If not, don’t worry about it...you’ll start again when the weather clears up.

Remember to wear layers and bright colors, and to have lights on the front and back of your bike for night time riding.

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New to cycling or new to the area? Looking for a group of your own to fall in with on a Sunday ride? Whether you’re a serious racer, a weekend warrior, a commuter or a fair-weather rider, you’ll find a pleth-ora of options in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.

Let’s take a look at all of the fac-tions, clubs and race teams here in Santa Rosa to see which one is right for you, starting with racing oppor-tunities.

BMC RACING TEAMYou’ll need just a wee bit of a racing pedigree to gain admission to this team. BMC is based here in Santa Rosa and was just accepted as a wild card entry into the Tour de France. You’ll need an international profes-sional racing license for starters and a top-100 world UCI ranking for them to even consider your application. WWW.BMCRACINGTEAM.COM

BISSELL PRO CyCLING TEAMAgain, you’ll need a pro-racing license, but you’ll only need a do-mestic pedigree—the top 100 pros racing in the U.S. to qualify for membership.WWW.BISSELLPROCYCLING.COMP

HO

TO

: V

ER

ON

IKA

LE

NZ

I

bike gangs of santa rosa 45

ALL SPORT – TEAM SwIFTTeam All Sport is a nationally rec-ognized junior developmental rac-ing team that has launched several Sonoma County kids into pro careers since its inception more than 10 years ago. Must be eighteen years of age or younger to join. WWW.TEAMSWIFT.ORG

TEAM NORCAL BIKE SPORTThis regional powerhouse has three different squads within the team structure, supporting a women’s team, a men’s club team and an elite team racing in the pro/am categories. WWW.REDPELOTON.ORG

IMPERIAL BOBATORSThis is a racing squad comprised en-tirely of masters-age racers, meaning that you must be at least 40 years of age to qualify. They’re an invite-only squad, so it’s all about who you know with this bunch.WWW.ETEAMz.COM/FIGhTINBOBAS

COLAVITA/SUTTER HOME RACING TEAMColavita is a regional club team based in Sonoma County with club teams all over the country along with a domestic pro team. Their motto: eat well, ride hard, live long. WWW.COLAvITARACING-NORCAL.COM

OPEN TO ALLNot into racing? Then you might want to think about joining the Santa

Rosa Cycling Club (SRCC). SRCC is a purely recreational and social cycling club that has approximately 1,200 members. They’re also the best resource to check out if you are visit-ing the area and are looking to ride with an interesting, local group. WWW.SRCC.ORG

You can also check out CycleSonoma www.cyclesonoma.com, a site that touts itself as “a social network meant to be a central starting point for find-ing and exchanging information about cycling in Sonoma County.” If this site does not have what you need, you can link to one of the many bicycling resources in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County right from their page.

But what if you’re just looking for a way to get through town a little more efficiently? Or you need to brush up on your skills before hitting the roads as a bike commuter? Visit Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition to help you navigate the best roads. They have a wonderful map that can be found in most Santa Rosa bike shops.

WWW.BIKESONOMA.ORG

Jim Keene is the general manager and a partner at NorCal Bike Sport and the Bike Peddler in Santa Rosa. With more than 28 years of bicycle retail experience under his belt, he feels that he’s been “delivered” to the promised land of all-things-cycling by moving to Santa Rosa nearly 15 years ago.

bike gangs of santa rosa 47

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ride of passage52

ride of passage 53

wo friends, two bicycles, $5.65 and a indefatigable sense of adventure. In 1909, Vic McDaniel and Ray Francisco, just out of high school, set out

from Santa Rosa on second-hand bikes bound for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. They toured 54 days (from August to October) on unpaved roads—often on no roads at all—pedaling, pushing and walking 1,000 exacting miles.

Vic and Ray reported their adventures to their home-town newspaper—The Press Democrat, of course. They met their share of characters, from a shady hustler to a grizzly bear; they slept in haystacks and depended on the kindness of strangers for food; they kept in touch with family through postcards (what are those?); and they had little idea, from one day to

the next, what to expect in terms of weather and “road” conditions.

They traveled paths unfathomable to most of us today —again, on second-hand bikes built in the early 1900s. In other words, they tackled a hardcore venture under gonzo circumstances.

So, here we are in 2010. Human ingenuity has changed the way we move. It’s changed our environment and our systems. It’s changed the speed and the way in which we make our goals become reality.

