Vivre Le Tour!

Stephanie and I just got back from chasing the Amgen Tour of California. We only missed one of the 8 stages, and had awesome, amazing, unbelievable experiences everyday. The tour started with a short individual time trial in Palo Alto. We were pulled to keep padestrians out of the team car area so they wouldn't be flattened, and as our reward, we were both given ride-alongs on motorcycles behind riders on the course. I rode behind Bobby Julich on CSC, and Stephanie rode behind someone we don't know, but she did get to see Jens Voight at the light asking the driver how to get to the start. Hurray! People pay serious money for this type of opportunity, but we got it just because we are awesome, at least I assume that's why.

Stage 2 started in Sausalito and ended in Santa Rosa where we were course marshalls. I was a super-star volunteer sign-in person in the morning, and then we guarded a cross-walk. As our reward we got to see George Hincappie slowly pedaling within 5 feet of us (unfortunately after a fall). We screamed enthusiastically, but he was too tired to propose to Stephanie just then. We also bought awesome polar fleece jackets because we were freezing to death. I also bought my second Levi Leipheimer shirt, much to the amusement of the woman running the booth.

Stage 3 started in Santa Rosa and ended in Sacramento, where Stephanie was on the medical team and got to escort a rider from his team area to the anti-doping van after the race. I ditched my job because they moved me so far away, and instead made friends near the finish line with several lovely folks, one of whom was kind enough to hold my umbrella for me so my camera wouldn't get wet. I kept everyone updated with the play-by-play available via my iphone. It was damp, but worth it when Tom Boonen sprinted to the stage win. So cute! That night we went to Chipotle, the sponsor of team Slipstream, where we got the autographs of Tyler Ferrar (the then yellow jersey holder) and his teammate, David Miller, who is adorable and British. Courtney won a jersey in the raffle, and Stephanie won a Felt Cruiser and free burritos for a year. She still isn't sure which prize is better. All in all, it was an awesome day.

We missed stage 3, which took the riders from Modesto to San Jose over Mt. Hamilton. It was a brutal day, and many riders abandoned due to exhaustion and the flu, which was racing through the peloton. Tyler Ferrar, the leader, was among its victims and we had to say good bye. Levi came in second after following Robert Gesink over the mountains and graciously allowing him to claim the stage win. I heart Levi!

Stage 4 signaled the start of our mini-road trip. With the car cleaned (just in case a cyclist needed a ride somewhere) and our windows covered with writing to build comradary along the way, we left at dawn to make it to San Luis Obispo in time to work the finish. We made it despite the car's sketchy directions telling us to cut through someone's yard and down a cliff, through an Indian reservation, and on a road so windy Stephanie got sick while driving it. For the riders, it was much worse. It was the most horrible day of the race, and according to Levi, the worst day he's ever spent on a bike. It rained ALL day, and as they headed down the coast on Highway 1, they faced 40 mph headwinds. We lost several more riders, one from hypothermia, but our favorites made it. Dominic Rollin, a Canadian, broke away and pounded his way to the finish, which was very emotional for him given the difficulties of the day. We know it was emotional for him because we were literally INCHES away from him in our security posts. Georgie brushed up against us as he passed, and Levi was also there in all his short, bald, adorable glory. (I heart Levi!) We also discovered the adorableness of Scott Nydam from BMC. So, so cool!!!!!!!!

We stayed the night in Buellton (pronounced like mule), the home of Split Pea Andersons and not much else. We watched the end of the day's stage on TV and then passed out so we would be rested for the next stage in Solvang. Solvang is only minutes from Buellton and is the most adoreable little Danish town in the heart of beautiful horse and wine country. We got our assignments, which turned out to be in the perfect picture taking location, and set up camp. Fabian Cancellara, Georgie, and Levi all passed us while warming up but I was too slow to snap most of their pictures. However, I did manage to get them on their actual runs on this 15-mile individual time trial. Levi needed to do well to keep his lead, but up against Cancellara and David Miller, it seemed unlikely he would prevail. HOWEVER, he came in the fastest, 20+ seconds ahead of Miller and 40+ seconds ahead of Cancellara to retain the yellow jersey. We stalked him in the green-tent area we learned about while working San Luis Obispo, and I snapped a few nice pictures before heading on to Santa Barbara. Oh, and I bought my third Levi/Astana t-shirt. I heart Levi!

