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.