Yes, a new post. Its only been 3 Tour of California's, 4 Tour de Georgia's, 3 USPRO Championships, approx 5 Lance Armstrong LiveStrong Challenges (I loose track), and a few RCO races later. Did you miss me?

So where do I start. I'll just say there have been tons of events since the last post. I'll link you to photo albums later.

Howz bout I just start from the Tour of Calif 2009.... It was awesome, I have never seen crowds this big before. I've worked events pre-Lance, during and post-Lance. But the Lance return events were the biggest. Who knew???

Before-ish

After-ish

All for now, that was enough to keep you wanting more...

OK just a tiny bit more if you want more videos.... I need your help in finding some Http://www.id3races.com sponsors - lets chat!

Catching Up....

OK so I really stank at keeping up with all the blog stuff, in 2006. This and other entries are going to be speed blogs.
I will try to compress a years worth of entries into just a few days. Many of these entries will not have text or explanations as that takes to long to type much less read. So use your imagination carefully as it could get you into trouble. Get it? Got it? Good...

Remainder of the 2006 Amgen Tour of California.......Yes, they are in order from beginning to end, at least until I add another entry.

San Fran

I think the Rainbow stripes mean you are really special. :-)

Santa Rosa

A bit of early morning city disruption. Nice folks, and one of the most well attended stages. Folks came from every corner to see this stage. Of course it helped that this was Levi's hometown....

Likely one of the largest hotels I have stayed in. This place was massive. Too bad (at least for us) we were only there for a few hours.

San Jose
I tried clicking on this building to make a copy but it didn't work.

Some behind the scenes pics.
A photo from the Green room. These were the podium jerseys and gift award picture BEFORE they were awarded. I'll let you figure out who won this stage.



OK, here is a clue....


More behind the scenes....

Yes, that is the great Judy Miller of USAC fame, center stage ready to score some riders in a fast finish.

The always safe and courteous Mr. Johnson who would so often say on my mark 3, 2, 1... Here he has dropped off his partner and her chalk board (actually it was a dry eraser board). Not much of a gap to figure this day.

And laslty for a bit of local perspective. Just prior to Danny boy getting hit by the comuter train. Yep, Dan that really was a close one. Keep in mind this pic was taken in Feb 2006. I cant begin to guess what it would display now. Metcalf thanks for the gas cards.

OK, I know I know… I slacked on this blogging thing. Well hang in there and I will try to catch you up to speed on what happened. Happened that is in California. See I am so far behind on entries there has been another Tour in the US, the Spring Classics are now over and Floyd has won at least………well, just hang on.

So California, big state on the left coast. Way cool place, the folks at AMGEN and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), and of course Medalist Sports really know how to put on an event. This is more than just seven stages of cycling it is an event to entertain and educate. Much more on that later.

Saturday 02.18.06 - So here we are now on the eve of Stage 1 of the FIRST EVER Amgen Tour of California (ATOC) you will see that acronym more as it is so much easier to type than its full name. So we talked about some of the supplies it takes to pull this thing off. Now it is time to unload the truck and built this beast. The Prologue is a different build in that it is usually just the finish crew on site and all of our stuff. (Fancy term for items previously mentioned and contents of the truck)

So we cruise down the 101 listening to Phantom Planet and California - http://music.yahoo.com/track/2004232 (Will, great team song) to the Embarcadero and Pier 15 to review the site and determine were the start ramp will go, see what I mean how many times do you think the finish crew is going to use a start ramp??? and how the fence, truss and extras are going to be placed in the morning.

Sure Larry and Chuck made a great build guide, thanks fellas. But we wanted to see the site first hand ….Its all about being prepared. Later that night after yet another dinner at Sizzlin compliments of Union Bank of CA. It was an early crash as the next day would be a 5:00am build if I recall correctly. Ahhh the tour begins. But not before my friend Donna schmoozes with her neighbor, and fellow alumni from Lancaster, PA. Seems the local High School there in Lancaster had a calendar made of “Where are the graduates now” and you know who was included in the calendar.

