Amgen, who's going and where?

[Trek420]

Spazzdog and I plan to zip on up to Santa Rosa to catch a bit of stage one. :cool:

[Tokie]

We'll be at the Solvang Time Trial - Hoping to get close to behind the starting gate to see the riders as they get ready to roll! tokie

[BikeMomma]

One of the gals I ride/race with (Charlotte Hart) has been picked up by Vanderkitten this year, so I "might" go up to Santa Rosa to watch the ladies' race for Stage 1. She won't be racing, as the team, like the whole nation, is feeling the economic downturn, and they're only sending their "top dawgs" to the start line. But she'll be going to support her team, and it might be fun to tag along & hang out with another couple going up there.

I'm planning to make a family day of Stage 3 (San Jose to Modesto) -- drive the family to SJ, watch the start, maybe grab some eats, then drive to Mo-town for the finish, home for dinner in Atwater. :) Should be a fun day and an education for the rest of the Nutt clan.

Stage 4 on Wednesday starts in Merced -- my doorstep. As I work for the City, I've been heavily involved in organizing, especially regarding the volunteers. The rest of the committee knows, however, that at 9:30am when the teams start arriving, I turn into a fan and I'm no longer an employee (kindof the opposite of Cinderella) -- I'm outta there. After the start from Merced, a group of us plan to hop into cars to take the back roads to beat the race to Guadalupe Grade for the chance to be crazed mountain-top fans (we're threatening to run in bikinis with full bike tan blaring -- no devil suits or thongs, however). Those are our weekend hill ride stompin' grounds, after all.:p Our hope is to beat the race to Clovis to catch the finish, but we're still not sure we can. We may get stuck behind the race caravan, and then it would have to be a speed contest on beating the race to Clovis from a side road. A team/club member lives in Clovis, so it's there for dinner, then a late night drive home.

I have the day off for Stage 5 to watch the start in Visalia, but I may be sortof tired of it by then with all the driving & all, so I might just kick back at home -- or go for my own ride -- or go to work, depending on my workload next week.

So, at least two, possibly even four, days of TofC bliss in store.
~BikeMomma

[Aggie_Ama]

:( I wish there was a crying smilie! Last year this was the best birthday present and vacation of my life. But this year with the economy being bad our family couldn't give us money for tickets this year for Christmas and we COMPLETELY got that so the DVR is set for the show. I am so glad my dad gave us his old HDTV last year so I can see it in huge, glorious color. Hopefully VS will have it in HD, they are spotty on that. :cool:

Maybe next year we will go but dang can they top this field?

[Eden]

Hey BikeMomma - if you make it to the women's crit, look for the lone gal in teal and chartreuse and yell "Go Jadine" at her once or twice for me :D. I certainly won't be able to make it down there, but I have a teammate who had such a fun time last year (she was 8th!) that she's coming back.

[Aggie_Ama]

The women's crit was fun to watch last year! DH and I stumbled into some pizza shop in Santa Rosa, grabbed a slice and sat and watched the wiz by. We kind of did a fly by the seat of your pants vacation (meaning I was too lazy to plan and he doesn't) and had no clue it was happening.

[gnat23]

I'm driving the whole thing again, third year running!

So far, my only set plan is to be at Tunitas KOM. I had my heart set on Palomar until I saw all the snow (!) that was up there two days ago.

But, I'll be about; look for the chick with pink hair in a princess crown!

-- gnat! (this may be a miserable trip idea, standing out in the rain for a week... we'll see!)

[Karma007]

The idea of taking Amtrak to Davis just occured to me; Not sure if bf will spend valentine's day that way, but if I present it just right...

[Trek420]

Stage 1; any suggestions, advice tips for the best place to snap pictures? Spazzdog has never seen Sonoma County. Going to the TT sounds good but so does finding the perfect scenic spot. :D

[MM_QFC!]

Spazzdog and I plan to zip on up to Santa Rosa to catch a bit of stage one. :cool:


Hey Trek - I'm heading back there again (DGF too)...we'll be staying in SR area, but heading over to watch the Prologue (ITT) in Sacto; then following Stage 1 on Sun (in Davis before start, leap-frogging peloton to get to see one of the KOMs...then we might catch a little of the finish line festival stuff in SR - if not, we can meet up there anyway...
Mary

[Trek420]

I'm confused about the route, the finish in SR is on Saturday, right? If we wanted to head to the hills do you know where that will be?

