Tour of Cali 2009

Training in Florida ended quite nicely with a solo 5 hour ride and 8 mile build run. Ironically, it was the best ride "watt-wise" that I had put out all week! I think it was due to the "forced concentration" from being alone as well as the knowledge that it was my last long training day before heading out and onto a more "mentally relaxing" (but not necessarily physically relaxing) trip to see the Tour of California! I was really anxious, after training so hard, to have a week that was spent riding however long I wanted to and at whatever pace I felt like riding, all while following the Tour of Cali to beautiful spots that I probably would never have visited or known about on my own. PIC: Tour of Cali Stage #1...View of the Sierra Nevada's...

It was the third year going to see the Tour of California and it did not disappoint. George and I headed to the finish of stage 5, a town near the Sierra Nevada's called Clovis. Luckily, the first sunny day of the Tour was the first day we were out riding! We rode part of the stage, then headed back into town just in time to see one of the most exciting finishes where Tom Boonen and Mark Cavendish battled it out for the win (Boonen was first loser by a fraction of a second, which was the closest he would come to Super sprinter Mark Cavendish). The next day we headed to my favorite town of the Tour, Paso Robles. Again we rode in sunny 70 degree weather on a course through the foothills near the coast. There were countless riders doing the stage this day, so it was a great time having other people out on the course before the race came through.
PICS: Above: Bob Roll interviewing Tom Boonen, BELOW: The crowds in Paso Robles (Glimpse of George in the tree upper left hand corner...trying to get a better view!)

The last day we watched the Tour was the TT in Solvang, one of the most beautiful areas I have had the pleasure to ride in. The crowds this year were epic, due to the thousands of "Lance Fans" that wanted to catch a glimpse of the celeb. While I do not necessarily label myself as a "Lance Fan", I must say that it is a thrill to see him out on the course. The great thing about the Tour is that you can go right up to the team buses and watch the riders warm up on their trainers (we thought that the riders seemed like animals in the zoo on display for everyone to watch in awe). The TT again, did not disappoint as George, myself and a friend of mine that we ran into, Dave Decker, stood on the wicked climb out of town watching the guys suffer past us on the first mile of a 15 mile TT... Great stuff!

...PICS: Dave Zabriske in the TT, Levi in the TT, High Road boys warming up in Solvang (the crowds of spectators lining up to catch a glimpse).

So now I am back in Long Island, trying to recover a bit from the past weeks of training and travel. I have a few solid days of "recovery" ahead of me this week. I cannot say that I am enjoying the cold NY weather, but it forces me to really recover which I need right now. The season starts soon enough and once it does it will start flying by!