Levi’s Gran Fondo Santa Rosa, California October 1, 2011

Matt D., Sam, Curtis, Kyle, Julian and Kennedy getting ready for the fondo

We arrived on Friday afternoon and had a special meet-and-greet with Levi Leipheimer (thanks to Tobin) and the kids were able to get a photo with him and some other goodies he signed.  Then we wanted to let them get the wiggles out and took them for a short ride in Santa Rosa. Wherever we went, people pointed and wanted their photos taken with the kids, I guess because there were so many of them in the same uniform!  We had dinner downtown at a great Italian place (thanks to Mark F).  With kids and parents we had 18+ people.  After dinner, we let the kids run outside to again get the wiggles out before heading to the hotel for the night.  

Director Kristen with the gang next to the Radio Shack bus

 Saturday morning we all met and rode to the event together. Again, people were pointing and snapping photos.  The older boys chose the 65 mile route and the younger group rode the 32 mile route.  I am so proud of these kids, for some it was the longest ride and the most hills they had even ridden, they were troopers!  After the ride, we hung out and waited for Levi to finish.  While waiting, we ran into Brooke Miller who was kind enough to talk to the juniors, sign autographs and take some photos.  Then, we ran into Freddie Rodriguez who also talked to them, took photos and signed autographs.  Kennedy was able to meet and have her picture taken with Dr. McDreamy!  Mainly the kids were able to hang out and have fun with each other outside of racing.

 The kids had a great time and they were a joy to take. We also ran into a lot of other DBCRT members so it felt like home!  If you would like to ride with us next year, the date is Sept 29, 2012!