2011 Amgen T o C Stage 4: Wind Beneath His Wings

This is an AP photo.  Click on Chris Horner below to reach the original source.

Surprise, surprise, surprise….

One of the many aspects I love about stage racing is that as the course changes, so do the leaders. Some riders, like Levi Leipheimer, are simply built to win time trials. Others, like Mark Cavendish (and the likes of Ben Swift and Greg Henderson) are built for sprinting. But riders who excel at uphill climbs form a very elite group. Because, let’s face it, who really enjoys the lactic acid burn that comes as a result of stomping the pedals against unforgiving resistance for long grueling hours with no relief?

Apparently Team RadioShack had decided that the best strategy for yesterday’s incline stage was to go out fast and hard upon reaching the mountain, then just be ruthlessly relentless until pretty much the rest of the peloton had dropped away. To a large extent, the strategy worked, although there were some hangers-on (like Andy Schleck, who is riding this race with serious determination, despite his goofy, insouciant personality), and a break-away which included Ryder Hesjedal from team Garmin. (Gotta love the name. “Ryder.” That’s awesome.) By the time the RadioShack boys—specifically Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer—pulled up to Hesjedal, however, the man was pretty spent, and they passed him as if he’d pulled over into the emergency lane.

Horner kept churning, hell bent for leather, leading Levi up the mountain, with Leipheimer never taking a turn at the front. Finally, Horner dropped him—Oh My Buddha, are you kidding me?—and just kept on going, marching up the mountain like it was a routine Stairmaster workout. At 39, he is the second oldest rider in the race, and he definitely fits the appellation of “old pro.” Hurray for the old guys! Horner rolled across the line with no one on his tail, Andy Schleck a not-so-close second.

Congrats to Chris Horner who has been a rock solid rider in the tradition of George Hincapie, giving his all so others could take the glory. Yesterday, the glory was all his, and he now leads the race in overall time.

Sky's the limit: Amgen T o C Stage 3

This photo was borrowed from The Telegraph.  To see the original photo and story, click on Greg Henderson's name in the post below.

For the first four years of the Tour of California, the race was conducted in February (as a sort of pre-season, warm-up activity). But with the popularity of the race exploding, and vendors, spectators and participants clamoring for better weather and road conditions, race organizers moved the race to May. Last year, the riders rode under beautiful warm May skies. Not so yesterday.

The temperature was 53 degrees in Auburn when they started out—and rain was falling. For most of the race, they were soggy. And cold. Really, really cold. Cyclists are extremely lean, with almost zero body fat for insulation, so when the weather is cold, they’re cold, no matter how fast they’re pumping those pedals.

Other than an unusual number of flatted front tires, the race was without drama in the first 117 miles. In the last five, all hell broke loose.

As the peloton entered Modesto for the finish, the big boys scooped up the 5 guys that were still on a break-away, then the gears began to spin. As in yesterday’s stage, they did a couple circuits of the town, with fans cheering, screaming and trying to snap photos from behind the barricades. With just under five miles to go, there was a crash and several riders went down, including world-renowned Jens Voight, who managed to pick himself up off the pavement and roll bloodily on to cross the line somewhere at the back of the peloton. More riders went down within a quarter mile of the finish but staggered on, sporting severe road rash.

Team Sky was at it again, trying to get their champion of Stage 2, Ben Swift, close to the front for another stage win. But as the riders neared the line, “Swifty” got caught up in traffic and couldn’t extricate himself, so it was teammate Greg Henderson this time who powered over the line. Henderson’s remark later was: “I was so lactic I was cross-eyed--I couldn't even do a victory salute.”

Today’s race will be an uphill finish, which means the sprinters will be somewhere in the middle of the peloton exchanging war stories at day’s end.

Forgot to mention yesterday that Taylor Phinney finished 8th in Monday’s stage. He was 8th in yesterday’s stage as well, and now he has the 7th overall best time. He is also in 2nd place to Peter Sagan in competition for the Young Riders jersey. Keep going, Taylor; make your mum & dad proud.

Should also say that the best coverage in print media for the T o C has been from the British papers. Oh—and did I mention that Team Sky is a British team?

2011 Amgen Tour of California Stage 2

The above photo was borrowed from the BBC Sports website--a link to the site of origin is below.  (Click on Ben Swift.)

Ya gotta love it. The winner of Stage 2 of the Tour of California was a rider for the Sky Procycling team by the name of Ben Swift—thus affording journalists a plethora of choices for headlines.

