Tour of California - It's Real!!

[laughlaugh18]

I just came back from volunteer orientation for the finish of Stage 6 (finish in Thousand Oaks). Wow!! We're really going to have a professional tour in California!

They showed an amazing, exciting video and provided alot of information about what to expect on race day. Since this is the inaugural event, they're sort of flying blind, but they look pretty organized. Their guesstimate for Thousand Oaks is 25,000 people for the finishing circuit around the Amgen headquarters. Everything is very bike-friendly - there will be a bike valet and the people who are riding the charity ride in the morning and still want to volunteer for the stage are being given special consideration.

Here're a few tidbits:

There will be a 1 hour recap every night on ESPN 2.

There will be even more media available at the Tour website - amgentourofcalifornia.com - including a real-time blog.

The tour website recently was updated/upgraded. Check it out. There are detailed course maps and lots of other stuff. There also are a couple of giveaways. There are links for the host cities; some of the sites are better than others. The Redondo Beach site gives suggestions on the best spectator spots.

In Thousand Oaks, at least, they realize that the volunteers also are fans. They actually are trying to find ways to get the outlying volunteers back to the finish line after their bits are done so they can see the finish (although the road closures may not allow it). They also told us that we're welcome to bring cameras, so long as we keep focused on our volunteer responsibilities.

A volunteer handbook was handed out which has general information about bike racing (even a glossary in the back) so the course marshals can help the unfamiliar fans, and guidelines for being a course marshal (watch for unleashed dogs that could run onto the course and wreck havoc with the peleton).

I'll be doing volunteer check-in/troubleshooting in Thousand Oaks. I'm also signed up for Redondo Beach, but haven't heard what my asssignment will be there yet. Is anyone else going to be at Thousand Oaks?

I'm starting to get excited!

Cathy

[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.