Tour of CA

[jobob]

The prologue was a blast!!!

BikerZ, aka_kim, LeeBob and I rode from our house in Union City across the Dumbarton Bridge and thru lovely East Palo to Palo Alto to watch the ToC prologue.

We parked our bikes at the secure parking area and moseyed around a bit, checking out the vans & busses of the various teams and occasionally spotting a cycling star. Some may call it stalking. (At least, that's what the judge who issued my restraining order called it ...)

After lots of stalking, er, sightseeing, we got some lunch at a cafe (conveniently situated where the Astana bus was parked). After lunch we stationed ourselves behind the start ramp area where we were able to see the racers up close & personal. BikerZ brought her camera & took some amazing pics - she'll post them at some point, once Kim and I help her with ID'ing the racers and coming up with witty captions.

It was unbelievably cool to see Mario Cippolini. He was very tanned and very fit. He had an entourage escorting him to the start.

I am happy to say I did not make too much of an azz of myself when Bobby J and Jens showed up. Those pesky restraining orders ...

After Levi took off we headed up University Ave & Palm Drive to catch the awards presentation and to see what was left of the Expo.

Tyler Hamilton was at the Rock Racing booth at the expo signing autographs. I happened to be wearing the Amici Veloci buff that Floyd Landis had autographed, and for a moment I considered getting Tyler's autograph on it as well - it would then become my "Buff of Disgraced Cyclists". Yeah, yeah, tacky. The line was fairly long and we had to get going, but it was a funny thought ne'rtheless.

Stay tuned, more will be revealed.

[jobob]

Had to steal (er, share) this photo off of bikeforums - the crazy guy in the background is taxi777 (Pete), one of the guys I've met from the NorCal regional forum, paying homage to the cycling gods Phil, Paul and Bobke.



Pete's a hoot.


Lots of other great photos are showing up on this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=389150

[redrhodie]

I'm sooooo jealous. I want to come next year. Does it always start in Palo Alto? I'm in a gallery on University Ave, so it could be a business trip .

[Running Mommy]

we are DYING out here! We want to be in Santa Rosa in such a bad way!!
Alas I'm here in the shop watching the dvd of last years race... sigh...

[Zen]

WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING!
is on Versus all evening, then bull riding, then cycling

[Running Mommy]

Nice....

I'm watching live streaming video of the race right now. Chipollini is chatting like he's on a club ride! lol

[bikerz]

Here they are - on Flickr - I think this guest pass will work!
BikerZ's prologue photos

(thanks to Jo for help with the IDs! Clearly, I am a total newbie stalker!)

(And, if anyone has any IDs for anyone, feel free to leave a comment and I'll update the photo name,)

And Jo insisted I post this one of George Hincapie as a public service!

[Aggie_Ama]

The prologue was a blast!!!

BikerZ, aka_kim, LeeBob and I rode from our house in Union City across the Dumbarton Bridge and thru lovely East Palo to Palo Alto to watch the ToC prologue.

I am pretty sure it was you guys I saw at the expo. I was in the back with DH and he said "Don't you have that red jersey?" Alas, by the time we made it down the row you had all vanished.

[jobob]

Yes, the AV jerseys give us magical teleportation powers

We were in a bit of a hurry at the expo - we had to walk back to the start to pick up our bikes from the bike lot, and a 45 minute ride back to my house, and we were running out of daylight.

Bummer we missed you, Amma! I was hoping you'd see us in the crowd in our AV stuff. Oh well.

[Brandy]

Anyone going to the finish in Santa Clarita today?

I'll be there with four kids in tow.

[aly]

Although I've been sick as a dog lately, I think I want to try to make it out for the final stage tomorrow. I think we're going to head into the canyons to try to watch some climbing. Do you think this would be better than braving the crowds for the finish? Are there generally booths and such at the end? How crowded do you think it'll be?

I'm excited!!

[Brandy]

The finish is always fun because you can see the team cars, check out the bikes, and possibly the guys, afterward!

[BikeMomma]

Well, because of the nasty weather forecast for Wednesday's Stage 3, our group scrapped plans to ride up Del Puerto Canyon to watch the race from one of the three KOM's before Hamilton. We decided instead to drive to Modesto for the start, and from there, hightail it over to San Jose to watch the finish. Worked out perfect.

At SJ, we situated ourselves by the teams buses to catch closer glimpses of them as they came in. It was there that I saw Chris Horner giving an interview to VeloNews, got a couple pics, and then grabbed my pen and newly-acquired Chris Horner poster for an autograph. Great score there -- it will be framed and hung at the local LBS (Kevin's Bikes/Merced, CA) with all the other signed pics/posters accumulating there. Kevin is a Chris Horner fan, too.

Here are some pics for the Dave Zabriskie, Mario Cipollini, Chris Horner, Tyler Farrar, and Tom Boonen fans:

The TT King himself, Mr. DZ (I think he was posing intentionally), with Tom Danielson/Slipstream and Ivan Dominguez/Toyota United behind him:


Cipo, lookin' good on the road back from retirement:


Chris Horner, being interviewed by VeloNews mag (I also got a pic of his bike, if anyone's interested):


Tyler Farrar, the morning in Modesto -- he later abandoned of reported food poisoning:


Tom Boonen, being mobbed at the team bus in San Jose:


I also drove over to Seaside on Thursday for Stage 4, but because of slow traffic and nasty weather, got there about 15 minutes too late. Hey, any excuse to drive to the coast....of course a Starbucks visit was in order after that.

Exciting Tour this year. The nasty weather is putting an interesting twist into the dynamics of the race. See...it does rain in California.

Cya galz...
BikeMomma

[jobob]

At SJ, we situated ourselves by the teams buses to catch closer glimpses of them as they came in.

Aw crud, Lee & I were just past the finish when the first couple of groups of riders came in. You must have been right around the corner from us! (I was wearing my AV jacket so if we crossed paths you probably would have seen me )

[gnat23]

Although I've been sick as a dog lately, I think I want to try to make it out for the final stage tomorrow. I think we're going to head into the canyons to try to watch some climbing. Do you think this would be better than braving the crowds for the finish? Are there generally booths and such at the end? How crowded do you think it'll be?

I'm excited!!

In Pasadena? I have no idea, but I will try to be there, too!

Look for the pink hair and/or the flowered top-hat.

-- gnat!