And swift he was. Due to cold weather road conditions, the race was shortened to 76 miles. (Cyclists were supposed to ride up over the Donner Pass, but there was snow… and, well, we know how hungry cyclists get since they burn so many calories. Apparently race organizers didn’t want to end up with an episode for the History channel.) The stage began in Nevada City and ended in Sacramento, providing a good leg warm-up over relatively flat roads. Upon reaching the state capitol, the boys rode three laps around the downtown area—along a corridor of sound created by cheering fans—and then the sprinters were set up by their various teams to be sling shot over the line.

Early on, four riders went out on a break-away, but were easily reeled in by the thundering locomotive of the peloton just after it reached the city.

The crew of team RadioShack worked hard to keep Levi safe and sound, as all the other teams did for their valiant warriors, but it seemed team Sky wanted to bring the hammer down with some intimidation in this early stage, so they set themselves up nicely just before the finish, then Mr. Swift took over with some really impressive leg power.

Today’s stage will be similar to yesterday’s, though a bit longer at 122 miles, and the finish will be another crazy mad dash. We’ll see if Ben has the legs to be swift again.

2011 Amgen Tour of California (ToC) Stage 1 (Pre-race)

Last week in the Giro d’Italia, Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt crashed on a steep descent and died. The cycling world has been in a somber mood, which no doubt influenced the decision of Amgen Tour of California (ToC) officials yesterday to cancel the first stage of the race around Lake Tahoe due to inclement weather. Although it was snowing intermittently, ice on the road was the deciding factor, and wisely so.

I am pleased to see that George Hincapie will be participating in the ToC this year, as he has suggested this may be his last year of professional cycling. He is one of those great, reliable, steadfast riders who have been ever-present. Can’t imagine a Tour de France without him.

Also happy as always to see 3-time ToC winner and California boy Levi Leipheimer looking fit and ready to take up the challenge again this year. Look for him to do well in the time trial on Friday. (Come on, Levi, win it!)

I’ve been watching David Zabriskie since his first Tour de France and have always liked his courage in jumping on a break-away or hanging on when he just has nothing left to give. Expect to see great things from him in this race as he tunes up for July’s little race in France.

Have to mention Taylor Phinney here, the son of cyclists Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter. This boy, from conception, could not have escaped being a professional cyclist. It’s in his frickin’ DNA, for crying out loud. Back in the day—before everyone was worried about everyone doping—Phinney and Carpenter were both forces to be reckoned with in their respective cycling arenas, so I’m wishing all good things for him. And he may just take that time trial in Solvang….

Who will win the race? There’s a good chance Andy Schleck will. As much as I would love to see Levi dragging himself up that last steep section of Mt Baldy road to the finish at the ski lift parking lot—and yes, I’ll be there—I live there!—chances are, if all goes well for him, Schleck will take Saturday’s stage. He has been second in the Tour de France, and Andy is a monster on the mountain stages. Mt. Baldy will be a monster stage, and it takes a monster to conquer a monster, so I think we'll see goofy young Andy hauling himself up those switchbacks ahead of everyone else.

Some things to remember: NBC Sports via Versus will be broadcasting coverage of the race every day, with our good friends Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin (who do the Tour de France every year) giving us stats, info and commentary on the riders. (Paul, if you need a place to stay on Saturday, I have a big beautiful cabin in Mt. Baldy. I’m just sayin’….)

The ToC is a stage race, but times are added collectively, so the winner of the race is the man with the fastest time over the entire week of racing, while there will also be individual stage winners each day.

Most of the riders have Twitter accounts, so if you find yourself favoring one man over another (and who doesn't?), you can read their tweets (usually posted in the morning before the race, then later after the finishes) to get inside information, photos and chuckles.  Lance Armstrong was always good about this--especially photos of the team's antics.  Sigh.  We'll miss you this year, L.A.!

Cycling is a team sport, and there are 18 teams in the ToC this year. Team RadioShack and BMC will be my sentimental favorites, but there are some other very intimidating teams out there, so at this point, it’s anyone’s trophy. Here’s to safe riding for all the courageous legmen!

A Belated Mother's Day

I awoke to rain on the mountain this morning. A fire of ancient gray oak branches burns in the fireplace—a gift from the forest.

And speaking of gifts….

Thirty-three years ago, a teenager from a troubled home made the decision to relinquish her unborn baby for adoption. She told the caseworker at Children’s Home Society that she believed abortion was wrong, that she wanted to do the right thing for her baby, even though the circumstances of his conception had been partly due to the dysfunction in her family. The boy that was born and “given up” (though I believe the vast majority of birth mothers never “give up” on their children) in 1977 was my beloved son. And what would I do without him? He is my friend, my confidante, my advisor. (Had he not nagged me into it, I would never have attempted to become a homeowner again after my divorce—but what a wise and fortuitous decision it finally was.) The flowers and gifts he gave me for Mother’s Day last week are still displayed on my kitchen table. I am intensely proud of him….

