So, yes, Lori and I were able to check out......
....the Amgen Tour of California - the Prologue, Stage 1 and Stage 2. Pics in all the entries below(scroll down for the, uh, ChicoCyclistian Photography).
And, being the bike geek I am, here is a run-down of the bike-geekiness notes I took:
--Deep dish aero wheels are, apparently, the new marketing trend in high-end cycling. Did you guys see how many pros were riding those things????
--Speedplay Zero pedals are my new favorites - thanks to the guys at the Speedplay booth in Santa Rosa for letting me stay on the test-ride Cervelo for so long....clipping in, then out, then in, then out. Hey, I had to see if they worked! Same with the CompuTrainer - think I was on that bike for a good half an hour. What'd you expect - had to correct that pedal stroke. That SpinScan is addictive.
--Cervelo's new SL line of frames have hit the crazy crazy light category. I'm not certain one of those frames can handle my svelte 185 pound body at this point. Maybe at 155. Maybe.
--The massive crash in Santa Rosa took its toll on the field. I went to the team cars after the race to take pictures, and man let me tell you - those guys were beat up. Lots of blood, lots of Medical people.
--Ben Jacques-Maynes is one cool cucumber. I don't know how he stayed so calm waiting for the Commisaire's decision about awarding the crashed riders the same time as the leaders in Stage 1. If the decision had gone the other way, it would have been Ben in the lead of the Tour of California.....not Levi.
--It's obvious that CSC and Discovery are the top dogs here. What's really interesting is to see how Team Slipstream and Priority Health are doing. Pretty impressive in my book.
--Michael Rasmussen is one hella skinny Dude.
--For the first time in my cycling career, I actually saw girls giddy over getting autographs from bicycle racers. Never thought I would see that in the US.
--The weather, up to this point, was amazing - no wonder those Euro guys wanna come to this race.
--I took almost 300 pics - hope to have more online soon. Until then, here are some in the entries below.......
And, being the bike geek I am, here is a run-down of the bike-geekiness notes I took:
--Deep dish aero wheels are, apparently, the new marketing trend in high-end cycling. Did you guys see how many pros were riding those things????
--Speedplay Zero pedals are my new favorites - thanks to the guys at the Speedplay booth in Santa Rosa for letting me stay on the test-ride Cervelo for so long....clipping in, then out, then in, then out. Hey, I had to see if they worked! Same with the CompuTrainer - think I was on that bike for a good half an hour. What'd you expect - had to correct that pedal stroke. That SpinScan is addictive.
--Cervelo's new SL line of frames have hit the crazy crazy light category. I'm not certain one of those frames can handle my svelte 185 pound body at this point. Maybe at 155. Maybe.
--The massive crash in Santa Rosa took its toll on the field. I went to the team cars after the race to take pictures, and man let me tell you - those guys were beat up. Lots of blood, lots of Medical people.
--Ben Jacques-Maynes is one cool cucumber. I don't know how he stayed so calm waiting for the Commisaire's decision about awarding the crashed riders the same time as the leaders in Stage 1. If the decision had gone the other way, it would have been Ben in the lead of the Tour of California.....not Levi.
--It's obvious that CSC and Discovery are the top dogs here. What's really interesting is to see how Team Slipstream and Priority Health are doing. Pretty impressive in my book.
--Michael Rasmussen is one hella skinny Dude.
--For the first time in my cycling career, I actually saw girls giddy over getting autographs from bicycle racers. Never thought I would see that in the US.
--The weather, up to this point, was amazing - no wonder those Euro guys wanna come to this race.
--I took almost 300 pics - hope to have more online soon. Until then, here are some in the entries below.......
posted by Chico Cyclist at 8:05 AM
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