Ride In The Team Car

Riding shotgun with BMC Racing Team's John Lelangue.
Whenever I am on-site at a stage race, I try to get in the team car at least once. It's a chance to gather behind-the-scenes photos and video. On Wednesday, I asked BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue about getting in the car sometime during the remainder of the race. He immediately said, "tomorrow." So Thursday morning, I was climbing into the car for a 193-kilometer race with seven categorized climbs.

The caravan is a moving city on wheels. Speeds are high at times and the terrain of the course naturally makes things dangerous. Check out the shot at right of the photographer on the back of the motorcycle. We were clocking 62 mph at the time.

Every director has his own style. I asked John if there was anything I should or should not do. "Just don't open your door," he said. I'm guessing he has seen my running with George Hincapie's bike in Canada. That was fine by me. Less stress.

You can see many of the videos I shot on YouTube and I've included the most popular one below (photo at right). Suffice it to say it was a good day for photos and video. But not so great for the riders. The racing was fast and the aggressive plan John laid out was executed perfectly but didn't lead to any results, unfortunately.

A couple notes:

- All this black clothing we have from lululemon reminds me of my days of working for Rock Racing.

- Team Sky has the most vehicles of any team: a motorcoach, large equipment bus, small camper, equipment van and five team cars. We have a camper, small bus, van and three team cars.


Jeff Louder gets help from the BMC Racing Team car.

A closer look at John Lelangue's dashboard setup.

A good crowd turned out in this little town.

Commissaire working out of his car.

The red helmet signifies that this is a motorcycle referee.

View of mechanic Nick Vandecauter and me.

Steve Morabito, chasing back after a "nature break."

Another view of more riders chasing back after their stop.

The BMC Racing Team was car No. 10 in the caravan.

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.

BMC Training Camp: On My Way

A final photo to show the scene in Omaha the night before my departure.
So I left early Wednesday for my first trip of 2010, headed to California for the BMC Racing Team's training camp.

I have been to Santa Rosa, Calif., three times previously: all during the stages of the Amgen Tour of California. Here are my memories of each trip:

2007 (working with Toyota-United):
First memory: that the press room was about a seven-block walk from the finish line. To this day, this is the farthest I have had to walk from finish line to press room at any race. Ever. I will also not forget how packed the stage finish was for this race. How packed? I had to use my whistle to cut a line nine-deep at the finish line just to get across the street. And I also made the mistake of not being on the right side of the street (one I have never made again) for the finish of the race. Course marshals cut off access to crossing 45 minutes before the race arrives. I didn't know that and got stuck on the side of the street opposite the media tent.

So I was left to try and look over the heads of people as the peloton zoomed by for the first of three laps on a finishing circuit through the downtown streets. After the first pass through the finish line, some people left – apparently thinking the race was over. Oops. Good for me, though, as I got to work my way up to a spot about three-deep from the barriers. This was the year that a massive pile-up ensued and I seemed to be the only one who took a time on the gap between the crash and the leaders. It proved to be a moot point in a situation that has since become known as "The Levi Rule."

I also recall staying that night at the "Pink Flamingo" hotel, where I got sick overnight. I was a little concerned I would not be ready to work the next day, but everything worked out and I have yet to get sick at any stage race since (knock on wood).

2008 (working with Rock Racing):
A post-race autograph session is my memory of this year. It was a bit cold and damp after the long, tiring stage. But the Rock Racing riders didn't complain one bit as they signed autographs for about an hour after the race. (The crowds were huge.) This also marks one of the most memorable stages for me for all the wrong reasons. While I was walking back from the media room, cutting through a parking garage and mall, when I received a call that my Uncle (Arch) had died. I was stunned. And I also couldn't talk at length to the person who broke the news to me because I was in the midst of a bit of crisis management related to the autograph signing. It was not a good day.

2009 (working with Team Type 1):
Cold, wet, damp. Those are easy words to describe the stage. Thankfully, Team Type 1 had Joe Haddad and his motorcoach to help keep the riders (and me) warm after the race. I recall Phil Southerland and Fabio Calabria, after being excused from riding the finishing circuits, riding up to the bus. Fabio was so cold he crashed trying to hop a curb. It was a miserable day. By the way, Rock Racing won the stage (a completely unexpected result) and we (then Elevation Sports & Entertainment) did not have a PR person to facilitate the finish line and post-race protocol.

