You don't like bikes? Then stalk another blog! Part Duex

**Funny what happens when you're at school and the wife takes matters into her own hands. Jeanette has been prodding me to resubmit my Tour of California blog, but due to the limitations of "Blogger,"...hold on tight, put your seats and trays in their upright and locked postions.

2008 Tour of California
Final Stage in Pasadena, CA.

Can you picture this? I sit down in a chair among others who are seated in a circle and I introduce myself. "Hello. My name is Jason and I'm a bicycle fiend." The group responds.
"Hi Jason." I continue my admission to my support group.
"It's been one day since my last ride and it's hard..." A reassuring hug from the lycra clad moderator. "...It's hard to think that I won't ride again tomorrow." Agreement from the group. "Come to think of it, I need to ride too.""My bikes outside.""It's been like, an hour for me.""Where's my helmet?"

My quirk of bike fanaticism has so far been accepted by Jeanette and it's still a struggle for her to buy into the long-standing bicycle ownership equation of N+1 where "N" equals the total number of bikes you currently own. As with all the peripherals in this sub culture, we cyclists obsess over the pros who compete at the top levels in the sport. For some it's a life. I've gotten to the point a few times of foregoing a life to have "the Life." It gets to be a drag for family and friends, let me tell you.

Jeanette was interested in going with me but Sam's nap schedule didn't agree and I was rushing from a home teaching appointment. Did I happen to mention that I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and boy do I have a couple clean cut guys in white shirts that can come by your home to tell you more about it?
Aside from the religious segue, it was good that she stayed home. The constant rain, crowds and the several miles I ran between laps to different locations to get these shots would have been frowned upon and a fuss fest for the little lass. All you English teachers out there. Give it up for alliteration. WhooHoo!
The US is huge and major races are few but the Tour of California has emerged as a surprising draw for many domestic and international pro teams. The terrain, the scenic vistas for the price of a lung and burning quads and gallons of sweat and, of course, the weather...but not this year.

The photo is deceiving but the umbrellas that are being used here are attempting to keep their owners dry. I know. Didn't see that one coming but it rained all day which means the peloton had to race in a downpour from the start of this final stage in Santa Clarita and ending at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Much like the Tour of Utah and the Tour of Georgia, the California event provides opportunities for smaller domestic teams that haven't tasted international competition and pits them against the Euro squads on their "home" turf. Case in point.
Once the pack arrived at the Arroyo (a lovely term used to describe a shallow canyon that the Rose Bowl and attendant sporting sporting facilities reside in...try to keep up people) they had 6 laps of a 6 mile circuit before the sprint finish. This domestic racer, Tom Zirbel, managed a 22-mile breakaway from the pack and stayed away until the final sprint to the line.

**I didn't constrain the size of these photos so each contains a lot of data but these next four are well worth expanding to see the detail and conditions that the racers have to contend with.

I have never seen the virgin Mary miraculously appear on the back of a tortilla (can someone tell me which side is the front?), nor have I seen her on the door of a port-a-pottie on a construction site in the San Fernando Valley but it is nice to know that there is some divine support in times of adversity. Take my friend, Gregory XVII here for example.
I hustled back to the finish line for the final sprint to the finish and it was clear that a private audience with His Majesty Ryan Seacrest was more of a possibility than an open vantage point for the sprint. I slogged through mud and people and muddy people only to pull a little kid maneuver and pushed myself through the slats in the orange barrier for this shot. I'm sure that some people thought I was being a bad influence on their soggy children by doing this but all I have to say is your not the boss of me. So there.

I hate those cow bells

The leg-searing effort of Tom Zirbel's breakaway culminated in former US Postal/Discovery Channel/and lieutenant to Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie taking the final stage win. With cumulative time over the entire Tour, brides maid to Tour de France winners for the last two years, Levi Leipheimer repeated the overall win of the Tour of California here in Pasadena.

Here's where you think I'd have photos of the podium winners being kissed by local maidens with collagen and "prosthetics."

...and you'd be wrong.


I'm sure that there were groups of people watching the ceremony but another large group was also gathered around the extravagant bus of Team Rock Racing. Imagine a Dot Com'er with an affinity for cycling to the extent that he fields his own team of Dennis Rodmans...meaning alleged dopers. That's Team Rock Racing.

I'll give you a short bio highlight for each racer although only two of the three were contracted to race.

