A Big Post. The Tour of California Road Trip

Wow. The past few days have been crazy. I haven't been able to check my mail since Thursday as we've been on the run the whole time. On Thursday Josh and I headed to California for some Expo/training camp at the Tour of California.

We didn't arrive until late and didn't get to sleep until way past my usual bedtime. The event lifestyle, of course, had us up super early to catch the continental breakfast before heading to the race sight to set up some tents and stuff for Orbea and LandRover.

On the first day(stage 6 day of the TT) we got to ride a SUPER nice loop in Solvang. We hopped into the journalists ride and it was fun to chat with the guys who put out the literature that keeps us all up to date in the cycling world. It was especially neat to ride with Zapata Espanosa(sp?) the legendary MTB journalist who I've been reading since I picked up my first MTB mag in 1999.

That was also the first day on the new bike. We get a training bike, Race bike and TT bike, and the night before I hastily set up the training riggus at 11:30 at night. On the ride I definitely noticed things I had to change but for the most part the bike was great! Honestly the Orbea Orca is probably the best bike I've ever ridden. Its so so so stiff, but still rides great and is such an unique looking bike. I am very very pleased with it.

The training bikes get Sram Rival, and the race bikes get Force. Its been taking time to get use to the rival, but its breaking in and so are these fingers which have ONLY used Shimano. we've been experimenting with the new S60 and S80 wheels and both are very solid. The S80s are little hard to handle in some situations for obvious reasons, but they definitely have their place and would be deadly on a flat stage.

The ride in Solvang was probably the nicest ride I've ever done. This place is amazing. Everything from the little Dutch town, to the roads, to the community. I think I might look to go there next year to train as opposed to Tucson. It really is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

When I think about the trip I think about being stuck in traffic. With long transfers often in rush hour time, many many hours were spent being stuck in traffic multiple times of the day around LA and southern California. Its just how it is down there I guess.

The next day the boys and I headed up a monster 10mile climb in Pasedino(I think) The ride itself wasn't super long but crazy intense as most of us just ended up attacking each other all the time. Originally the team had 4 guys there, me, Evan Elkin(who headed home the day after we got there) Josh of course, and Carson Miller.

We climbed to the top with me hitting the wall about 6 miles in, then the boys attacked the shit out of me and I was left to struggle up the last little bit. It was all in good fun though and the legs

felt decent for not having any intensity in the legs.

Later that day we worked the LiveStrong booth. We probably gave away a million bracelets and got quite a bit of money I think. Its one of those things where people just walk by throw money at you and take a bracelet. Toward the end of the stage it becomes INSANE.

Later that night we had a photo shoot for Orbea and Land Rover for some advertising. It was SO PRO as we went to the studio and got all kitted up. It was pretty sweet. More on that later.

Another long transfer with a late night and an early morning and we headed toward San Diago(or the whales vagina as it translates) and we did another great ride under cloudy skies. Instead of one giant mountain we climbed a lot of little(meaning like 3-5km) hills and worked in part of the race course. We climbed up part of MT. Polamar which is super super nice and which had thousands of spectators all along the way. It was really great to see these courses and the people.

I started to modify the Orca to get the new girl the way I want her, and on this ride it really started to feel comfortable. We again attacked the shit out of each other with the 130pounders usually taking the crest of the climb. It was great to have someone to chase for a change.

This was the last stage and after the ride and some hanging out Josh and I hit the road. The drive proved to be a long one and I didn't hit the hay until 3am this morning. Needless to say I'm so cooked as I write this.

Although we didn't put in the big miles this week, the rides we definitely great. We had a solid 3 days of short rides which were crazy intense. Not only did I get to see beautiful amazing parts of California, but also met my teammates, directors, and all the great people at Orbea.

Hats off to Eric, and Dave the team director as he probably only got an average of 4 hours of sleep a night keeping the operations going, even volunteering to sleep on the floor. If I'm cooked after 3 days this guy must be a Zombie. So many behind the scenes thing that have to be taken care of. Thanks Man!

Being my first time at the Tour of California it was interesting to see bike racing on such a grand scale. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people were at the event at each stage. It really was amazing to see so many people at a bike race on North American soil.

We today I'm tieing up loose ends and having a coffee shop day. All of the traveling, transfers, and intensity leave me wanted to simply do nothing.