More Google Hits

My favorite story is the one in Dutch (second from the bottom).

Thank Heavens For Google Translator

What I Do

The cover of the latest issue of VeloNews.
Julia asked me today what I do.

The photo above kind of says it all. I secure as much publicity as I can for the two professional bicycle racing teams who employ me.

Seeing Tyler Hamilton on the cover of VeloNews is probably one of the biggest "gets" I have to my credit. Sure, I didn't win the race. And he certainly deserved to be on the cover after winning one of the biggest one-day races in the United States. But there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work done to make this happen - and it is satisfying to know I played a part in it.

So when I told Julia how hard I work at my job, sharing a copy of the magazine with her was certainly a satisfying moment. And it made me proud to be her dad.

Tour of Britain: Final Gallery

I've added a photo gallery (see the bottom of the post below) and am sharing one more gallery from the race itself below:

Tour of Britain: Final Thoughts

I've had these things for months and had never worn them.
London - Where did I leave off?

Was it before or after the hotel with the tiny rooms? Or was it the day a three-hour transfer turned into five?

Somewhere along the way – in the final days of the Tour of Britain – everything caught up with me. The long days, the string of hotels with Internet suddenly turned into Wi-Fi-less places that were simply locales in which to hold up for the night.

The days that had already begun to blur into one another were suddenly flashing forward. Had I not taken photos, I’d be at a loss to remember what I saw or where I was for Stages 6, 7 and 8.

I’ll try to do my best. Here is my final ramble on the Tour of Britain:

“Quid” is the slang term for the pound. Much like “bucks” are dollars.

A “lift” is an elevator. But maybe I told you that a couple days ago.

Getting used to driving on the left is one thing. Stepping out to cross traffic on foot is another. I nearly got killed Monday when I looked left, saw nothing coming, and started crossing. From my right, a massive truck just about took me out. Wow. My guardian angel was working overtime on that one.

Don’t order beef in England. Don’t ask why. Stick with the chicken.

The “tube” is the “London Underground” train system. At first, I thought Paul was telling me we were going clubbing when he threw out those unusual names. Fortunately, it only amounted to a 45-minute ride in which he related the story of how the train system map was created.

The most inexpensive thing in England – when compared to the U.S. – has to be postcards. I purchased six of them for less than a pound.

The town of Blackpool is a cross between Coney Island and Daytona Beach. And I only saw it during the daytime. Kind of scary to think what kind of creatures come out at night there.

Liverpool and London – by far – attracted the largest crowds of the entire Tour. Each was estimated to have fan turnouts of more than 100,000. For a comparison, the largest single-day crowd on the most popular U.S.-based stage race (the Amgen Tour of California) attracted about 75,000 on its biggest day.

The bride who cut me a piece of her wedding cake in the wee hours of the morning stands out in my memory. I said a prayer that her marriage is a long and fruitful one.

I could not have managed on this trip without team photographer and good friend, Paul McKelvey. A through-and-through Irishman, he knew his way about England and was never afraid to ask if he didn’t know something. His sense of humor, incredible work ethic and awesome picture-taking was a daily inspiration for me to do my best, too. Thanks, Paul.

My other special friend on this trip was Abby. Always one to help out in the “press room” (which was really a super awesome motorcoach for seven of the eight stages), she also put up with my wisecracks. Abby, I’ll see you again – at the Olympics in London in 2012, if not before. I’m sure you will be running the show for the British Cycling Federation by then.

Harrods – which I originally confused with “Harrah’s” casinos in an early conference call – is a massive, block-long, six-story high facility that is a throwback to the big department stores of the 50s and 60s. Kind of like “Brandeis” only much, much, much, much (I could go on) bigger.

When the Rock Racing arrived for its autograph signing Monday about 45 minutes behind schedule, there was no rushing. No, this is Great Britain. We had to first sit down and have a cup of tea. (Grandma Bep would be proud!)

