The Busy Day

This was my first glimpse of Taylor Phinney this year.
So today was an incredibly busy day. I'll only hit the highlights here because I'm short on time. But overall, it will go down as one of my most productive and most enjoyable road trips of all time. (Others: Tyler Hamilton ESPN.com interview in Boulder, 2008 trip to the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and the 2008 Tour of Britain).

Church at St. Anthony's was certainly memorable. They asked visitors to stand before mass. I acted like I didn't hear them. (I also ignored the people looking at me.) I later wondered what they would have done had I stood up.

The velodrome session at the Home Depot Center/ADT Events Center (or whatever they call it) was awesome. I've seen photos and watched webcasts of the track, but had never been to the facility. It is awesome. And USA Cycling does a great job of not letting you know that volleyball and basketball courts are located on the infield and time is rented out to youth teams. It was quite a sight, watching one of the world's top track cyclists (Taylor Phinne) spin around the track while a bunch of parents cheered on their kids, not knowing the "Michael Jordan of cycling" was in their midst.

Other observations: The banking is really steep. Track racing is cool to watch. Roger Young is the best at what he does when it comes to training track riders.

My one regret on the day: That I didn't get a photo of a surfer dude walking down the street upon my arrival in Marina del Ray. The beach was less than 100 meters from the street, yet I didn't take a moment to check it out. Yep, now I regret it. I'm also going to miss the 60 degree temperatures when I get back to Omaha.

These guys were in front of me on the way to Marina del Ray.

NFL playoff games are on early on Sunday nights in California.

Taylor and his father, Davis, being interviewed by Nick Heil.

Yep, basketball and volleyball courts are on the infield.


Some of Greg LeMond's jerseys and bikes are on display.


A tribute to the Olympic velodrome is also on display.

The Arrival

My hotel room (read: office) at the Courtyard Marriott.
So my quick trip to Los Angeles (and much warmer weather) is underway. I arrived at my hotel after a positive experience at the rental car office. Life lesson for the YD girls: Renting from a "no-name" brand is often good for a couple reasons. Prices are low. The airport shuttle is always empty. The line at the rental counter is always non-existent.

My hotel is located in a massive office park area near the Los Angeles Air Force Base (which I didn't know existed). On weekdays, I'm sure it's a bustling, traffic-snarled area. But on weekends, it would be the perfect place to shoot an "what-happened-after-the-atomic-bomb-went-off" movie. The wide, four-lane roads were completely empty. Parking lots absolutely deserted. No sign of life anywhere (but my hotel). It was pretty strange.

The other nice things (besides what's pictured below): Easy access to the airport, to the freeway, to church (about eight minutes away) and to plenty of restaurants (though I only ate twice). Plus, the breakfast buffet at the hotel lobby was terrific. The downside: Cell phone service seemed to be spotty.

Saw this in the online photo gallery and had to take my own photo.

The pool was smaller than it looked in pictures.

I would have loved to have shot hoops here. No time.

My rental car had Washington plates. Strange.

Catching Up With Friends

The first race of the season provides the opportunity to catch up with my friends and colleagues on the pro cycling circuit - some of whom I have not seen since the Tour of Missouri. Many of them ask how my daughters are doing, which is very thoughtful of kind of them. I was able to say, "great" this week because I just spent last weekend with them.

Because time is short, here's a few highlights from my day Friday – Stage 1 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic.

One of the girls's all-time favorites, Ivan Dominguez.

Plenty of press is here (and I know nearly all of them).

Reed McCalvin is working for Trek-Livestrong this year.

I hadn't seen this done before. Gels attached to bottles.

Same red, black and white colors - just a different team.

Finally, can you spot which "Daily Distraction" I shot for Pezcycling News this month?

Back In California

Host housing in Redlands, Calif., is first class.
So I'm back in California for the third time this year. This time, it's for the 26th annual Redlands Bicycle Classic. The four-day stage race is one of the longest-running events on the National Racing Calendar.

This is my third time at this race. In 2008, I was here with Rock Racing (which won the race overall). Last year, it was Team Type 1. This year, Fly V Australia.

On the flight out of Omaha, I was nearly bumped. But flying through Phoenix had its benefits, as a snowstorm in Denver all but shuttered that airport and stranded travelers nationwide. Surprisingly, when I boarded my flight to Ontario, Calif., (not Ontario, Canada) the plane was nearly empty.

The other interesting aspect of my travel Wednesday was running into the Azusa Pacific basketball team. Coincidentally, I had watched highlights of the NAIA school losing by one point (the potential game-winning basket was waved off) to Dallas Baptist.

The airport in Ontario, Calif. seemed strangely empty.

Fly V Australia Training Camp

The boys from Fly V Australia, on the road near Malibu, Calif.
So I had a serious case of deja vu going this month, returning to California – Agoura Hills, no less – for my second professional cycling team training camp of the year. This time, it was with the Fly V Australia team.

Ed Beamon, who managed Team Type 1 in 2008, is the team's technical director. My role was to perform some media training, manage a media day and assist with the team's presentation, which took place at a posh hotel in Beverly Hills. The camp went well. Here are some of the highlights, in photos, of my five days on-site.

My room at the Renaissance – same hotel as the BMC Racing Team's training camp. (Little did I know we would be back here in May at the Amgen Tour of California.)

Ed Beamon supervised all the team's training rides.


Ivan Dominguez, now with the Jamis-Sutter home squad, showed up for one of the rides. The license plate on his car reads, "1K 2 GO"

Self-portrait during one of the training rides.

A lifeguard tower straight out of "Baywatch."

Team Owner Chris White was the subject of a front-of-the-sports page story in the Los Angeles Daily News.

The roof-top pool adjacent to the ballroom where the team presentation was held.

Jerseys for autograph signing after a training ride.

The Velo Pasadena bicycle shop hosted a "Ride with the Pros" event.

My final day in California didn't feature the best weather. But it was still better than the weather in Nebraska.

There was a huge turnout for the training ride from Pasadena to Big Bear.

California Driving

Video for the girls of me driving in California.

The Inn At Morro Bay

There's plenty of water at Morro Bay – not including this fountain.
When part of your job is to write things, writing on your personal blog seems to be an afterthought. But halfway through training camp, I am making a real effort to weigh in on a few things.

The BMC Racing Team training camp has been tremendous so far. But things really heat up this week with photo and media days on Tuesday through Thursday. I'm still working through the logistics (something I should be doing right now), so this will be short and Morro Bay-centric.

The Inn at Morro Bay is the hotel where we stayed Sunday night. Very swanky and right on the cusp of the Pacific Ocean. My room (as you can see from the photos) is very nice (they have all been nice, by the way) and the lobby has free wifi – always a good thing.

Today we will be continuing our trek down the coast. We'll pass through Santa Barbara, where I hope to pick up some videotapes I loaned to Shelley Verses a year ago. You'll recognize that name if you're a cycling fan from way back. She was the first female soigneur in professional cycling – kind of hard to believe nowadays, huh? And that was only 1985. More on Shelley in a later entry. Now to the photos:

I still can't figure out what that big mound is behind me.

Nice sunset, huh? Very picturesque, as I am fond of writing.

My room, complete with TV over the fireplace.

This is the sink at the Hyatt the night before. Huge.

Button on the top is to flush. Pretty cool, huh Julia?

Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on our way down the coast.