Tour of California - Day 3

Le Tour of California proved that life just wouldn't be the same without racing. Sure, I might not have been racing (or even wishing that I was racing), but once again (you've heard this in previous posts), I went on a trip that I might otherwise not have gone on and I visited towns that I might never have seen if it weren't for the racing...and getting to share the whole experience with others is always the coolest.

The people who attend races are the best. How can you go and not interact with the locals? Impossible. Everyone is smiling, though it might mean getting poured on, freezing, being absolutely miserable...but not really.

There was an element of this weekend that was simply comical. Yesterday it rained over 3” in the Bay area. Today we were able to avoid the rain (it down poured twice while we were in Santa Cruz, but there were ample awnings in the very cute town of Santa Cruz). Oh yeah, it also hailed some for a few seconds. Yes, really.

From trampolining to watching Lana play indoor baseball with a stress ball and IT Band-roller with da boyz, having nearly no reprieve from driving rain or wet clothes, watching a movie, making dinner and eating family-style with Lana and her guy friends (who are the equivalent to family to her, well, me, too, when I visit), nearly starving because watching the women's crit was more important to me than worrying about food...then being unable to navigate to find said food, again, a laughable, very enjoyable, definitely memorable, adventure.

Now I'm in the airport waiting for a plane to take off that is a full 2 hours late to leave. I have not been ready to leave, I don't care to go back to standard everyday life just yet. And here I am, not leaving. No part of me is tired, I think the adrenaline of the crowd and today's finish will keep me up for awhile still. Oh wait, that's right, there is no choice in the matter.

Below is a pic from the Santa Rosa final circuit portion of yesterday's race. More later, we're finally boarding!

Tour of California - Stage 1

Finally, finally I got to see a stage of the Tour of California up-close and personal! Yippee!!! The conditions were FAR from ideal with chilly temps and constant rain coming down at a substantial pace. Lana and I arrived at the women's criterium as they were finishing their first lap. As we approached and they passed, five women crashed out (it was a straight-away), so I'm not sure if that had to do with slick road or sketchy bike handling (don't forget this is one of the first crits of the season for most of the racers). Other than that crash, it appeared there may not have been many more as the race wore on, the field size stayed constant. 

The pace was very high and the talent deep in the women's field. It was awesome to spectate and be able to appreciate what happens out there from a different vantage point. They must have been so miserable out there, though, it was not fun to be on the sidelines and the field hit a corner every 15 seconds for one hour (assuming 2 minute laps). 

Now to the men...we were dying of hunger by the time the women's race was over (breakfast was an apple) so we needed to hunt down food. Not easy driving through Santa Rosa with the blocked streets and all of the good places seemed to be closed. Finally, we ended up at a restaurant, that, unbeknownst to us, was next to where the men would be doing their final three circuit laps in a couple of hours! 

I wandered along the circuit, enjoying the crowds of people lining the course and imbibing the energy and excitement of being at a race. The rain actually subsided, too, long enough to lure me outside without a rain jacket. The men finally came in (after the rain started dumping again), Mancebo ahead by minutes and two chase groups, the first of which held Lance...there were lots of other big names up there, but it's really hard to see anyone for any period of time going at the speeds they're going. I got lots of pics but am not in the position to upload any right now. Will post everything more soon. 

It was a super exciting finish (I couldn't see the finish so wasn't sure if Mancebo had out sprinted two men who had bridged up to him). Unfortunately, though, it rained and rained and it's still raining and raining. Tomorrow I wanted to ride up to a really cool climb they're doing, but at this rate, it sounds ridiculous. 

Tonight Lana and I cooked dinner (pasta) and we hung out with her group of friends, watched a movie and hung out until everyone who has to work tomorrow decided it was wise to go to bed. And now, it's wise for me to hit the hay, as well. Good night!