Duh, there is probably a map. :rolleyes:

[maillotpois]

The Santa Rosa finish is Sunday.

[BikeMomma]

I'm driving the whole thing again, third year running!

Gnat, where are you staying for Stage 4 (Wednesday) and are you watching the start or driving straight to Clovis? If you're stuck for a place to crash in Merced and don't mind my kids (three) & dog (big tongue, dangerous tail), you're welcome to stay with us. We live in Atwater, 15 minute drive to the start line at City Hall/Merced. The only thing is, I'll be leaving the house pretty early to help check in our volunteers.

The early forecast is calling for a storm to come in Wednesday....which means possibly SNOW for Stage 4 if the levels are low enough, probably icy roads. Fun! :cool: :eek:

Eden - I'll be sure to look for Jadine. My yelling voice is lacking right now, since I've been sick, but we'll see. :D

~BikeMomma

[Trek420]

The Santa Rosa finish is Sunday.

Oh, silly me.

[MM_QFC!]

I'm confused about the route, the finish in SR is on Saturday, right? If we wanted to head to the hills do you know where that will be?

Duh, there is probably a map. :rolleyes:

I see that you already learned the Stage 1 is on Sunday (Saturday is the prologue/ITT all in dt Sacramento)...Sunday is Davis > SR. I have more detailed route info...can either PM or call me, ok?

We'll be flying into SR tomorrow...
Mary

[jobob]

If I can get Tuesday off, I might ride from home to Sunol and up Calaveras Rd and find a place to hang out there, perhaps either at the top of the false summit or, if I can get there in time, the top of the wall.

At least the bald eagle will have a good vantage point. :cool:

[gnat23]

Stage 1; any suggestions, advice tips for the best place to snap pictures? Spazzdog has never seen Sonoma County. Going to the TT sounds good but so does finding the perfect scenic spot. :D

If the weather is OK, there's a group I'm riding with from Vacaville up to the first KOM, the one on 128 just west of Winters. The other KOMs that day *might* be easier to drive closer to, but just know that they often close off the roads to traffic really early.
http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/docroot/media/2009/2009-stage1-map.pdf

KOMs are great, especially the ones later in the day, as the boys will be spread out, going slower, and have that gritty determination look on the face. Sprint points are typically not much, as the whole thing is over in 30 seconds. ITTs are fun, 'cause you can watch 'em one at a time. :D

and BikeMomma, thanks so much for the offer, but I'm ok on crashspace in Merced (I will take any restaurant recommendations for the evening tho)! Haven't decided where I'm gunna end up watching that day yet. And if this SNOW thing continues (they required chains on Palomar a few days ago!) then I may hunker down at a finish line coffee shop until the boys arrive. :D

-- gnat!

[bikerHen]

DH and I are going to be hanging out at the start of the stage in Merced. But we're heading north and the rider are going south so that's all we get to see. Still better than nothing. :D I have a question for you Amgen veterans. Would it be impossible to get around and drool at the teams if we had our bikes with us? Our hotel is a couple of miles from the start and I would rather ride my bike there than drive the car. bikerHen

[Aggie_Ama]

If I remember properly from last year the stages had bike valet. We went to two (Prologue and Santa Rosa) but I think they all had something?

[Trek420]

We'll be flying into SR tomorrow...
Mary

which means you're flying in today ;) I'm trying to find out if my Santa Rosa cyclist cousin Maury will be around on Sunday too. :)

This just in, he will be working at the exhibition in the city center. His employer, Lowepro donated $10k last year when the city fell short on sponsorship funding they helped put them over the top. So they get to display their wares. :D If you're at the fair and see the Lowepro booth stop by and thank them and ask "which one of you is Duck and Trek's cousin?"

[MM_QFC!]

which means you're flying in today ;) I'm trying to find out if my Santa Rosa cyclist cousin Maury will be around on Sunday too. :)

This just in, he will be working at the exhibition in the city center. His employer, Lowepro donated $10k last year when the city fell short on sponsorship funding they helped put them over the top. So they get to display their wares. :D If you're at the fair and see the Lowepro booth stop by and thank them and ask "which one of you is Duck and Trek's cousin?"


nope, since I posted that early today (Today, 07:48 AM ), I still mean that we're flying to SR tomorrow...
also, did you know our joint employer is a sponsor in Modesto?

