Well I think this sucks - Lance related

[kelownagirl]

From this link http://www.kelownacapnews.com/

Tour with famed cyclist private

By Adrian Nieoczym
Staff reporter

Sep 21 2007

Lance Armstrong is coming to Kelowna on Saturday, but only donors with deep pockets will be allowed to see him.

He’s coming as part of the B.C. Cancer Foundation’s Tour of Courage to raise money for cancer research.

“It’s a private event. Donors have paid a lot of money to ride with him,” said the MLA for Kelowna-Mission, Sindi Hawkins, who is one of the key organizers responsible for bringing Armstrong to Kelowna.

“His public appearance is in Vancouver.”

The donors, who Hawkins refused to name, have pledged between $21,000 and $25,000 each to ride on a private bicycle tour with Armstrong and his celebrity guests.

“It will be a very nice day of riding through the orchards and vineyards of Kelowna,” said Hawkins.

The public event in Vancouver is on Sunday. There, anyone who pledges $1,000 will get to ride alongside Armstrong and his entourage.

So far between 350 and 400 people have signed up, said Hawkins, and there is still room for more.

While the public will have an opportunity to greet Armstrong in Vancouver and he will do media interviews there, the same is not true in Kelowna.

Even photographers will be limited to taking shots of Armstrong leading a peleton from the side of the road.

The 80-kilometre route in Kelowna is being kept a closely guarded secret.

However, it is known that the ride will start at 10 a.m. on Chute Lake Road on Kelowna Mountain.

Hawkins said getting Armstrong to Kelowna is a big coup.

“He could be anywhere in the world, but he chose to come here,” she said.

When Hawkins was battling leukemia 3 1/2 years ago, she found inspiration from Armstrong’s book, she said.

“I started thinking about living instead of dying.”

Armstrong beat cancer before becoming a seven-time Tour de France Champion.

Later on, “I started dreaming about, can I bring the biggest cancer advocate in the world to Kelowna,” said Hawkins.

And so Hawkins set to work getting Armstrong to stop in Kelowna for a fundraiser. It was last December when she got the good news he was coming.

“I’m still pinching myself,” she said. She added that almost $1 million will be raised for cancer research over this weekend.

“Hopefully people won’t be too disappointed,” she said about the lack of opportunity for Armstrong fans in Kelowna to greet their hero.

“For people who wanted to catch a glimpse of him in Kelowna, I say just wait, we hope to bring him back next year.”

Armstrong’s celebrity guests for Saturday’s ride include Phil Liggett, a cycling commentator who is known as the voice of the Tour de France, Discovery Cycling Team director Johan Bruyneel, who was the strategist behind Armstrong’s Tour de France victories, Armstrong’s personal coach Chris Carmichael, and past Winter Olympics gold medalist in snowboarding for Canada, Ross Rebagliati.

anieoczym@kelownacapnews.com

[kelownagirl]

And did you catch the list of celebrities who are riding with him? Chris Carmichael, Phil Liggett, Discovery Cycling Team director Johan Bruyneel, and past Winter Olympics gold medalist in snowboarding for Canada, Ross Rebagliati.

Well I am going to head over there at 10 am tomorrow since it's only a couple miles away. I am tempted to follow them in my car just because it p's me off that everything so secret for the "private" donors.

[teigyr]

I have to say I don't like (and didn't like) him whatsoever. He's a brilliant cyclist but he didn't have desirable traits before the cancer, he was humbled during and right after, and he fell right back in to how we was before during the latter tours.

Granted the money goes for cancer charity but...I think his motives go way beyond that. His actions show that he likes the status, the women, and he likes making contacts that will further his agenda. I think his agenda goes beyond the cancer fund....I'd say politics but there might be too much scrutiny on him if he goes that route. I bet there is a LOT of dirt to dig up.

then again, don't get me started Consider yourself fortunate. Maybe Floyd will be up there some time, HE is very very nice.

[Eden]

I have to say I would never want to be a celebrity.... I can understand when they want some privacy, it must be difficult to be under the public microscope where ever you go. I can respect that there may be times when a he might want to limit the amount of attention that he is recieving.

[kelownagirl]

Eden, I would agree with you for his private life, but this is a fund raising event. What really bugs me is that they made a big deal about it when it was first announced and they had a website where you could, theoretically, sign up, but it was already full from the first day. It was actually by invitation only. I think you had to lay down something like $2000-5000 up front, and then commit to raising another $5000. OK maybe only rich guys can do that, but I think there could be some "real" people who actually ride bikes, who might be motivated enough to be able to fund raise so they could participate. And now, after all the hype, they aren't even letting anyone know about the route so they can at least stand on the sidelines and watch them go by. I have a feeling they'll end up with an awful lot of people up at the Kelowna Mountain resort at 10am tomorrow. I'll even hazard a guess that they'll leave early just to avoid it. I think if you're going to have a public announcement about a celebrity, then keep it public.

