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16 January 2011

Levi's GranFondo

Registration for the King Ridge GranFondo begins tomorrow 
Levi's GranFondo has grown into what could be the most successful GranFondo's in the USA. On October 1, 2011, 7,500 riders will ride one of the three possible routes from Santa Rosa, California. The 103-mile GranFondo route climbs over Grand Ridge, out to the Pacific coastline, and back.  

Update 10/03/11:
January 17th, 2011: Registration opens at 9:00 AM Pacific Time!
January 18th, 2011: Registration 12:00PM (PST)
September 29th, 2011: Festa del Fondo gala fundraising dinner
October 1st, 2011: Levi’s GranFondo!
The Granfondo sold out quickly last year. Registration was overwhelmed on the first intended day of January 17th, at 9:00am. The server crashed within 2 minutes as they struggled for the rest of the day to get it back up and going.  http://www.levisgranfondo.com/p/registration/

Registration crashed on January 17th, 2011. 
New Registration date of January 18th, 12:00pm (PST)
Registration was down from 9:00am-1:30pm(PST) on January 17th. Open 1:30-1:45pm, then down again at 1:45pm. Registration tried to re-open at 4:00pm(PST), then they gave up and issued heart felt appologies. They feel really bad about that. Now registration is set to reopen on January 18th an 12:00 (PST). So if you are looking for registration and event information for the 2011 Levi's Gran Fondo in California? ..... click here for more information (but don't open up 12 browsers and crash the thing again)  01/18/11 at noon - go to the official website Levi's GranFondo 


A description of the ride from the official Levi's Granfondo website: "Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo is a challenging, long distance, mass-participation cycling event that welcomes professional, amateur, and recreational cyclists of all abilities. While not strictly competitive, our rides are timed to ensure cyclists complete the entire course and have some way to gauge their performance along the route."
Route maps may be viewed here:  http://www.levisgranfondo.com/p/course/
Route Options for 2011 King Ridge GranFondo:
  • Gran Route: 103 Miles, 9,000 feet, 8 rest stops $135
  • Medio Route: 65 Miles, 3,500 feet, 4 rest stops $115
  • Piccolo Route: 32 Miles, 1,000 feet, 1 rest stop $75
Read more information from past participants:
Cycling King Ridge & Meyers Grade, Sonoma - Granfondo Preview by Steephill.TV
A rider's view of Levi's GranFondo By Bob Norberg
Levi’s GranFondo 2010 Ride Video by Fat Cyclist
LEVI'S GRAN FONDO: FOUR HOURS OF BLISS IN SANTA ROSA (WITH SOME SUFFERING THROWN IN) by Road Bike Action Magazine

Register soon, start planning your trip and arrange hotel reservations as soon as possible. I read in one of the post-ride blogs from last year, that two-thirds of riders in this event come from outside of California. Hotels are expensive in Santa Rosa, California, because it is Sonoma County (meaning it is close to the wine country of Napa Valley). Right now, the Hyatt does not have it's deals up for the GranFondo as it did last year, not sure if they will.  If you show up a few days early for this ride, the website offers suggestions for other rides in the Santa Rosa area. If you stay for a few days after the ride, you will definitely want to go here to Napa Valley Vineyards or to Sonoma Printable Winery Map  or out to Mendocino and the Russian River Valley Wineries (I love their wines, yummy reds!).

Map of Sonoma County
Map of Levi's GranFondo 103-mile route