[jobob]

I have a question for you Amgen veterans. Would it be impossible to get around and drool at the teams if we had our bikes with us? Our hotel is a couple of miles from the start and I would rather ride my bike there than drive the car. bikerHen

I bet BikeMomma would know the answer to that!

But the Amgen start / finishes I've been to (granted, not all that many) all have had secure bike parking. It's definitely the way to go.

[Trek420]

you know our joint employer is a sponsor in Modesto?

No, but that makes me feel sooooooo much better that we're not getting a profit share bonus this year. ;) doesn't it?

[Hill Slug]

I'll be in Sac at the Prologue. A friend scored us passes to the Amgen VIP tent...yippee....I've never been to a race before. I can't wait to see all the bikes and pros. Lots of folks have reported seeing some of the teams training out on the American River Bike Trail this week and out along the Sacramento River as well.

If you come to Sac, it might be raining, so dress appropriately. The weather guy just said it will rain tonight and tomorrow night. There looks to be a small gap which may coincide with race time, 1:30-4. And the temp is cold, at least cold for here......in the mid to upper 40's early and 50-ish in the afternoon. Had hail here earlier today as well.

The camera batteries are charging and the back pack and VIP pass are all next to the door ready to go out tomorrow. Almost forgot, if you're coming, arrive downtown early because parking will be a total pain. Someone posted the link for sacbee.com, the local paper, and it does have a lot of really good info on the route, restaurants, parking, and events.

See ya!
nanc

[BikeMomma]

I bet BikeMomma would know the answer to that!

But the Amgen start / finishes I've been to (granted, not all that many) all have had secure bike parking. It's definitely the way to go.
Why yes - yes I do! :p

Gnat and bH -- you asked about Merced Restaurants. Here is a link to a whole bunch of them, sorted by type: Merced Restaurants (http://www.tourofcalifornia-merced.com/Merced_Restaurants.cfm).

As for personal recommendations close to the racecourse, there's:
Steak & Seafood:
Fernando's, 510 W Main St
The Branding Iron (if you want a good steak), 640 W 16th St
Asian:
King's Asian Sushi Cuisine, 360 W Main St
Nagami Japanese Restaurant, 2650 W 16th St
Pine Cone Mongolian Grill (all you can eat and GOOD!), 1277 V St
Pasta:
DeAngelo's, 350 W Main St
There's a much better pasta place in North Merced...Strings, 731 E Yosemite Ave...will take some driving, but worth it.
Mex:
J & R Taco's, 437 W Main (very good, I eat there often)
Trevino's, 408 W Main St (on the local historic buildings list)
Indian:
Taste of Little India, 1052 W Main St (VERY good)
Sandwiches:
Subway and Quizno's are on the 400 block of W. Main St, and there is Limey's Lunchbox at 709 W. Main St.

...and to cap off a good meal - how could I not include it - is Starbucks at 425 W Main St. :p

Geez, can you tell I'm hungry??!

As for bike parking, I understand that they will be bringing in several rows of racks for the Fun Ride in connection with our Lifestyle Festival (yes, we're a start city but we're having one anyway). I believe the racks will be located at the corner of W. Main and N Streets. There are also a few racks in front of the Civic Center at W. 18th & N Sts. There are also some on the first level just inside the entrance of the Shannon Parcade parking structure at the corner of W. 18th & M (next to Civic Center).

Have fun you guys! :D
~BikeMomma

[Karma007]

We just figured it out- going to Sausalito on Monday for the start of stage 2!

[Trek420]

The women's crit was amazing, inspiring. The speeds, the concentration, the crashes :eek: here at the start one rider says "wait for me!" :p

[Aint Doody]

bikerHen, did you see anything? I hadn't followed this thread and didn't ask you when I saw you in Palm Springs.

[maillotpois]

Cold and wet on Howell Mtn, but we had a camper trailer and a rain tent, so it could have been worse. And... I got someone's Astana bottle out of the peloton - full of the power bar sun tea flavor drink. I'm going to just assume it was Lance's because he was on the front. :p

[Trek420]

Did they catch the guy who stole his bike? :mad:

Meanwhile back in Santa Rosa .... and they're off!!

[Eden]

I see my teammate in your photo Trek!

