2011 SMR 18

Almost summer and I'm still wearing tights.  JB even brought his GoreTex

Wildlife Encounter:  turkeys and a jackrabbit

Went up to Juniper - would've been nice having winter gloves and arm warmers but I survived.

Saturday morning regular shoutouts:  Dudley, Chris, Keith.

May have an organized event for next weekend.

2011 SMR 17

Plan today was to meet my health club team at the Junction - they were coming up the easy side.  I got caught by another guy on the club team coming up NGR and we rode together to the Junction.  

Wildlife Encounter:  Jackrabbit and turkey.

We were early so he went up Summit Road and I hung around Junction for a while.  Then Peter came up the South Side and said he'd just moved to San Ramon to be closer to his job so won't be seeing him on NGR much anymore.  Then JB came up and said he couldn't stay because he had to help his neighbor move.  

So when it seemed like time, I went down SGR with Peter down to the pay kiosk and after a few minutes I saw the club team coming up and I rode the rest of the way with them.  Most of them are pretty good riders but not too experienced so the leaders have clinics on how to straighten out corners and ride in pacelines.

One guy had a Pinarello with fancy low spokecount wheels and he broke a spoke so he had a loooooooooong trip back down.  He refused multiple offers of assistance so I just left him.

Nice weather today, first time of the year without armwarmers or anything.

2011 Tour of California Stage 4

Sorry but Blogger is doing some weird things with photos again - if you see a picture that isn't awesome, you should click on it to get the full awesomeness.

Got a pair of vintage sew up rims off eBay for $25 (only needed one but now I'll have a spare too.) 

Built it up this week.   A very satisfying project.

 There was a lot of glue residue that was hard to get off - maybe from Tufo tape?  I used a wire wheel and a drill.

Pulling spokes with heads out.

 Just the right amount of lube.

 Tension, true, and glue on a new tubie!

Went to Rick's house Wednesday morning and we rode to Livermore for the start of the race.  Got to see all the team and official vehicles roll up and  park.

I'm at a loss for a caption on this photo.

 The outhouse was big enough to bring your bike into!
Note foul weather wheels, not my sewups.

 Hey, that's Frankie A!

 We joked that this was Team Radio Shack's Taco Truck.

 I picked Tejay Van G for today's stage... he wasn't interested in my free tactical advice.

 The Liquigas guys were the first ones to get out and mingle a bit...very friendly.

 Rick was hoping for some autographs but we had to get up the road for the race.

Whoa, sweet.

Winaar Ronde Van Vlaanderen!

KOM#1 for viewing - mile 18.

THERE HE GOES!

THERE GO SOME MORE!

Once again, I failed in my annual attempt to get on TV.

And then back to Livermore for lunch.  Important to let the local communities see the positive economic impact of a bunch of bike race fans coming to their town.

Here's a list of all the Amgen TOC stages I've seen:
2011 - Stage 4 from Livermore on Mines Road
2010 – Stage 3 on Bonny Doon
2009 – Stage 1 in Santa Rosa and Stage 3 on Altamont Pass
2008 – Prologue in Palo Alto
2007 – Prologue in San Francisco
2006 – Prologue in San Francisco and Stage 2 on Sierra Road


Then back to Rick's house to watch the finish of the stage.  There seems to be a lot more broken glass on the road around this area, and some little bit of it found its way into my rear tire so I had to stop and swap... glad I didn't put on my tubular wheels with the new tire.

2011 Saturday Morning Ride 16

Bike to work day was Thursday - there were a few more bikes than usual in the garage - and a few more stashed in empty offices inside.

Had a rear flat this morning when I took the bike down from the hooks - then I buggered up the repair so I was going to be really late... called JB and he said he wasn't coming anyway, so I took my time.

Cold but not too windy.
Storm's coming... really?

Stopped here looking for a "menacing sky" photo.
Saturday morning regular shoutouts: Doyle and Dudley

Wildlife Encounter: Deer at the upper washout - he crossed right in front of me and then hid in the grass.

Rode up Summit Road a bit until my fingers got too cold.

Wednesday morning will find me on Mines Road when the AMGEN Tour of California comes by... watch for me on TV near the first KOM.