But, while technology continues to evolve, there is one thing we can all count on: the passion and spirit of the pursuit will always be part of the human condition. From the Amgen Tour to little league, it is in the thrills, spills and setbacks, the Cinderella stories and the comebacks, that we feel and understand the journey.

a’roma roasters

beyers |costin

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carolina & cº.

cast away yarn shop

cellars of sonoma

daredevils & queens

fabulous finds gallery & boutique

hotel la rose

jackson’s bar & oven

lococo’s cucina rustica

toad in the hole

4th & wilson | railroadsquare.net

S A n TA R O S A’ S P A S T & F u T u R E A R E A l I v E I n

a r t | M u s i C | d i n i n G | F a s h i o n | V i t i C u lt u r e

PH

OT

OS

: S

uS

An

PE

dE

RS

En

PH

OT

Og

RA

PH

y

ride of passage 55

Laurie Gibbs is the editorial director and cofounder of Ranch7 Creative, LLC. Visit ranch7.com for more information about this award-winning advertising agency’s design, writing and project management services.

MORE ABOUT THE STORy AND AUTHOR:

Evelyn McDaniel Gibb, daughter of one of the cyclists and an award-winning author, has drawn on her father’s recollections, using his voice in her nonfiction book Two Wheels North: Bicycling the West Coast in 1909. Her stories and articles have appeared in dozens of magazines and in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. She lives north of Seattle, Washington.

Information and images from Oregon State University Press used with permission. Our thanks to Evelyn McDaniel Gibb for loaning us these materials.

Photos courtesy of The Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

on the trail 57

magine a tranquil setting that has been described as one of the few easily accessible locations that still has elements of primordial lichen and plant life, flowing creeks sur-

rounded by ferns and redwoods, open meadows with an artist’s palette of wildflowers, distant views of moun-tains and forested hillsides, and quiet introspective spots just waiting to be discovered. Now imagine you are driv-ing through the middle of an urban set-ting—city life buzzing, sounds of cars, horns honking, buildings and concrete. Two distinctly different images, yet here in Sonoma County they, for the most part, coexist harmoniously.

Welcome to Annadel State Park, 60 miles north of San Francisco on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa. Sonoma County is graced by this beauty of a park—more than 5000 acres—a re-splendent reminder of what Sonoma County had in vast abundance before the first houses and businesses began to populate this biologically generous piece of earth.

Prior to the 1980s, mostly hikers and horses visited it; bikes were not quite

on the radar yet. But with the birth of mountain biking, slow-but-sure pilgrimages to this and many other parks across the nation and world began. Now on almost any weekend, Annadel is bustling with the activities of runners, cyclists, hikers and horse-back riders.

I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy An-nadel State Park for almost 35 years, starting in my junior high years at Slater Middle School just down the road. It was a popular spot for after-school walks with friends. A dip in Lake Ilsanjo at the top of Canyon Trail would be the reward. Luckily for me, and some of you reading this, my inter-ests grew to include mountain biking.

Annadel is an ideal spot for moun-tain biking (it’s awesome for hiking and horseback riding, too, but this is Cycle City 365 after all). I can attest to this after years of riding all over California and beyond. In fact, on at least one spring break, I can recall set-ting out to prove otherwise. With the variety of trails to accommodate ev-eryone from the beginner to the most advanced rider, this well-maintained,

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on the trail 59

well-defined trail system offers the kind of challenges that make moun-tain biking truly a dream.

Actually, a state park that even al-lows mountain biking to the extent that Annadel does is a treat unto it-self. The state park system is notori-ous for discouraging bikes in general. Most state parks require bikes to keep to paved roads and to a limited num-ber of trails–very limited. Having this expanse available in an urban setting, accessible to and used by so many peo-ple, makes this park a unique gem.

Annadel State Park offers a respite from our busy lives—just a bike ride or walk away for many of the local residents. And it’s such a versatile rec-reational area, with its easy and seam-less flow from Howarth Park—horse rides, a duck pond, BBQ areas and climbing structures for the kids—to a paved trail system that leads without interruption to Spring Lake Regional Park—fishing, a swimming pond and a boating lake—to more than 40 miles of pristine and awe-inspiring single-track trails.

As the County grows, the use of this park has increased. But so far, from my perspective, the impact is very hard to detect. Some of the changes I’ve seen are welcome; with more use, the park and its surroundings have become safer.

Admittedly, I am a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to being alone in the woods, but with my fellow cy-clists sharing the trails with me, I can get the right balance of solitude and comfort. It works. This is an amazing natural resource protected for the use of its citizens in this growing urban setting. Get out there!

Claire Fetrow and her husband, Chaz, have owned and operated The Hub Cy-clery in Cotati for more than 20 years. She enjoys road and mountain bike rac-ing, ultra-distance adventures and bike rides with her dog, Mathilda. See more at www.thehubcyclery.com.