And I know his first mother—the woman who named him “Kevin”—would be proud as well, proud of the man he is, proud of his accomplishments in life… if she only knew.

So I spent some time on Mother’s Day creating a Facebook page with some of this information, then I asked my friends to re-post a link to the page. I figure somewhere in Southern California, there has to be someone who knows something about this woman. My son is bi-racial. His birth mother is white with red hair (or it once was; she’d be 52 now). We believe her maiden name was Parker….

Here is a link to the page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Finding-Kevin-Parkers-Birth-Mother/208443199189095

Easter blessings

Today’s walk took me across the highway and along a rarely used and nearly obscured trail that winds behind the Mt. Baldy Zen Center, up to a flat area with few trees and much buckthorn. Without a tree canopy, it’s a great vantage point—on most days—to see down to the valley below (and on clear days, to see all of Catalina Island). Today, however, with the heavy marine layer, I could see only huge cloud chunks flying up San Antonio Canyon, heading straight toward me… which is why I chose this hike, as I love to watch the huge swaths of cloud billow up the slopes and through the trees.


I always take the iPod when I head up there, primarily because it’s a lonely hike; I’ve never seen anyone else on that trail. But also because I know that Leonard Cohen, at one time a resident of the Zen Center, occasionally returns for a visit, and I like to fantasize that one day I will arrive at the flat to find him standing quietly, looking down to the valley below, contemplative as always, perhaps composing some song lyrics in his head. I am determined not to intrude upon his reverie if this ever happens. However, should he deign to speak to me, I’ll have the iPod for a conversation starter. I imagine it will go something like this:

LC: What are you listening to on that damned thing?

Me: At the moment, Loreena McKennett… but to be honest, Mr. Cohen, I have far more of your stuff on here than hers. And I gotta tell ya, I think Rufus Wainwright did the best cover of “Hallelujah.” It’s brilliant.

OK, you’re right, sounds too much like starry-eyed chatter. If I ever see him, I shouldn’t even acknowledge that I recognize him, just nod, eat my snacks quietly, and head back down.

I practiced that today—eating my snacks quietly, I mean, while I scanned the upper slopes for deer. Well, except for a few brief moments while I sang along with Bob Dylan on “Love Minus Zero/No Limit.” Then I started back down, the clouds having nearly filled the canyon with fog. And there they were, two does leaping away, thirty feet below me. I watched their tails bob in retreat, and found myself softly singing “Hallelujah” as I walked back home through the misty forest.

Giddiness Prevails!

Bear with me for a moment while I take deep breaths…. I’ve spent the weekend celebrating my daughter’s acceptance into a Master of Fine Arts program… and also celebrating 70-degree temps for the first time since October… and bringing the bench swing back up to the porch from the garage…. Oh—and Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Cat’s Life released this week, with my story, “The Legacy of Boo Radley.” And my Author’s Page went up on Amazon (which is indescribably encouraging, because I can see that Tainted Legacy is still selling all around the country). What else? Oh! The Grandson is here for the weekend (which is how I got the swing back up the stairs to the porch—and several other chores accomplished).

I’m excited about the weather warming for many reasons. A few are:

I’m out of firewood. (Could buy another half cord for $150, but I’d rather spend that money on something that doesn’t go up in smoke.)

“Scruffy,” the cat abandoned in the forest by some idiots, has a better chance of survival. He/she is responding to food and affection, looking healthier every day.

The wildflowers are beginning to bloom. 

I can spend more hours working on the dog book. Some of you know that my cabin in winter gets so cold that I can’t stay at the keyboard for long before my fingers are so stiff from the cold I have to stop typing. As the weather has warmed (except for last Saturday, at 20 degrees), I’ve been able to work on that memoir. I want to be close to finishing by summer.

I’m grateful this week to several people who have been especially supportive of my work, particularly Laura Hoopes, who helped me get the Amazon Author’s Page going. Her memoir will release on May 2, and I’ll be talking about it here.

I’m also grateful for the readers who have checked out my blog from afar. This week, I had two pageviews from Germany, two from France, two from Russia, two from Slovenia and one from Iran. Who are you, my exotic readers? Thanks for stopping by!

One more note that I’ve been meaning to tell you about: Some weeks ago, Gary Sutton sent me a copy of his new novel, Oskaloosa Moon. Gary is a savvy businessman who usually writes about that field. However, to pay dubious respects to his roots, he wrote Moon. I have to admit, I was skeptical at first; can a businessman write an engrossing novel? But I have to tell you, I fell in love with this book from the preface. If you are a reader of novels, I promise you will love this book. I have provided a link to Amazon here—if you buy it and don’t love it, let me know; I’ll buy it back from you!  (Just click on the book.  I know; it's way too easy....)