The Cycling Nerd

The Internet and wifi is killing me! Last night in Sacramento we stayed in very nice Holiday Inn, but the Internet connection sucked. Today we are at a Clarion in Modesto and the Internet sucks! So I will type up this report and try to post it.

Yesterday was my first day actually doing what I came out here to do. My team had one drop that covered about 5 miles of the course since the race was shortened due to the snow we received in Tahoe. Again it was really disappointing that we did not get to cover the sierra mountains. The start was relocated to Nevada City and it was a madhouse! I was told that nearly ten thousand people turned out!

Our first and only drop of the day was in a tiny town just outside Beale Air Force base called Wheaton. Basically my job is really just crowed control. We try and keep everyone back from the road a safe distance. Obviously there is only so much you can do when the cycling crazies come out. But we try to do our best. Turns are little more fun because you need to direct everyone through the turn. Once the peloton and caravan come through your post you need to be looking for your van. They are usually just seconds behind. They come to screaming stop you hop in and your off to your next drop. This day however we were done so we made B line to the finish and watched Ben Swift take the sprint in Sacramento. It as a good day even if it was only one drop.

Today, we raced through the central valley to Modesto. The stage was rainy and windy. Our first drop was about 9 miles from the start. I had a small subdivision of people and cars that I needed to keep off the course. Most of the neighborhood came out to watch and they had lots of questions for me. The most exciting moment was when a women and her BMW got on course just down the road from me. We managed to get her off to the side of the road and flagged the peloton that a car was in the road. No harm no foul. Van came up and I jumped in for our next drop some 75 miles away. This drop was I'm the middle of nowhere as you can see from the photo below. This location was windy and cold! The cool part here was I needed to direct the Peloton away from a gravel median and towards the turn. They came right at me and as I waved my flag and blew my whistle they rode right past my left shoulder. I saw Hushovd, Hincapie, Horner, Schleck, Sagan and Zabriskie! The cycling nerd in me was very excited! I hopped in the van and hoped we could make it to the finish in time. However it didn't work out that way; and even though I know who won from the race radio you can bet I'll watch the replay tonight.

Tomorrow is sierra road! It a steep up hill finish just outside San Jose. The captains are meeting right now, so in a few hours we will know which team gets the finish! please be me!!!

Here are a few photos I took over the last few days



Squaw Valley - Home of the 1960 Olympics



Big BMC Truck - I saw Eric Heiden at dinner the other night, he's the reason I'm a cycling nerd. I first saw Eric when he came to Appleton with team 7-Eleven and I've been hooked ever since!



My location just outside Modesto and in the middle of nowhere!

Take care and thanks for reading.

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