Doreen's story: King Ridge Grasshopper

BaseCamp athlete Doreen Wagner shared her experience at the 2026 King Ridge Grasshopper bike ride in California.

this event fell right after I finished up winter BaseCamp. I started working with a 1-on-1 coach, and we decided that my training had prepped me well for the 65-mile course. Grasshopper is a series of gravel-ish races. I completed the first 2 on my gravel bike, but for this particular race, the race director suggested a road bike, so I rode my Athos with 28s.

The course was in Sonoma County. It rolled and meandered through redwoods and along the coast. It was not uncommon to see huge ocean waves crashing against cliff sides.

This particular race had timed climbs. Just because a road bike was recommended does not mean it was all paved! One of the timed climbs was on a smoothish (plenty of rocks, ruts, and roots) route with a substantial descent in the middle. Both of the timed sections were formidable: grades well in excess of 18% for an extended amount of time. I saw 20, 21% on my Garmin at times. I was focused on turning over the pedals and putting all my energy there to keep my mind from wandering. I am happy to report I made all the climbs without stopping! I ended up 7th in the women's open category. The age gap between me and anyone ahead of me was a minimum of 18 years, some were closer to 30 years younger (my race age is 56). I felt very good about that.

During the BaseCamp winter program, I also went through the Mental Performance Boot Camp. One gal shared that when she went to races, she would see the other "strong" women, the women she perceived were faster or "better" than her. I related to what she was saying. I see them, too; I admire them and aspire to be like them. But what I told that gal was, "There are woman that look at you that way!" Often we don't see that. We trudge along, trying our best, thinking everyone is better than we are. But that isn't true. I am not sure why I tend to go down that path; I think, I bet I am at the back of the pack, my times are the slowest...... At this event, at the top of the hardest climb (the one hitting 20% at times) a gentleman said he fixed on me ahead of him as motivation; he said, "You kept going, and it was inspiring, so I focused on you to the top!!!!!!!" See, you never know! For me, this is what racing is about. Coming together and doing our best, drawing from each other's strengths. Finding motivation in others' success, finding more self confidence in our own success. Seeing and confirming that we have done the work, deserve to be there, and have even more to offer. This is my recon year for these races. I plan to return with notes for improvement.

The next race is MTB!!!!! I am looking forward to that.