On Saturday, September 10th, several club & team members gathered atop the first peak of The Geysers to man The Red Peloton staffed rest stop in the 2nd annual Tour de Fuzz. As noted in an earlier announcement, The Tour de Fuzz is but one of the growing number of cycling events taking place here in Santa Rosa and is a fundraiser for the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Program of Sonoma County.

Of the handful of routes on offer that day, the 100 miler was the only one to traverse The Geysers. If ever you’ve ridden The Geysers in their entirety you know what that means and if you haven’t well, you really should. The Geysers serve up some of the most difficult and desolate riding that Sonoma County cycling has to offer. Case in point: though temperatures were quite cool in the valley below, up top it was downright hot with temperatures having already reached the low 80′s by the time we arrived to volunteer at the rest stop at 8:30 in the a.m. Thankfully The Sonoma County Sherriff’s Department thought good to cool everyone off by sending one of their two helicopters up to the top to cool everyone off, if only for a moment. Thanks, guys.:)

Of the near 500 riders registered for The Tour de Fuzz, 140 were signed up for the 100 mile ride, with the first pulling through a little after 9:00 am followed by a steady stream of riders that trickled in until the last rider left the rest stop at 11:30 am. For those of us who regularly ride in local events it was a treat to be on the other side of the ride for a change, assisting winded riders as they crested the climb. Parking bikes, refilling water bottles, advising riders of conditions on the road ahead and a the occasional ill-timed joke were but a few of the amenities provided at The Red Peloton rest stop.

A few select riders were even treated to the support of a couple of roadside cycling fanatics in the form of Jonathan Lee & Nick McGowan, who ran alongside them wildly waving their tee-shirts and shouting in enthusiastic encouragement at the top of their lungs. We still haven’t heard tell whether or not this helped or hindered riders in their completion of The Tour de Fuzz, but of one thing we’re certain: a good time was had by one and all who volunteered their time in support of a great cause and we’re looking very much forward to doing so again at future such events.