I have my zoom lens ready for action when Tyler Hamilton walks into the Rock Racing tent. "Hey, it's Tyler Hamilton," says I and heads snapped around at light speed. The star watching began in earnest.
He is considered by nearly all of cycling as a no-holds-barred "Hard Man" as much for his monumentally horrendous luck as he is for what he does when it hits him.
2002 Giro d'Italia: Tyler breaks his shoulder in one of the early stages of the 3 week race. Pull out and convalesce you say? Nay! A true Hard Man, Tyler guts it out for the remainder of the Giro and finishes 2nd. To deal with the pain while on the bike, he grit his teeth to such a degree, he would soon thereafter need to cap 11 teeth because of the damage and nearly ruined every molar in his mouth.
2003Tour de France: Almost as if the boulder needed to be rolled up that hill once more (Ten points for anyone who can name that character in Greek mythology, anyone, anyone, Bueller? Bueller?) , Tyler fractures his collarbone on the second stage of the Tour and he's not considering dropping out when every physician expects him too. Strict anti-doping policies prohibit anything stronger than Tylenol which I'm sure he throws down his throat like Nerds candy after this. For 3 more weeks he puts it all on the line and surprises all with constant attacks in the mountain stages and a valiant stage win. At the finish, spectators saw his face streaked with salt more from a constant stream of tears than sweat. He would eventually finish 4th in Paris.

And the man from Murrieta, CA showed up. Floyd Landis:
The last thing Mennonites from the Pennsylvanian Dutch country expected was one of their own winning the Tour de France. Such is the life of Floyd. Which by the way will be the name of our first born son although Jeanette doesn't know it yet. She's pulling for "Barak" but I gave that one a thumbs way down.
Anyway...
2006 Tour De France: Floyd has the yellow jersey but is ruined by constant attacks in the mountain course on Stage 16. He finishes 10+ minutes back from the winner and loses the lead. Tough decisions are made and Floyd, now with nothing to lose and everything to gain back, talks endless crap among the peloton before the start of Stage 17 and declares to all who'll listen that he intends push the pace and ride away from everyone. He does just that. A solo performance over 5 alpine mountain passes and 88 miles after his team pulls back from the brutal effort of getting him there, Floyd rides to victory on a mountain top finish like he said he would.
Side note: The undisputed god of all cycling, (the man even Lance defers to) Eddy Merckx, along with the then-retired Lance Armstrong, was on hand to watch the Tour. Remarking on Floyd's win, he turns to Lance and tells him, "That's how you do it. That's how you win." When Eddy Says it, it stays said. For me, it was the most amazing feat of cycling I've ever seen. I taped that stage and then Jeanette accidentally taped over half of it for some show on scrapbooking or something.
And the man himself was 10 feet away from me right now.


Side Note: Most team cars that are on the course are utilitarian and practical. Rock Racing doesn't adhere to this silly notion. They opt for something more classy.
The car rolls better when it's not tipped over. At least that's what they tell me.

And the reason why everyone was around the Rock Racing tent:

Mario Cipollini: "Cipo" "The Lion King" "Super Mario" "Mario the Magnificent."
Mario was the 2002 World Champion and has over 190 stage and race victories. His achievements on the bike are stunning while his flair and style are legendary. He has worn some of the most outlandish cycling clothes including a body suit depicting the human musculature, a get up that made him look like a human zebra and the famous "TRON" themed cycling suit paying homage, I guess, to that forgettable Disney movie about some guy doing some thing in that place with the glowing lights. Anyone remember that one? Oh come on. I'm sure everyone you know has this one on Betamax in their library. And one more anecdote. Mario, a sprint specialist, was once arrested for motor pace training on the Italian auto strada. Imagine cycling inches from the bumper of your wife's (fill in applicable car make/model) on the freeway.

I had to put in the subject of Cipo for the benefit of my wife's brother-in-law, which for the sake of not having to refer to him in that long winded manner, will hence forth be referred to as my 2nd brother-in-law. Like a 2nd cousin if you get where I'm coming from. You know, that's kind of a mouthful also but it's better than brother-in-la-dee-da-dee-da. Anyway, his name is Cristian and, allegedly, he is Italian. This means that it is important that I make mention of other Italian-ish people for his sake...if he can in fact prove he is indeed from Italy and I mean something other than his very authentic accent.

And finally, I acknowledge that this is a long blog post and after this I think I'm good for at least 6 months. "Oh no, Jason. Take a year off at least," you must be saying. It's kind of like an issue of National Geographic that you'd read while in the bath room but you'd have to bring in your laptop with a wireless connection at which point this is a perfect time for someone to tell you to log off because that would just be silly considering, you know, because...uh, well you figure it out.

I had a great time documenting the race. My Nikon D80 really shined even if the sun didn't and after almost 100 photos in adverse conditions, it won me over again.

In closing arguments your honor, I submit to the jury that I love cycling and with other commitments, I don't do it half as much as I 'd like although seeing the action in my home town had me remembering all the footage of high stages in the Swiss Alps with drunk Euros in lederhosen crowding around the truly heroic struggling against the brutal elevation. It makes me want to settle down and watch the Sound of Music just for the Euro alpine ambiance. That Julie Andrews. Mmmmm. What a babe.