WWW.SPOKEFOLK.COMWWW.SPOKEFOLK.COM

201 Center Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448

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attack: a sudden acceleration to pass a rider or group of riders.

auger: to crash head first.

baby heads: small boulders about the size of a baby’s head.

bacon: scabs on a rider’s knees, elbows or other body parts.

bagging out: canceling a ride for something other than a death in the family.

beta: insider information about a ride.

bonk: to run out of energy midride.

boost: to catch air off of a jump.

brain bucket: helmet.

carve: (from skiing) to ride with great speed around the corners of a twisting fire road.

cashed: too tired to ride any farther–bonked.

cheese grater: to grind off your skin against gravel, asphalt, bike parts, etc.

chunder: to crash.

clean: to negotiate a trail successfully without crashing.

crayon: to leave skin and viscera on the asphalt after a crash.

dab: to put a foot down in order to catch your balance on a difficult section of trail.

death march: a ride that turns into a test of your endurance limit.

door prize: a term used when a rider collides with the open door of a parked car while cycling.

endo: flying unexpectedly over the handlebars, thus being forcibly ejected from the bike.

engine: the rider.

enscarfment: a food break at the edge of a cliff.

excedrin descent: bone-jarring downhill that rattles your brain.

fixie: a hipster’s main form of transportation: a fixed gear, the simplest form of bicycle, one gear with no coasting/freewheeling mechanism.

forcing the pace: to increase the speed of the race to the point that other riders have trouble keeping up.

fred: a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can’t ride.

giblets: sexy little add-ons or upgrades to your bike.

gonzo: treacherous, extreme.

gutter bunny: a bicycling commuter.

hardcore: word of praise and amazement, or impressive or requiring devotion.

mantrap: a hole hidden by autumn leaves and effective at eating the front wheel of the unsuspecting rider.

OD: off day.

peloton: the large, aerodynamically efficient, and extremely fast pack of riders near the front in a road race.

pimp: a bike store guy always trying to sell stuff while on the trail.

portage: to carry your bike.

powder run: extremely dusty trail.

prune: when a rider’s bike or helmet removes leaves and branches from the surrounding flora—unintentionally for the most part.

bike talk: a glossary 63

rag dolly: to wreck in a way that tosses the rider like a flimsy scrap of cloth.

rally: to ride exceptionally well, especially on normally difficult routes.

retro-grouch: a rider that prefers an old bike with old components.

roadie: a rider who considers trails to be for the weak.

rocket fuel: pre-ride coffee.

rookie mark: chain grease on a rider’s pant leg.

screamer: a very, very high drop-off.

shelled: when a rider has extreme difficulty keeping up with a fast-pace race in a way he or she did not anticipate.

skid lid: helmet.

slipstream: the area of least wind resistance behind a rider.

spuds: Shimano Pedaling Dynamics (SPD)clipless pedals.

squirrel: an erratic and squirrely rider in a group.

steed: your bike.

stiction: when friction makes a suspension fork travel sticky.

superman: a rider that flies over the handlebars and takes awhile to hit the ground.

tea party: when a whole group of riders stops to chat and nobody seems to want to ride on.

train: a fast moving paceline of riders.

vegetable tunnel: a singletrack so heavily overgrown with foliage that a rider must duck and bend to get through it.

velo-porn: full-page, four-color advertisements of giblets in cycling magazines.

wall: a road that looks like it goes straight up, because it probably does.

wheelsucker: a rider that sits on other riders’ rear wheels, enjoying the draft but not working.

wild pigs: poorly adjusted brake pads that squeal while in use.

wilma: the female fred.

winky: a reflector.

WSD: women’s specific design.

yard sale: (from skiing) a bad crash that throws your wares—water bottles, pump, tool bag, etc.—everywhere.

zonk: same as bonk.

Selection of terms are from the following sources. Please check out these sites for more complete (and somewhat hilarious) definitions:

www.abc-of-mountainbiking.com/dictionary.asp

www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Peloton/glossary.html

www.bicyclesource.com/bicycling_glossary

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_bicycling

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Agency: Johnson Gray Client: SJS Job #: SJS 9219 Descrition: 9219SJS Iam Ortho Cycle CityM1.1.indd Pub: Cycle City Size: Full Page 4c Trim: 5.375x8.375 Live: 4.875x7.875 Bleed: 5.625x8.5revised: 4/9/10 3:11pm Lori Note:Blue Distinction Logo but no mention in copy

For Ted, a break from running the family winery meant time to pursue his second passion: cycling. So, when knee pain threatened to take that joy away from him, he turned to St. Joseph Orthopaedics at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Ted’s highly skilled surgeon understood that it wasn’t just about Ted’s knee pain, but rather the freedom to enjoy life his way. In the end, direct access to advanced technology and expert specialists meant Ted was back in the saddle faster than he ever thought possible.

For more information, or to fi nd an orthopaedic specialist in your area visit Ortho.StJosephHealth.org, or call 1-866-436-5009.

Designation as Blue Distinction Centers® means these facilities’ overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians’ and leading professional organizations’ recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary.

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May 2010 Cycle City 365