Thousands ride in Levi’s GranFondo in west Sonoma County

A sea of cyclists took to the scenic, winding roads of west Sonoma County Saturday morning for the seventh annual Levi’s GranFondo charity ride.

Led by cycling luminaries including retired pro cyclist Levi Leipheimer and German cycling legend Jan Ullrich, just over 6,000 riders from all over the world are taking part in this year’s ride.

“That guy’s a rock star, and I get to ride with him!” Matthew Mendonsa, a 49-year-old Santa Rosa resident said of Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner, as they waited on their sleek road bikes for the 8 a.m. start on Stony Point Road. “It’s like getting to play basketball with Michael Jordon.”

As they passed the start line, riders, enthusiastically prompted by Leipheimer’s wife Odessa Gunn, shouted out their hometowns, revealing the event’s tremendous reach. In addition to numerous Bay Area cities, participants hailed from Arcata, San Diego, Seattle, West Virgina, New York, New Zealand and Italy.

It took more than 20 minutes for cyclists in the challenging but non-competitive ride - it’s a timed ride, not a race - to cross the start line. The slow-motion start soon turns into an exhilarating thrill ride for many riders who attack the hilly terrain and speed down steep, technically challenging routes like Cazadero’s King Ridge Road.

Sacramento residents Bob and Sharon Ruffner planned to take a leisurely pace on their tandem bike. It was their second year riding the Medio, the 62-mile version of the event. The ride will take them out through Occidental, Monte Rio, Duncans Mills, down the coast to just north of Bodega Bay, where they’ll trudge up the super-steep Coleman Valley Road for the ride home.

“The scenery, the other riders, and the support on this ride are just unbeatable,” Bob Ruffner, who said he expected it to take them about 5 hours.

The pair passed up the 102-mile Gran version, which would have taken them north to Cazadero and down the treacherous King Ridge Road, and would have meant several more grueling hours in the saddle.

“That’s just not fun!” Sharon Ruffner said. “I want to do something fun for the day.”

Organizers capped participation at 6,000 this year hoping to make the event safer and more enjoyable for riders, said Carlos Perez, owner of Bike Monkey, the ride’s producer. Previous years have seen as many as 7,500 riders, making it one of the largest rides of its kind in the nation.

The event is expected to raise more than $200,000 for various charities, including raised $60,000 for survivors of the Valley fire, he said.

This year’s riders were able to choose from 10 different routes through the west county. The shortest is 32 miles; the longest and newest is 117 miles, an exclusive course called Panzer than adds 15 miles and about 2,00 extra feet of climbing, Perez said.

Participation in that route was capped at 250.

In preparation for the event, crews from Ghilotti Brothers construction company repaired potholes all along the 130-plus miles of roads the riders will use, Perez said.

“That’s going to save people from going to the hospital,” he said.

By noon there had been several calls for medical aid due to bicycle accidents, but it was not immediately clear whether any of them were serious. One call was for a rider who crashed on King Ridge Road and reportedly had a broken collar bone.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.