Series Finale

 In Uncategorized

photos: Alan Armstrong   http://www.focusoncycling.com/

This Hopper was so easy the Webcor gang had to turn around and CLIMB Meyers Grade. Hey, there’s an idea.. Glorious, marvelous, torturous, rapturous, what a freakin’ day! Thanks a ton to the Risleys’s for making it possible for me to ride. Almost missed my first Hopper in 13 years, almost. Saturday saw a solid showing of 84 riders. I did my best in previous posts not to sugar-coat the ride. We always want people to know what they’re in for, even if they don’t really know what they’re in for. It’s difficult to describe a Hopper. Is it a ride, is it a race? Every ride there are people out for their first and those who have been with us all along. Some have been riding these roads for more than 20 years and others have been lured by the stories of the Nectar of Sonoma County Certified Ribbon Roads. Saturday did not disappoint. We we blessed by mild weather and a wind to our backs almost everyone finished the day with a smile; at least after slurping down a cold Coke or two.  Huge thanks once again to Jim Keene and NorCal. The winner of the Specialized frame was Jess Couch! It wouldn’t have been the same without Jim this year and almost everyone received cool gear from Santa Rosa’s finest bike shop. Arnot-Roberts provided several cases of wine as prizes and the magnums for Saturday’s fastest riders went to Roger Bartels and Lindsay Salbers. We all know it’s not about the “stuff” but it’s nice riding home with a new Camelbak, a jar of GU energy drink, a jar of Boozley’s pickles, a Bike Monkey jersey, a Capo jacket or any of the other fine gear donated by our sponsors.

…nearly a week has passed and I’m still too tired runnin’ around with the family and doin summer chores to be witty so I’ll just say so long for now and stay tuned for ride summaries and other tasty tidbits. If you won a bottle of wine it’s at NorCal so stop by before they drink it. The results are preliminary because of some confusion. Help me out if you see a mistake let me know.

Mig

Leave a Comment

Start typing and press Enter to search