He may have been Mr. April …….. OOPS wrong blog. Or maybe that was a bit of early luck for another tour. Donna got some one on one time with Floyd and gave a calendar to him and got a nice souvenir for herself. ………Racer Chaser!

The Prologue – Whew what an early morning! We arrived on site well before the streets had been rolled out and lights turned on. We less than quietly made our presence know once Clarkie arrived with the Truss and Fence. I had meet Clark yesterday and couldn’t place the name Sheenan. It wasn’t until after building the truss that it hit me. MAN THIS IS CLARK SHEEHAN of the former Coors Light, Saturn, Montgomery Bell, Subaru Montgomery, US Postal Service, Colorado Cyclist,and 7 UP cycling teams. How cool would that be to work with this guy? OK now it was either too early in the AM or Donna’s racer chaser shadow had just rubbed off on me. So I got him to sign my Hat, T-Shirt, Socks, Jeans, Jacket, and left arm which still hasn’t been completely washed. Thank goodness he worked the Tour of Georgia – it needed some touch up… Just kidding. It was a great honor having Clark and Chris from the Orange guy events on my team. Check them out at http://www.orangeguy.biz

Speaking of one and only what a double whammy Chris Aronhalt – Executive Director of Medalist Sports showed up this morning to lend a hand not accidentally but purely on purpose. OK, I know you think, he will hang out in the truck, stay warm, observe from afar and then jump out and look all important. You know sort of like the dolphin.

Well, not ATOC Chris, he was there this day and every other morning with his game on. Chris slung fence, Chris tied banners quite the zip tie-er I might add, Chris bolted the truss, yes even with the left handed socket, (he’s right handed) he did it all. Thanks Chris for being such a team player. Well we got ‘r done and were able to sit back and enjoy the huge crowds of downtown.



Well the race was fast and the awards presentation was about to start when all of a sudden you a radio call rings out. All Finish crew to the Awards stage ASAP. Seems we were about to have a visitor. I wasn’t sure who as it was only 12:50 according to the local clock. Yet others in the tower must have known it was time for something else. Or perhaps someone else.
Look very closely inside the clock tower.

Yep, you guessed ARNOLD was there. The Governor arrived in Secret Service style with 5 Black Suburbans creating their own race caravan, with a different sort of leader. He gave out some words of wisdom as well us some golden jerseys. Go ahead and laugh you girly man, all you want about hand placements, because he knows you are lauffing and soon HE WILL BE BACK.





Yes I want a suit like this. You know Hoakenson wants one too.



TTFN.............Bob

Hey how bout some more ATOC tales? ATOC you ask? With all well-oiled machines there has to be acronyms, so here you go, Amgen Tour of California (ATOC).

Well, it is day two in the fabulous state of California and time to get this party started. The crew gathers in the morning for Inventory duty. Literally, we need to unpack a 24foot box truck that was driven from Georgia to California the previous week. Thanks Dolphin and Magnum, or for you readers that would be Will and Elliott. All the supplies on board will be distributed to the following crews. Elliott and the Start crew, Rob Bushnell and the Routing crew – ROUTING and SOUND GUYS ROCK ! Dan and the Expo guys, and my crew the Finish. The following is a mere sample of the items that we needed to make this ATOC a success and in no order of importance. Yes, I know I likely left some things out; these are ones that I remember.

Please note the following disclaimers and quotes first:
Quantities may settle during shipping and decrease with each city. Not all items were acquired by legal means. Every attempt was made to adhere to OSHA safety guidelines. Elliot and the Start crew has it. Chris said not to. Remember that you owe us. Yes, those belong to Medalist. Jimmy is the MAN ! No I do not recall seeing that item in San Francisco, it must still be in the warehouse in Georgia. Get with Larry on that one. You need how many? Easy on the Zip Ties we gotta make them last all tour.

