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  #1  
Old 10-01-2018, 06:50 PM
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Levi Grand Fondo Oct 6th,2018

Anybody doing the ride this coming Saturday . Myself and a couple buddies are driving down to ride. Any PL'ers from the Bay Area riding with the close group of 8,000 ?
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Old 10-02-2018, 09:22 AM
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Wow....if I had known much earlier, would have loved to plan this into my SF trip
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Old 10-02-2018, 01:46 PM
ColnagoC59 ColnagoC59 is offline
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Wow....if I had known much earlier, would have loved to plan this into my SF trip
WHAT IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR LEVI’S GRANFONDO?
Although we recommend registering as early as possible, you can register right up until 8:00 AM on the day of the ride.
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Old 10-03-2018, 07:24 AM
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Thank you colnago pal. I flew home to Austin last night. A short trip. Maybe next time.
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Old 10-03-2018, 03:07 PM
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Thank you colnago pal. I flew home to Austin last night. A short trip. Maybe next time.
Oh weisan- pal. You’ll be missing a real sufferfest.
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Old 10-08-2018, 09:04 PM
ColnagoC59 ColnagoC59 is offline
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Loved the event. Weather and scenery were awesome. Especially loved the ocean view. i regret doing the event on 23 mm tires and a mid-compact 11-28 set-up. Those cattle guards unnerved me. I got the job done and had a blast though. I was surprised at how many riders were doing the medio-and gravel option although the organizers were very strict on cut-offs and i finished with a number of gravel riders who missed the 11:15 cut-off to do the extra distance.

I stopped to take tons of photos. This was a ride to remember. Not sure when if ever I do it again.
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Old 10-08-2018, 10:17 PM
Spdntrxi Spdntrxi is offline
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bypassed the last 2 years... dont miss it actually.
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  #8  
Old 10-09-2018, 09:55 AM
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Loved the event.



I stopped to take tons of photos. .
Good report Colnago. Are your pictures posted anywhere?
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Old 10-09-2018, 10:09 AM
ColnagoC59 ColnagoC59 is offline
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Good report Colnago. Are your pictures posted anywhere?
only on my strava. i'll need to take the time and figure out how this can be done easily for this site
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Old 10-09-2018, 11:57 AM
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only on my strava. i'll need to take the time and figure out how this can be done easily for this site
i would love to see them.

bulk upload to a photo sharing service like google, flickr etc might be the easiest way.

cheers!
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  #11  
Old 10-09-2018, 01:55 PM
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Pic from an early morning scouting ride a few years ago, Meyers Grade descent is epic any time of the day or year.

Meyer's Grade 3.jpg
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  #12  
Old 10-09-2018, 03:30 PM
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The ride was great like colnago said. Temps were high 50's at the start with a high during the day of around 75. perfect weather. I downloaded 2 photos below. One at the start with 4,000 of my closest friends and one as I was desending towards the coast.
I did the ride with 2 other friends but we didn't try to stay together, we each rode at our own pace which was fine. I rode 25's and was happy I had switched to an 11-32 with a compact crank. My mid-60 year old body was glad to have a bail out gear on some of the steeper grades. Lots of good riders but many of them were much braver than me on the descents as they flew by going down steep, winding roads that had some pretty lousy surfaces.

The course was really well marked and there were officers at pretty much every intersection to stop traffic. They must have spend a lot of money on policing.

Apparently at least one person was helicoptered to a hospital and several others were taken by ambulance to local hospitals after crashes. Glad I didn't see any but it's not surprising to hear with so many riders and such technical descents.

I'm glad to have done the ride but I doubt I'll repeat it. 7 hours in the saddle just feels too long for me these days even with the great rest stops they had along the way. Everything was really well run except the finish area. Too much confusion there.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_3762.jpg (106.6 KB, 84 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_3764.jpg (68.5 KB, 84 views)
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Last edited by gasman; 10-09-2018 at 03:32 PM.
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Old 10-09-2018, 03:54 PM
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... One at the start with 4,000 of my closest friends ...
Were there really only 4k this year? Last time I did it they sold out at 7k, too many people for me.
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  #14  
Old 10-09-2018, 04:01 PM
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Were there really only 4k this year? Last time I did it they sold out at 7k, too many people for me.
I heard there were 4,000 this year but I don't actually know.

Yes, a bit too many people.
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Old 10-09-2018, 04:14 PM
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are the descents super technical?

i remember this is the ride that they, at least for some period of time strongly discouraged (or even banned?) carbon wheels since people were overcooking descents and crashing out.

it's troubling that even with that knowledge there are still ambulance requiring crashes happening on this ride, in my mind a grand fondo should be a casual ride, not a race where you employ do-or-die tactics. maybe just a matter of inexperienced cyclists riding beyond their ability?

either way, that would be a crappy way to end your day. worse if someone takes you out from their negligence.

this is definitely a ride i would like to do one of these days, with a small group or even solo though, not 4000
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