Somewhere along the Tour, the announcers began referring to Rock Racing as the “Rockin’ Racing” team. I also found out that if you want to really roll your R’s, just turn the “o” in a word to a “u” and you’ll suddenly sound like a Brit.

A word of advice: despite its name, the “Premier Inn” is far from a first-rate facility. Internet that didn’t work, air conditioning that was broken, TVs with picture break-up, doors every 50 feet in the hallway that made it seem like we were on a ship… I could go on and on. Believe me when I tell you to avoid this chain that made our final two nights in Great Britain pretty much a nightmare.

It was hard saying goodbye to everyone on the Tour. People I had spent a week with – either as part of the Rock Racing team or as part of the race organization. The list is a long one, but here’s a start: Abby, Peter, Paul (though not Mary), Lisa, Letti, Marco, Alicia, Rich, Les (our motorcoach driver) and even the reporter who asked me if he could get an interview with Tyler Hamilton so he could let him “confess” to doping. (Sidenote to that story: That particular reporter will go down as the first person to add me as a Facebook.com friend.)

Souvenir shopping for the girls was a lot of fun. I spent a lot of time looking around this week – and remembering what kinds of things made big impressions on me when Aunt Jean used to return home from her global trips. Girls, I hope you like them. I even got your mom a little something.

The plane ride from Chicago to London is a blur. As I type this on the flight home, I’m beginning to wonder if this is going to be one of those nightmarish journeys where you can’t sleep, don’t feel good, just want to get off, etc. Hopefully not! (I’ll let you know in tomorrow’s entry.)

I’m not sure who took care of this, but when I logged on last night to check seat assignments, I noticed that I had been upgraded to first class on my flight from Chicago to Omaha. Wow. I’m going to have to do some investigating because that is certainly a nice surprise and will be much appreciated after the nine-or-so-hour flight across the Atlantic.

The British people were very, very cordial (Memo to Aunt Jean: times do change – and sometimes for the better). By the end of the trip, I was starting to pick up some of their nuances. Like being extremely polite (I usually try), not being in such a rush all the time and appreciating the little things.

I never did find a Catholic Church to attend. I did see one that we drove by one day. I certainly hope that watching mass on YouTube counts for something. I tried. Seriously.

Did you know police in England wear “stab vests” because knives, not guns, are most prevalent? The officer I spoke with in Blackpool was kind enough to explain just how heavy her stab vest was and show me a few things she carried (like pepper spray but not a gun). Weird.

Here are a few links to videos that you might enjoy:

Up close and personal
Team car experience
Interview with the king of Rock Racing
Interview with Victor Hugo Pena

Finally, working on-site for my job is certainly a nice change of pace. But it also makes you take stock of what you have – and what you should be thankful to have – in your life. My five beautiful daughters mean everything to me. My family has been extremely supportive of me throughout my life. I couldn’t ask for anything more from them. The many friends and colleagues who read this blog are so much appreciated as well. I missed you when I was away, too. Thank you, God, for keeping me safe.

'Brilliant' - And Other British Sayings

Paul McKelvey of Vero Image shot this overlooking Friday's start.
Glasgow, Scotland - It's "half past" as they say in Great Britain as I write this.

That's just one of the British terms I have picked up in the short time I have been in this country. Many of them have come from my friend, Abby, who manages press room operations for the Tour of Britain.

Here's a sampling of some others:

- "Brilliant" is a favorite expression. It means "awesome" or "excellent" or "very good."

- "Cheers" is a typical way for the Brits to say "goodbye."

- In many parts, the "o" in a word is pronounced like a "u." So "Rock Racing" becomes "Ruck Racing." Say it aloud with me ... "Ruuuuck Racing."

- "The lift" is the elevator. And despite being an eight-passenger at most locales, it is very small. Perhaps it would fit eight people the size of Olivia comfortably.

- "Half past" (30 minutes after the hour) and "quarter past" (15 minutes after the hour) refer to specific time periods. Also, military time is referenced most often. Many of our races have ended at "14 hours, 30" or "14 hours, 45."

- If you have a room that's in the 100s, you are on the second floor. If you have a room like 201 or in the 200s, you are on the third floor. Weird.