Valentine's Day in San Fran

Yesterday the rain didn't come as promised and there was a chance to go out for almost a 3 hr ride. I had overdressed, good problem to have! Today looks like it will really be rainy, so who knows if there will be riding time. We're (Lana and I) are heading to Santa Rosa in a few minutes. Now we're in San Francisco preparing to make the journey (only an hour from here). Last night we went out on the town, we went to a few bars (had some excellent beer, they have a great selection here). We stayed with Lana's friend, Rachael, she's the one who hosted the Halloween party. The nightlife is pretty cool and fun here, a bit more mainstream than it is in Denver.

I'd better get going now, but figured it would be good to get this out since I have no idea how the rest of the day will go. Valentine's Day went well, it was fun and getting to spend it with friends didn't disappoint. Bye for now!

End of Day 1, the fulfilling of a childhood fantasy

The sky opened up yesterday just before I went out for a ride. So no ride...however, there was a far more interesting adventure in store. Lana, Aaron and I went to the gym (24 Hr Fitness) and lifted for a little over an hour. We grabbed a little dinner and then headed over to a friend's house where a huge group had accumulated...

...everyone was going to go trampolining! CA is a different place, indeed. We went to this place where there were rooms full of huge tramps. And we jumped for an hour. I've never sweated so much. But I felt like 10 again and didn't want to stop. That was so much fun to fly (maybe 5 feet?) in the air again and again. Have pics, will post when there's a chance. Time to beat the rain and go for that bike ride. 

Oh, and probably going to skip the 3 hr drive to Sacramento to see the prologue...it'll be raining by then and we'll have far more fun hanging out in San Francisco.

Almost forgot, Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Tour of California Trip - Day 1

Here it all begins, hanging out in DIA looking through the large windows at the east-coastesque sky contemplating what I'm about to do: vacation.

The story is dramatically affected by a somewhat unrelated event yesterday that might be of use to you so I'll begin there.

My neighbor recently returned from something called TED. Ted, eh? Oh is this a conference for a bunch of guys named Ted or something? (His name isn't Theodore or any derivation thereof so I was puzzled.) Don't you love it when you learn something new? Like really new. Isn't that one of the best feelings? Anyway, this TED conference (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design) is this amazing speech-fest of inspired people. The good part is that they post the speeches for free and anyone can watch them. Go there and check it out: http://www.ted.com/.

Naturally, I started off by watching Elizabeth Gilbert since I relished her book “Eat, Pray, Love.” (In fact, on my last trip to Cali.) A few speeches later, a woman named Mena spoke about all of the wonders of blogging.

I've been needing a vacation for a long time. Last vacation (and real break from all stress and responsibility) was the last trip to Cali at the end of October. The last thing I needed was the additional stress of schlepping a laptop (and bike) through the airports. I'd decided I wouldn't take a computer. (Yes, I did decide that.) ...UNTIL that
speech got me to thinking about what I'd miss out on if I didn't blog.

This blog is my journal. I love the fact that I can communicate with you, since I've had so very little time I know I'm not spending the time that I should with people I care about. But on top of all else, I like to look back at blog entries to remind me of what I did on vacation, where I rode my bike, who was there to share it with me.

So to not blog on this trip would be selfish and I'd be forced to handwrite in a journal. My writing is nearly unreadable considering all I ever do is type. It's scary.

Here comes the technology itch. Probably my biggest weakness...tech toys. Fine, so if I have a smaller computer, I can blog and not worry about dragging it around with me.

At 9:30 last night I was at Target buying this little itty bitty Asus Eee PC notebook computer. Hard to call this a computer it's so small. But the resolution is amazing and it does everything

(and more) that it needs to do. Did I mention it's a Linux machine?!

Love it, back to the world where I am most comfortable. I'm sure Tux (the penguin) being the logo has something to do with it.

So far, I am a huge fan of this machine. The keys are tiny, but the typing speed isn't bad. I'm composing this post on OpenOffice and will publish it when I arrive in Cali. The plane is leaving a little late...this is good. More time to relax and just be. Deep breath. Again. A cold chill shoots through my body with excitement, vacation is finally here.

The blog lives!

Oh yes, there will be some unexpected blogging from Cali... The story coming tomorrow!!!