[Trek420]

I thought that might be her sneaking into the race at the last second ;)

[Eden]

naw - she was the only one of us there so she made sure she lined up early and got a good spot to start - no teammates to help her get to the front after the race started.... She's just about as far left as you can see (you can see her head and shoulders and one head just to her left)

[Bike Goddess]

It was bitter cold up at Moskowite corner (the store is open and restaurant being remodeled BTW). We had a nasty wind, but I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

I saw the picture of the guy who won the stage today- when they passed us (3 of them), they were about 15o-17 min ahead of the rest. We were sure that the peloton would catch them/him, but he really did a stellar job.

I too am sorry to hear about the stolen bikes. Hard to believe that someone from the support group wasn't around. I'd NEVER trust security, I don't care who they are!

No pics- too cold and wet to even try! :(:(:(

[Trek420]

naw - she was the only one of us there so she made sure she lined up early and got a good spot to start - no teammates to help her get to the front after the race started.... She's just about as far left as you can see (you can see her head and shoulders and one head just to her left)

Oh, that wasn't her hoisting the bike over the fence? I saw the green kit and .... must have been Webcor. :p I discovered that I have VS. :) I thought I didn't get it anymore with my cheap basic program package but it's there! :D Yesterdays coverage of the tour they could barely get a shot from the mens ride, and those they got the lens was covered with water.

But did they show the women's race? Nooooooo.

As we walked to the car we saw a fine Specialized race bike just lying on the dirt der side up. Stolen bike from the mens team? ;) We stopped to look around it then heard a woman's voice "don't worry, it's my bike" :p

"fantastic ride!" we said.

No team bus, no sonier (sp?), no post race chef for these gals. Ride in freezing rain, pee in a cup, change in the car :o

[Eden]

VS did end up showing some of the women's race while they were waiting for images from the men's. Seemed like they showed about 5 laps of the beginning then the last lap. Very hard to see much though, through the rain, and amazingly the video cameras aren't really fast enough to catch the riders clearly.... if you pause everyone is blurry...

You're right about the women not having the good life.... probably not the biggest pro teams, but the semi pro and amateur ones usually even have to pay their own way to the races and buy a lot of their own equipment.... and certainly no soigneur awaits, even more certainly no chef...

I know I saw Metromint, and I think that they are an amateur team from California. They probably all paid their own tickets to be there.

[Trek420]

I know I saw Metromint, and I think that they are an amateur team from California. They probably all paid their own tickets to be there.

Yes, but while the other riders rode the course for a half hour or so before the race to stay warm and find the spots they'd fall (downtown Santa Rosa has cobblestones on some corners :eek: not the most fun thing in the world on a critt in the rain I think) Metromint and Team Highroad I think spun out onto the course late.

So I think they at least had somewhere warm and dry to warm up?

[Eden]

Yes, but while the other riders rode the course for a half hour or so before the race to stay warm and find the spots they'd fall (downtown Santa Rosa has cobblestones on some corners :eek: not the most fun thing in the world on a critt in the rain I think) Metromint and Team Highroad I think spun out onto the course late.

So I think they at least had somewhere warm and dry to warm up?

When we drive to races we usually try to stake out a building with an awning and set our trainers up there.... My teammate flew down and probably could not pack a trainer....

Got to see J's war wounds... VS didn't get the whole story - they said there were not any crashes... apparently there were several. The wet conditions and the multitude of road turtles made it quite treacherous.

[Trek420]

Got to see J's war wounds... VS didn't get the whole story - they said there were not any crashes... apparently there were several. The wet conditions and the multitude of road turtles made it quite treacherous.

Spazzdog got shots of the crash on the first lap, 4th corner. She says about 4 riders went down. She got some incredible closeups of blurring wheels and legs on the turns in the rain too.

You might want to ask her about copies for your club. They are incredible shots.

Yesterday as the men went across the GG bridge VS called the Exploratorium the Legion of Honor/Palace of Fine Arts and they said that both the GG bridge and the misidentified Exploratorium were built in the recovery effort after the 06 quake. :eek: uh, that would be no :rolleyes:

The Exploratorium is one of or maybe the last remaining original building from the world fair that followed and was to celebrate building the Panama canal. Both were built after the 06 quake but one could say that everything built since then was a part of the recovery effort .... or prep for the next one :rolleyes:

[Karma007]

While none of my pictures are share worthy (this b/c I dropped my camera in a puddle, and there was a guy next to me, OBVIOUSLY not a fan there blocking my view to take his own pics with a camera larger than my head. ) I did spend yesterday AM in Sausailto. Despite the rain and cold, it was SO much fun!

