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Links and More
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Club Trip: Tour of California: Stage 2 - 02/20/07 | ||
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On the morning of the event a few of us rode from Roseville to Downtown Sacramento via the North Loop trail. Others were going to drive down and meet us there. And then others would ride in from work to meet us there as well. The weather wasn't perfect but considering it was the middle of February it wasn't bad at all. It was an overcast day with a bit of wind and just a hair on the cold side. Nothing to complain about since the week before was wet and cold. Upon arriving downtown we made our way around the many vendors and tents that lines the State Capitol. It was great to see all this cycling stuff all over the place. We were able to meet and greet with even the biggest of celebs. We made our way to the finish line and nestled in for a bit. They had these large monitors along the main drag so you could sit there and watch the riders on the monitors as they came into Winters, then Davis, and then West Sacramento, and then across the tower bridge. There were helicopters overhead so we knew they were close. Then the race officials would start to come in across the finish line. The streets were getting packed with crowds now. There had to be tens of thousands. Then you could hear the crowds yelling and screaming down the way as they made the turn. For me it was exciting because I had never been to such an event. I didn't know what it would be like. But for those that want to know what it's like to watch it I have one word, "blur." That's right, watching cyclists on the finish line is like watching a blur. That's because they come through at 35 mph. The only good thing was that because this was the finish line they were doing a circuit of 3 miles. So they had them go around a course of about 3 miles, this meant they would pass in front of us 4 times. As they came through it was like a freight train, one big woosh! It was just awesome to see these guys fly by, to hear them roar, and then feel the wind. Too cool for words. The most amazing thing was not that they were doing 35 mph, it was the fact that on the final sprint they were doing almost 40 mph. On the way home we tried a 30 mph sprint, with the wind, we were able to do it, not for long but we did. I can't imagine being able to sprint at 40 mph and holding it. This was a truly amazing event and we hope they bring it through Sacramento again next year, if so we'll be there routing them on. Riders
for this trip:
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