[teigyr]

Kelownagirl - I've seen a lot of celebrities through my job. It's funny because the ones that get so upset about their "privacy" are the ones that make SUCH a huge deal about their comings and goings. They are the ones with the entourage, the PR person who shows up first to say what the rules are, etc. The others? Low key. Normal people and very gracious when people say hello. I know that it can be stressful but being a celebrity does pay their bills.

[KnottedYet]

I was under the impression this was S.O.P. for Lance's rides: Huge bucks gets you a semi-private ride, not so huge bucks gets you close during a big group ride the next day. (for the not so $$ there is a crew that makes you drop back after your turn riding near Lance. My old boss didn't get to talk to him, but did get to ride near him before being told to drop back and let someone else up)

[kelownagirl]

So what do you think might happen if it turned out I just happened to be riding a similar route tomorrow? Would they make me ride somewhere else? I mean, if the Premier is riding the route, they couldn't be going all that fast. I'm pretty sure I could beat his (the premier's) a$$ up any of those South Kelowna hills....

[Zen]

Only one way to find out...

[Chile Pepper]

Is that $25k Canadian or US dollars? Either way, it's more than I make in a year. (Ah the joys of freelancing--lots of flex time, not so much money, no benefits. Thank goodness my husband has a real job.) I cannot imagine paying money to get "near" someone for a few minutes. Maybe when I was in junior high school (Shawn Cassidy, baby)--but aren't we all adults now?

[snapdragen]

Semi related story, from another invisible internet friend up there:

"Once a year my best client has a weekend golf tourney at one of the ski hills. This is the one day a year I play golf.

So I leave the house this morning for the 3 hour drive up to the hill, about 2 hours in my wife calls me, sounded pretty pleased with herself. It soon became clear why.

She was out walking the dog on what is called the Greenway, a rough trail alongside the river, she passes a couple going the other way, she stops looks back at them and says "Mr. Liggett?"

He in turn looks at her and says "why yes, good morning"

He and his wife were out for a walk with binocs and cameras, they are serious bird fanciers.

So my wife spends the morning walking with Phil Liggett and his wife, Phil playing with my dog and I'm in a car going the other way!

She says they are a lovely, pleasant couple. On the plus side, he told her to say hello to me and maybe he would see me next trip!"

Plus he said it rained the whole time he was at the golf tourney.

[kelownagirl]

So I gather they live in Kelowna? I love the Greenway...

I wouldn't know Phil Liggett if I saw him...

[kelownagirl]

Is that $25k Canadian or US dollars? Either way, it's more than I make in a year. (Ah the joys of freelancing--lots of flex time, not so much money, no benefits. Thank goodness my husband has a real job.) I cannot imagine paying money to get "near" someone for a few minutes. Maybe when I was in junior high school (Shawn Cassidy, baby)--but aren't we all adults now?

$25000 either way these days.

Actually, I think that amount was an overstatement. When the online registration first came out, I read it and although I can't remember exactly how much it was, you had put down something $2500 or so right off the bat, and then commit to raising another $5000 or so. Again, I can't remember the exact amounts but it wouldn't have added up to $25000.

[kelownagirl]

Only one way to find out...

Hee hee, so true. I wish you were here Zen. Sad to say, I do not have the chutzpah (sp?) to follow through. That, and my hip is still killing me so I can't really ride anyway... Dh was up to go for a little ride today if I'd wanted to.

[kelownagirl]

Well I'm back and it actually turned out great. We arrived about a half hour early and just walked right into the organizational area - no problem - got to check out all the bikes too. We got to chat with Phil Liggett and get a photo of him, plus a great shot of his bike. Even got a picture of his wife warming up. We staked out a good spot by the fence where we thought Lance would be arriving and we were right on. All the media guys had to stand behind us to get their photos and we were about 3 feet away from Lance while he got his bike and gear organized. It was interesting listening to him chat with the guys helping him.

Once they left, we drove home and ended up having to follow them a bit because they were going right into our subdivision. We realized they were going to fly down Gordon hill (which is that climb at the end of every ride that I complain about all the time), so we cut through a different way and got a picture of them flying past. We knew they were going into South Kelowna and we wanted one shot of them climbing so we guessed which road they'd be coming up, found a good hill, and sat and waited for a couple minutes. Sure enough, they came climbing past us and we got another good shot of Lance leading and the rich guys who can't really ride, struggling at the back. Several people were being pushed on their backs up the hill (still riding). To give them credit, most of the riders looked fit and looked like they actually cycling. They certainly had the gear, and most had the legs.


I have lots of pictures and I'll put them up on webshots when I have a chance in case anyone wants to see them. It was an interesting morning.