Hopper 1

Katrina woke me up with �Good morning mud bunny!� and Lindsay emailed to say �Im there West Co., WEST SIDE CONNECTION, FOO! U HURD!� This was the booty call we had all been waiting for! So we had a krew: Katrina, Sarah P., Mary B., Lindsay, Allison, Me. (Plus, while we were getting ready to roll, Chan-ditty and Tanya were just about finishing up at Snelling Road Race! 4th place and 8th place respectively in their first ever road race! Woot! Woot!**)

And can you believe it? Mary-freakin-McConneloug (ranked 7th in the WORLD right now) showing up? Wow, the Grasshopper never ceases to amaze!

I was in the mood to associate with my pain today. I wasn�t going to be satisfied until I�d pummeled myself, so I really planned on suffering.

After one of the sketchiest descents of the Boho EVER, it was easy living** until Duncan�s Grade. I am proud to report that I saved more than a few tight and shinies** from missing the indistinct turn onto Cherry Street. This is my job at the Old Caz Grasshopper.

I found friendly wheels along the way: Allison, Charles Beck, Dave Flannery�And so I only had to ride alone on Willow Creek. This was, of course the toughest part of the day, but like I said, I woke up in the mood to suffer, so I attacked myself again and again and passed at least 5 people on the climb.

Well, yeah, that�s pretty much it�the rest was a drag race to the finish, rolling the big cookie.

Kim, you�re a trooper, sitting out there braving the elements so we can get our free jollies! Your maps are fabulous, its just that people don�t think they need to read them!

Here is my plug: The Specialized S-Works is the most bomber bike in the universe. I did this race with no special modifications from my usual roadie set-up and the bike rocked. I guess it might not be so bomber if I crashed it in a crit or something since its made of plastic, but if you can keep it upright its just about the best thing on 2 wheels.

I can�t wait for Marshall Wall!

-Clairebell

**coined by Katrina and used without permission.

Ol Caz

Welp, another year gone by, another Grasshopper under my chamois. On the way up to the start, I was rockin the Pixies "Gouge Away", feeling pretty rugged. That feeling I was able to maintain all the way to the decent down to the creek where the song playing in my head was no longer a Pixie it was "How Deep Is Your Love (Rut), by the Bee Gees. Thats my insight about this thing, if you think you are a Pixie, you might just be a Bee Gee after all.... HK

Sarahs 1st Grasshopper!

yyeeheeewwww, I feel like my body is in shock but I did it, my inaugural grasshopper. I have to say it was one of the hardest rides I have done and afterward I felt my quads tightening similar to my tummy during labor pains. I started down Boho highway ultra conservative as it was a bit sketchy, and I narrowly missed the crash. My goal was to finish and ride strong. I felt strong, passing people until I lost the chase group I was with on 116 after leaving Cazadero. I just couldnt hang. So riding solo to the coast was a bit rough but I was motivated to move on and get back on the dirt. I have never done Willow creek so I was actually looking forward to that part of the ride. I felt strong on the climb up, passing 3 or 4 folks and getting passed by a few as well. It was the final push out of Willow Creek before the pavement started where my quads started tightening and my engine was failing. A solo hiker and his little girl motivated me shouting "go norcal", I put my head down and finished the climb and had to keep spinning to keep my sorry out of shape legs from cramping. All in all it was a great training ride for me and a killer experience, I really had fun out there, I actually enjoyed the rain and mud and toward the end, the delirium kept the voices in my head interesting. I met some super cool folks -wish we could have a party after to meet up again. However, we were all freezing and ready to get in a warm restaurant with a fat carne asada burrito and a beer- at least I was anyway.

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