Santa Barbara was the start of Stage 5 and Stephanie was signed up to be a course marshall. While signing in, Brent, our security buddy, spotted us and told us we should request to be security in the remaining stages and tell people we were requested. Really?! So we filled our positions for the start and then decided to see if we could make it Santa Clarita for the finish, since they are much cooler. We ran into a team High Road bus that honked at us when the driver saw our High Road flag. We then found a Rock Racing Caddie which I aggressively followed to Santa Clarita, since we had no idea where to go, even though Stephanie bought every map the gas station had to offer. When we found Brent, he told us we could work and then gave us awesome spots where all the riders pass and then hang out before being called to the podium. He even fibbed a bit to the other volunteers as to why we "needed" to be back there. Levi sat there signing millions of things for the VIP people and finally acknowledged the screaming people behind me by showing them his photo face. I don't think he really enjoys the celebrity part of being a winner, but he's so damn adorable. Riders came in and out and I discovered who Levi's swanee is (I have no idea how to spell it, but it's like his slave in French). I want her job. She toats his crap around and gets him where he needs to go on time, and even lays out his belongings in his suitcase so he doesn't have to fuss around in the tent. Oh, to be a fly in that tent! At the end, John, another security guy, grabbed water bottles of two of the riders and gave them to us, and Brent told us to be sure and work for him the next day. Hurray!

Before leaving town we went to the "Rock the Bike" party to get the autographs of High Road riders, including Georgie. We got there super early and refused to leave the spot to rest, and were rewarded when one of the Giant reps gave us chairs and actually argued with another rep to make sure we got to go first even if store reps came to cut in line. It was a good thing too because it started to rain and we had a long way to go. We stared at all the riders when they arrived, watched them eat burritos (Mmmm. Burritos!), and then got their autographs and split, so that we could spend the night in our ghetto motel in Pasadena. Cheap is not a good thing in Pasadena. Our room had nasties in the bathroom, wall paper torn from the wall, a hole in another wall, and was generally not pleasant to stay in. It was totally the type of place where people get murdered in the movies, where meth addicts go to party, and where people check in at 4:00 am. Ick!

We survived just fine but got the heck out of there as soon as we could so we could spend hours at the Rose Bowl waiting for Brent to show up and give us work to do. We killed time, chatted with vedors, who now recognized us, and were even greeted with some recognition by Bob Rolls, a cycling telecastor who is some what of a celebrity in his own right. Eventually we decided to go hand out near the podium, helped ourselves behind the rail and proceeded to shew others out like we owned the place. What snobs we are. It wasn't long before Elliot, another of our official tour employee friends, let this guy on crutches in to sit with us, and he became out new friend for the day. SInce he was cute and nice to us, we helped him find a good spot, and Stephanie even got him an Astana feed bag and water bottle from the green-room tent after the race.

May I just say that working in the back of the stage at the final stage of the Tour (which involved displacing 9 other legitimate security volunteers) was AWESOME! There was madness, riders everywhere, their families, their swanees, their bikes, their managers, absolutely everyone was wedged into this tiny space and we were sooo close. Plus, right at the finish they sent us to the fence where we watched Georgie win the stage with no one in our way, completely ignorant of the rain. So, so great. Stephanie and I switched back and forth a few times because my spot was a little better, and at the end, we both got the giant fabric stickers they put on the winner's jerseys for our favorites teams, water bottles, fruit cups, etc.

Before we knew it, the space cleared out and people began to take things apart. We hopped in our car and made it home in a mere 5 1/2 hours including two fairly lengthy stops. Go us! Now all I have to do it figure out how to get the paint of my car windows and how we are going to make it without cycling until July.

P.S. I heart Levi!!!