Tour of California - It's Real!!

[bikerchick68]

laughlaugh... I'll be there... I have a friend who is with Mavic as one of the mechanics... he drives behind the racers and when I told him I planned to stake out a spot for stage 6 he offered to let me ride with his team in the car I will not believe it until I'm actually IN the car... but fingers crossed... I plan to be there on the course! I'll keep ya posted! My bro will be sitting out there too... he and some friends rode Balcom Canyon a couple weeks ago... parts of it are 24%... yikes... he had to tack part of it for about 500yds he said... with his double! I doubt I could even climb it with a triple...

should be a fun race...

[Bike Goddess]

Up here in Northern Cal we had our #2 Stage meeting in Martinez- probably a little town you never heard of before.

And yes, it's pretty exciting up here too! I am a course marshal, so I'll get to talk to the riders before the race, get autographs, etc. Plus, I can hardly wait to see their bikes!

The estimated time for this ride is 3 hrs 30 mins- 94.88 miles. This includes some tough climbs (one is designated a Category 1 climb-as in the steepest elevation gain) and a controlled start which I figure will take about 15 minutes. Then the race begins- and our job ends! They are estimating av speed on this stage to be 24-28MPH. Pretty amazing!

The race director told us that the teams should be arriving in the Bay Area this weekend. They are very excited about racing in California and love the US spectators. Evidently we are very loud and very enthusiastic! So, cheer on my friends wherever you might be. Your support will be most appreciated.

The race director talked about his tour of the AMGEN facitility. He was most impressed by their commitment to the well being of humanity.

I hope the race goes well. AMGEN has made a 5 year commitment so it should be around for awhile!

[laughlaugh18]

Nancy, I actually have heard of Martinez (and now the TofC is putting it on the map!). That's great that your course marshall location will allow some rider interaction. I found out I will be a course marshall in Redondo Beach, but at one of the big turns in the circuit out on the course - I don't think any of the riders will be stopping for a chat!

bc68 - riding in a chase car - now that's exciting! Do keep us posted.

If anyone's interested, the charity race in Thousand Oaks is the only one associated with the Tour and which goes on a part of the Tour route. It's 25 miles, starts at 8:30a, and is $75 admission (you get a Hincapie apparel shirt). Charity is Breakaway from Cancer, a cancer education program for The Wellness Community, which is a cancer support organization.

As for Amgen, it really seems like they're trying to do this in a classy way; lots of activities for fans, charity tie-ins, etc.