Well I think this sucks - Lance related

[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.

[PinkBike]

you go girl! that is awesome, looking forward to pictures!

[kelownagirl]

Here's one of Lance's bike and hey - he has a Garmin 305 just like mine!! And I thought the 2nd photo was funny - his yellow jersey lying in a heap on the wet ground...

[Zen]

THE yellow jersey?

[kelownagirl]

I'm guessing probably not, but it sure looked funny. I'll bet his mom would have hollered at him.

[BikeMomma]

THE yellow jersey?

Looks like it could be a Livestrong windvest (or perhaps armwarmers??). It would make sense to see either of those two clothing items sitting in a heap next to his helmet (what looks like his helmet, anyway), .

There's no way he would wear THE yellow jersey to a Livestrong event. He'd very likely be in Livestrong garb.

Cool ride, though -- I definitely would have worked to raise the dough for the honor. Not sure if it would compare to my comparatively-cheap $100 donation to stand next to, touch, and ride with Eddy Merckx last year. THAT man is THE cycling god.

Sounds like you had a great Lance-chasing day, Kelownagirl. Way cool.

~BikeMomma

PS: MORE PICS PLEEEEZE!!!!

[kelownagirl]

Here's a link to webshots where I posted some of the pictures I got today.


http://good-times.webshots.com/slide...60802357zXJxAA

[PinkPilot]

Looks like it could be a Livestrong windvest (or perhaps armwarmers??). It would make sense to see either of those two clothing items sitting in a heap next to his helmet (what looks like his helmet, anyway), .

There's no way he would wear THE yellow jersey to a Livestrong event. He'd very likely be in Livestrong garb.

Folks, he has SEVEN of them! I bet Sheryl has even worn them.......

Okay, here's a seemingly sexist (but really only a newbie) question: Do guys actually wear armwarmers? Somehow, I thought they wouldn't wear something like that.

Love the pics, kelownagirl. Thank you!!

[Tri Girl]

WOW! I can't believe you guessed right on the route and got to meet Phil and see Lance close up. Turned out to be a great morning. Too cool!!! The pics are GREAT! Loved them- thanks!

I'm a Lance fan. He was an incredible cyclist. He was a pompus, arrogant a## before the cancer, and may have become one again- but it was so great seeing him ride in all those tours. Heck- I'm a fan of any cyclist who is talented (um... I guess that's the whole peloton at the TDF), but espcecially of the really gifted ones.
Axel is so cute- and so is Phil. How great that you were there. I loved how they were all spaced out going up the hill. You know Lance was like "ok slow pokes- climb the dang hill already" ).

Anywho- sounds like you had so much fun. Glad you went, and nice job scoping out the hills.

[uforgot]

Great slideshow! I enjoyed the closeup of Lance's bike. One more thing, after seeing your pics, I'm never ever gonna complain about the hills in Missouri!

[kelownagirl]

I have a great one minute video I took of Lance chatting while he got ready. One of the guys told him he's looking thinner than he was in Calgary (not sure how long ago that was). He said he's been doing a lot of running and lost some weight. He said he was too heavy when he did that marathon. (in Calgary? - I'm not sure). Anyway, I tried uploading the video to webshots but it's too big - not sure what the max is there. I don't know where else I could upload it to share. Maybe Youtube?

[OakLeaf]

Is that a triple??? LMAO, those must be some hills!

[withm]

did you notice how CLEAN Lance's bike was??? I want to hire his cleaner....

Got caught in the rain yesterday and had a real mess to clean today. Just finished and took it out just to have the joy of riding a nice clean bike. Sigh