1,500 trash bags – 30 to a box you do the math / 40 Trash cans / 20 Buckets – I have no idea what they were for, but thanks Home Depot / 120 Ratchet straps / 50 rolls of duct tape / A few hundred feet of rope / 160 cans of White Spray paint – for KOM, and K to go / 5 ladders / 10 EZ Up tents / 10 miles of extension cord / 40 Tripods – For Road Signs indicating KOM, Feed, etc… / 100 + Orange Traffic cones / Leaf blower / Power Saws, drills, / 2 Onsite job boxes / 10 Brooms (4 made it home safely) / Empty Gas cans – I have no idea about these however I do recall at the end of the race loading a full one onto the truck ?? / 1 – Time Trial ramp – Nice ramp Chris, to bad UCI didn’t allow the ATOC decal / 30 Grand Prix sings – still looking for 2 that didn’t make it home / Zip ties – over 40,000 if I do the math correctly / 4 coffins / Approx. 30 pieces of Coreplast – For truss work and meters to go signs / 88 banners /

Finish Crew only: 2 cases of Cheddar Cheese Combos / 2 cases of Clif Shots / 1 – Large box of Advil caplets / Various Key chains (You know what I mean)

OK, I am tired now so let me stop before I hurt myself. I leave you with a few pictures that slightly match the above tales. More details on the people, places, and pictures another day.

Well here is my official attempt at blog entry. Bare w/ me, as I get wordy w/ my descriptions and stories. Yeah some say I always have a story to blab. Well, its true, life is full of stories. As my friend, PJ says there has to be a sermon in there somewhere.

First let me say a HUGE THANK YOU TO MY WIFE, NYOKIA, AND DAUGHTERS KIRSTYN & ASHTON. For allowing me to participate in such activities. Nyokia had know idea what seeing that first Tour DeTrump would eventually cause.

HONEY THANK YOU YOU’RE THE BEST !!!

To my kiddies, Kirstyn sorry I missed part of your birthday day, glad we got to celebrate before I left. Ashton, see those 16 days were not that long after all.



After a few days in Chicago participating in annual kickoff meetings and social gatherings – see a bit of fun from the Chicago Auto. Yes, it is truly a gigantic Auto Show. Gotta love a 4 door Dodge Superbee. Ron, I found a few team car possibilities. Also, why would one want mini financial assistance? If you needed help, why not go big? What amazed me was the frequent use of the word HYBRID. Oh, for the love let it go….. Dig for oil in Alaska and move the owls to Oklahoma. Save the bats from H*&# and build the windmills in VA. Oh, sorry wrong blog.
Then Ford speaks of the H word and then creates a monster of a truck called the Super Chief, lets just say I don’t think of hybrid on this one. Seems it is modeled after the Santa Fee - Super Chief Locomotive that ran in the Midwest. I spent a mesmerizing 3hrs there and could have stayed for more. But didn’t want to dare miss the 10:40 train back to Glenview as that would be one looooong cab ride from downtown Chicago. Gee, I could have taken one of those Dodge’s for a real test drive had I missed the train.

Now it was time to travel west, gotta love those mountains. No not our Appalachians, I mean the real mountains.

Arrived in San Francisco safely after adding an hour onto the travel time due to a 500mph head wind. The pilot mentioned something about the jet stream for anyone traveling west that day. These guys were less than amused when we arrived so late and their phazers were not working properly. I presume the Engerizer bunny had it's share of jet fumes that day and was no longer jumping about.

Found my way thru baggage claim, moved onto the host hotel to meet the team, collect all the necessities for the week – Clothes, Manuals, Credentials, Vehicle, and the next assignment. Ran into an old pal Brooke from Dupont days. These events are often like a family reunion; we caught up and ended up working close during the week. These events are like family reunions surrounding the bike. You do not see faces for a year or more, then suddenly they appear and you feel at home. Speaking of running into folks yeah ran into these fellas later that afternoon. Therefore, I took advantage of the down time, as I knew the next few days would never allow for this encounter. No, that is not Tommy Firebaugh in the middle!

That’s all for now…………

Testing 1,2,3...
Trying this with two hands now, and a picture.

Trying this with just one hand now.... Preparing for Tour of California http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/ entries. Who knows were I will be and what I will be doing. Yeah just like racing you never know what the next day brings. I plan to supply entries about the tour and to show up in rather unusual places with yes, unusual people afterall it is California....