And we're off!...

Off to New Zealand this afternoon for an adventure. Sure it's a very non-Hobbit like thing to do, but we aren't ordinary hobbitses...

Updates to follow when I have downtime and internet access in the Land Of Kiwis.

2009 Amgen Tour Of California (Solvang, CA)

I've finally whittled down the selection of photos from 550+ down to 39. Most of the pics are from Stage 6, which was the time trial in Solvang. It was great fun to go down there and watch the racers go by one at a time for a few hours. And I am quite happy with the pictures that I did shoot.

Here are the people I've uploaded pictures of, if you should want to see any other racer's pic, let me know. I have pictures of most of them! Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Steven Cozza, Tom Danielson, George Hincapie, Ben Jacques-Maynes, Floyd Landis, Gustav Larson, Francesco Mancebo, Stuart O'Grady, Frank Schleck, Yaroslav Popovych, Andy Schleck, Oscar Sevilla, Christian Vandevelde, Jens Voigt, Peter Weening, Tom Zirbel, Thor Hushovd, David Zabriskie, Lance Armstrong, and Levi Leipheimer.

http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/Fueco/09Tour-of-California/

If you want prints of anything, let me know (also, I have plenty of additional images of most of the riders. So if you want to see more of a particular rider, let me know!). Sample prices (approximate, depending on actual proportions of the print): 8x10 ($20), 11x14 ($35), 20x24 ($70), 24x36 ($150).

Here are a few samples...

More "ordinary" training rides...

Here's the report for the first two centuries of 2009. And also likely the only ones for January and February (since I'm now supposed to taper for the Ironman in March.

For both rides, Joan and I met other friends at The Bike Outfitters (Los Altos) sometime before 8:00 AM to start the rides.

On Saturday January 31, our ride went out to Portola Valley and then up Old La Honda (ascent time for me was 23:15). From there we headed down Highway 84 to San Gregorio where we stopped to enjoy the sun out in front of the store. Then we headed south on Stage Road to Pescadero (if you haven't been through here, it's quite lovely). From there, up and over Haskins Hill and then up (west) Alpine Road to Skyline Blvd. This is a very nice climb. It seems a bit like Page Mill, but a bit easier (and shorter!). From there, down 84 to Woodside and to the end of Canada Road and back to Joan's place. A decent ride, and only one flat for me. 121 miles with probably 7500 feet of climbing (or maybe a little more).

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2531966



On Saturday February 7, same start; but since the road was still wet from the rain the previous night, we went to Canada Road first. Then we did the Polhemus Loop (bike trail from near the end of Canada to Polhemus Road to Crystal Springs Road to Skyline) to get farther north. We turned around just past what we refer to as the Manatees (a house that has sculptures of Manatees along the street) in Burlingame. From there, we headed back to Woodside, and then up Kings Mountain Road to Skyline. I felt pretty good, but didn't actually keep my time. Too bad, because it was probably close to my record time for that climb! After the climb, a quick trip down 84 back to Woodside and then back to Joan's (with a detour down to Stevens Creek Road on Foothill to make the ride just over 100 miles. 101 miles, and perhaps 4500 feet of climbing...

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2547148