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We’re keeping this one short and sweet, because frankly, you’ve waited long enough. We’re pleased to announce that we’ve combined your photos with your results, creating a veritable one-stop shop for your ride time and the collection of pixels capturing you doing it. No searching, no browsing; your time is next to your name which is next to your link to photos of you. It’s all at www.levisgranfondo.com– just click on the “results and photos” link on you’ll find it waiting for you instead of the other way around. We thank you for your patience through what must have appeared to be a simple process. Trust us, it was not, (see additional information here) but we went to time and expense to provide these and you all worked …

Like sugarplums, you people dance through our heads. Every year, we put on a bold face. Chests are jutted outwards, shoulders are rolled back, upper lips are stiffened, all in service of projecting confidence as we convene our little 7.5 kilo-person bike ride. Truth be told, we’re never sure of how this thing is going to go until the sun has set on event day and even then, we’re not positive. But you all never disappoint. You bring a freshness and vitality to this ride like no other. You make it special; you make it feel new. Not to get all Mariah Carey up in here, but you all help us pull this thing off in ways we’re not sure we can effectively communicate. For this, we’re extremely …

[ open in iTunes ] This is getting to be a tradition. A good one, at that. All the preparation, all the messages, the meetings, the late nights, the training rides, the bike upgrades, the travel, the time snuck away from work: it’s a lot of chatter and a lot of hustle for all of us. Every year though, right about this time, the reality of it sinks in a bit and we realize that, in two short days, a great mass of humanity is all at once going to throw their legs over their top tube, clip in (or not), and smile as the morning sun chases them westward. We all work on a lot of details; it’s nice to be confronted with something so big, yet …

[ open in iTunes ] There are a few descents around here of a certain steepness. They’re private roads, as no right thinking engineer would ever build such a thing for public consumption. They’re so steep that, despite all the braking and adjustments to your center of gravity, you can’t slow down. If you continue to try, you’ll inevitably cartwheel over your handlebars in slow motion, immediately before gravity reclaims you and sends you tumbling at considerable speed down the incline. The only way to pull off these descents is to let go of the brakes, allow the momentum to build, and ride it out. Surrender absolute control, assume success, and let a little faith carry you through; the other option is failure. Every time one doesn’t fight …

[ open in iTunes ] All this bluster, all this bravado. So much talk of inevitability, of critical mass, of undeniable legions of grinning, spinning humans, all shoulder to shoulder and moving like a stroke of paint across the land. Long have we extolled the marvels of this event, its epic emotion, its grand scope. This kind of flowery purple prose comes off a bit funny when you’re on your 7th coffee, your dirty laundry is draped over your drop bars, Visine is considered breakfast, and every calorie you’ve consumed for the past week has left a trail of foil and greasy cardboard across your kitchen counter. We’re about 10 days out. It’s crunch time, baby. Put up the kid gloves and let’s get some dirt under those …

[ open in iTunes ] Aircraft carriers. The Hadron Collider. Burt Reynold’s mustache: all big, all undeniable, all gargantuan in their ambition. Once loosed, there is little one can do to slow them down. You see where we’re going with this, yes? In the last week, we have achieved a critical mass and we likely will not be stopped until our collective enthusiasm uncoils across the tarmac here in the County Sonoma. Hard to imagine that all this chaos knocking around will, in exactly one month, manifest itself in a ribbon of humanity, spinning by the thousands towards lonesome ridges and a shimmering sea. Somebody should take a picture. All The News That’s Fit To Print Shipping Your Bike, Renting Someone Else’s–How To Handle With Care Camelbak–Hydration Hosts …

[ open in iTunes ] The fat is falling to the floor here at Bike Monkey HQ. A clarity is settling into our eyes and our chests are puffing themselves up considerably. We’re in full-press Fondo mode and have focused our gaze with great precision on the task ahead. No more races to put on, no more magazine issues to produce; there’s nothing that can stop us from pouring all our energies into creating the best day on the bike any of you have ev– Sorry. Someone came by the office with a box of puppies. And then we went for a ride. And some pizza. And a few beers. Followed by a nap. Anyway, we’re enjoying the bizarre comfort that comes from having one single intimidating purpose. …

Life in Sonoma County can be somewhat insular. Sure, we’ve heard of things like “San Francisco,”  “Hooters Restaurants,” and “debt ceilings.” We’ve even seen pictures of them on the internet, but, like most people, we usually are content to stay close to home, enjoying the sea breezes, taking daily hot stone massages, and quaffing the Cabernet that we all have piped into our faucets. It’s a simple, country life, but we’re proud of it. For those of you beyond our borders, consider this newsletter a beacon of hope. Let the GranFondo represent the end to a summer of toil and drudgery; may these missives become wayfinding respites along the way, a light unto a path leading to a fine day out, one punctuated with soaring views, blissful exertion, …

Don’t have time to read all this? Listen to the Podcast. See that big scary bear in the header? Get used to that fiery-eyed ursine, because you and he are about to be spending a lot more time together. We’re 11 weeks out from this little bike party we’re throwing on October 1 and we’ve got a lot to tell you about how to make the most of our time together. For those of you new to this dance, that means that you’ll be getting notes from us detailing all the answers for questions you haven’t yet thought to ask, delivered to your inbox, artfully worded, and sprinkled with humor. For those of you who aren’t new, stop grimacing and rolling your eyes. They weren’t that bad. Besides, …

Overheard at Milan-San Remo and translated from the original Italian: “Of course I didn’t let him buy me a drink. Did you see how wide his lapels were? And those pleated slacks? Horrible.” A lot of people thumb their nose at fashion. These folks like to think that they’re above evaluating people based on appearance and caring about something as silly as clothes. Usually people who do this are wearing stained sweatpants as they scratch at an unspecified rash creeping across their stomach. Our point? There’s nothing wrong with coming off sharp. And on October 1, 2011, you’ll want to be the envy of every rider on earth. We can help. We’ve rolled out a whole new kit this year: jersey, shorts, arm warmers, socks, caps, and helmets. …