The Yellow Devil Eats Snow

I was instantly annoyed by the yellow devil when I saw him on Versus watching one of the ATOC stages. He was dressed in a yellow jump suit wearing a black cape with Live Clean printed on the back. He ran along-side a few cyclists pumping his syringe laden pitch fork. The obvious message here has to do with doping.

I think I speak for a lot of cycling fans when I say I'm tired of the notion that all cyclists are doping, and that Lance Armstrong doped is way to 7 TDF victories. People like Greg Lemond believe that a successful cyclist must be doping, with or without proof.

Lance stuck it to this guy. Love it, go Lance.








Look closely and you'll see riders in the peleton grinning as the guy eats snow. Got the pics from magliarosa. Noone's saying yet who took these pics so can't give credit.

Update: Photo credit Tim De Waele.

Fans out in Full Force at ATOC Stage 2 Finish

There were a ton of fans yesterday at the finish of Stage 2. The streets were lined with people in some places at least 10 deep. We were between the 200 and 150m signs and there were a number of people behind us by the time the finishers arrived. This was the best spot we could get at about 2 hours before the start!

Armstrong helped bring these crowds out no doubt. A few of the people around us were clearly there to see him. Some I don't think understood they'd only see him zip by in a flash. Still, it was great to see so many people interested in cycling in one place.

Here's a shot down Front Street towards the finish line.

People were on rooftops and hanging out of parking structures and windows!

We Might be Groupies

Here we are stalking the Rock Racing team truck as it made its way from the Stage 2 start to the finish. Jodi was actually hanging out the sunroof in the rain to take the first picture.

Anything to Stay Warm and Dry

Stage 1 of the ATOC was super wet. As we got off the 101 freeway on our way to watch the finish I noticed a golf store. I figured they'd have those giant golf umbrellas. They did, and I bought one. It rained nonstop so it was a good buy.

The kids had a great time camping out on this vent using the umbrella to stay dry.

The vent was blowing warm air, which kept the kids warm and dry. I'm unsure why the air was warm or where it came from. I thought it might be a sewer vent... I hope I'm wrong! I doubt it was installed to keep the general public warm on days like this one!

Levi Charging for the Finish - ATOC Stage 2

Levi looks to be on form. He charged up the Bonny Doon Rd climb today and dropped everyone. I have it tivo'd and can't wait to watch it. He worked for every minute of the gain that put him in yellow today. Here he is dragging Thomas Peterson to the finish. Congrats TP for the stage win and GO LEVI!

Tour of California Stage 1

I snapped a really lousy pic of Francisco Mancebo on his first lap around the finish circuit. The guy was away most of the day and rode like a man possessed. What an animal! His average speed for the day? 25.7 mph. That seems awfully fast.

Lance Armstrong at the Tour of California Prologue

It was awesome to see Lance up close during the prologue. Except for a little wobble around the first corner you'd think he never left the sport. 10th place this early in the season is impressive, especially since he isn't planning on winning this thing. He looked to be in pretty good form.

We Might As Well Win

Johan Bruyneel is a legend in the sport of cycling. He's a total stud in my book. He was a fairly successful professional cyclist, and a ridiculously successful Sports Director. He's of course the mastermind behind Lance Armstrong's 7 Tour de France wins. Here he is signing my copy of We Might As Well Win after the Amgen Tour of California Prologue.