[Bike Goddess]

I went to the Amgen site and found streaming video of the race and saw the whole climb by Levi and then the end in Santa Cruz. It was awesome!

Since it was a long climb, I really looked at his form and how he climbs. I figure take what I can get from the pros regarding bike handling skills. What really impressed me was how low he can get on his bike and how flat his back is when he is hunkered down.

More rain today and more wind. I hope they have some nice weather after Modesto. As Levi said it was like standing under a cold shower for 4 hours!!!!
And then Lance saying it was one of the worst days he'd ever had on the bike. And yet, we're still in a drought here. :(:(:(

[velogirl]

the unfortunate reality is that most pro women racers can't really make a living by racing their bikes. I know one local pro team who has a dual national champion among their ranks. the top salary for that team is $6,000 a year. can you even imagine? most of the pro women I know work at least a part-time job.

[Lifesgreat]

Just saw the thread today. I WENT :) to the Prologue and the end of Stage 3 in Modesto. Wanted to try to get to the start of 4, but couldn't pull it off. Having been at both starts and finishes, starts are the best places for pictures and autographs, that's for sure.

[BikeMomma]

My DH and I saw Stage 3 at three spots -- the start in San Jose, the Patterson Pass KOM (KOM #2), and Hwy 132 where the course turned off of Kasson Rd. just outside Modesto. We tried to beat them again to the finish, but we ran out of time.

Here are some pics:

A favorite of many of us, George Hincapie:
8778

Lancy-poo:
8779

The chase by Astana up Patterson Pass:
8780

George Hincapie and Michael Barry (Columbia-High Road), Patterson Pass:
8781

The breakaway still held at Hwy 132 & Kasson, but was gone by the time they reached Modesto:
8782

Hope you enjoy these -- my camera was cooperating. :) I also got a picture with Bob Stapleton, one of the founders of Columbia-High Road, around the mechanics' trailers in Modesto. He was gracious, and I was in awe -- he's done so much for cycling in such a sort time. I'll post Stage 4 pics in other post to this thread.
~BikeMomma

[BikeMomma]

For Stage 4, since as part of the organizing committee for the Merced City I had the lowdown on where Team Astana would be coming in, we had prime viewing of Lance's first appearance. He got out of his s.u.v., signed a few autographs, then hopped into the bus to meet with the rest of the team. We milled around for a while, saw Bob Roll and got a pic with Johan Bruyneel (AND the podium girls :p), then left town before the start in order to find a good spot on Guadalupe Grade, the site of KOM #1. From there, we broke alot of speed limits along the way (6 cars of us worth -- the CHP would have run out of ink....) to come out on Hwy 140 at Derra Rd. to see them again (forgot to grab my camera for that stop -- whoopsie! -- and no time to run back to the car). We tried to beat the breakaway to Clovis, but deja vu from Stage 3, we ran out of time and saw them at yet one more spot (not sure of the location).

Here are the pics that turned out -- my camera chose NOT to cooperate as well as the day before:

Lance signing autographs:
8787

A blurry half-Levi :o , with George Hincapie three wheels behind:
8783

I believe I heard Phil Liggett on Versus' coverage mention that there were citations issued to several riders during the day -- I think these were two of them -- somewhat illegal :rolleyes:. They should have been - drafting a team car on a climb??? Things must have been bad early for these two, as this was only KOM #1 and they still had a whole rollercoaster of KOM's to go:
8785

This was the only semi-good one from our stop outside Clovis. By then, the full chase was on by all the sprinters' teams and the break split time was coming down very rapidly. It was coming down so fast that CHP's estimated split time of around two minutes was probably more like just over one -- by the time the latest split times got to the CHP, they were no longer accurate. Tyler's face looked weary when the break passed by, and I knew they were doomed to be caught. Pretty exciting racing, at this point -- they were hauling arse when they passed by, I can attest to that!:
8786

Fun times -- looking forward to next year already. Word is, it may happen later in the year, but that's nowhere near confirmed.

Hope you like the pics! (maybe next year I'll have a better camera...)
~BikeMomma