Friday, May 20, 2011

Amgen Tour of California Stage 4 2011

atoc stage 4 2011_ahead

Cycling gods. That's what they are. Watching Chris Horner destroy the field and win by 1:15 up the scarey-steep Sierra Road in San Jose was like witnessing Zeus destroy the Titans, while smiling. It was hard enough standing up straight on the roadside. I can't imagine racing up it — especially after climbing Mt. Hamilton.

Lance OldStrong and I parked at Welsh Creek Road near Sunol and rode to the finish, taking the easy way up. We still had almost 3000 feet of climbing in 16 miles just to get there. I cleverly took my weighty commuter bike, thinking I'd have to lock it up and leave it somewhere. Instead it was with me the whole time. I could have taken the Roubaix. Oh well. In just a couple of hours and two flat tires we were there.

We picked a perfect spot. Such a perfect spot that that we quickly had a flock of tour photographers standing in front of us. I was starting to worry about missing the race, but the promised to duck low when the riders got there, and they did.

It's amazing how quickly it's all over. Just zoom, wow, the end, ride back. Totally worth while!

Link to a slideshow of few photos by me.
YouTube video of Versus coverage where we were.

atoc stage 4 2011_heliocopter

No comments:

Post a Comment

I'm turning off comment moderation for posts younger than 60 days, so your words will appear right quick.