- Asking for a pop has resulted in me receiving soda water at least once and a blank stare about a dozen times. A better way to ask for one is the phrase, "Do you have any Coke?" - even though I might want a Pepsi or another soft drink.

- The area where we are today - Scotland - features a very "rough" sounding voice for many females. Sure, they might look nice (see the new bride in my photo gallery), but once they open their mouth, you'd think you were talking to a pot-bellied sailor - with their husky, gruff voices. Paul warned us about this so we wouldn't laugh. I still did.

I also managed to swing the hotel where we are staying into letting me do the team's laundry. It kind of happened by accident (I didn't understand Lettie, our soigneur) but it worked out in the end.

Little did I know my evening would be capped off with a wedding reception. The groom wore a kilt and the bride was having to cut the cake (at least my piece of it). See today's photo gallery).

The ride to the hotel from the stage finish was absolutely brutal. Try five hours. That's about as long as it took us to fly across the ocean. UGH.

A Better Day Today

Taking notes at the finish of Stage 5 at Dalby Forest
Darlington, England - Today was one of the most scenic days on the Tour of Britain, and probably one of the most relaxing as well.

The finish line was located in Darby Forest, a combination of Vala's pumpkin patch and Fontenelle Forest (for those of you familiar with those Omaha-area attractions). And like yesterday, a huge crowd turned out.

I've lost track of where we are and what day it is, but the nice thing is that Rock Racing had a good result Thursday: fourth place on the day.

Other than that, I'll let the pictures do the talking. There's quite a few today.

Like Nothing Before It

The kit I have is one Mario Cipollini wore.
Note: I wrote this about a week ago as a review of the new Rock Racing uniforms. Unfortunately, I forgot to make it an active post. Enjoy!

There’s never been a professional cycling team like Rock Racing.

So that might explain why I have never worn a kit (cycling’s term for a “uniform”) quit like the one that arrived in the mail in late August.

Right out of the box, I could sense something was different. It might have been the visual clues at first: a rubberized tag protruding from the side of the bib shorts and side of the jersey, the elasticized cuffs on the jersey sleeves, the way the inner jersey fabric pattern resembled nothing I had ever seen before.

Or perhaps it was simply the out-of-this-world eye-catching design of the kit itself. In my case, I would be putting the team’s famed “Crucifixion kit” on display to Omaha, Neb., residents who are used to a more traditional all-one-color-jersey look (combined with staid black lycra shorts) when it comes to seeing recreational cyclists out and about.

An official Rock Racing kit is not complete without the matching gloves (there’s no Velcro closures on these $45/a pair accessories) and socks. And with the latter came another first – “L” and “R” letters to tell me which sock would optimally fit which foot.

So, with the eagerness of a new bride searching for that perfect wedding dress, I “kitted up” and sucked in my stomach before taking stock in the bathroom mirror. Sure enough, I was no Mario Cipollini, but perhaps someone would mistake him for me once I got on board my bike. The dead giveaway might be my helmet – which, despite matching the red-white-and-black kit in color, was not the team’s official LAS-sponsored lid.

As I carried my bike down the stairs of my apartment, I began to notice a few other features of the jersey and shorts that were not immediately apparent. Like the longer-cut sleeve on the jersey. So that’s how they make sure the Cadillac logo is displayed so prominently and with hardly a wrinkle. And the feel of the soft, well-padded artificial chamois in the shorts while walking (normally the first giveaway that the feel in the saddle won’t be a good one) was an indicator of comfort still-to-come.

Perhaps my only balk was with the gloves, which seemed tight at first. Squeezing them on was a bit of a chore. Now I put them to the real test. Too-small gloves will quickly numb the fingers and knuckles and leave your braking power in question.

Rather than type, “the day chosen for my test ride,” I will simply reveal that I went on a ride about as quickly as I could get the kit out of its plastic bags and the elaborately-crafted custom tags (completely with rubber skulls) cut off). That meant being at the mercy of the harsh afternoon winds that blow across the Midwest plains. Locals plan accordingly, as a ride begun into a headwind does not always guarantee a tailwind upon turnaround two hours later.

So as I cut into the teeth of a 20 mph headwind, I realized my effort was being helped along by the cuffed bottom of the jersey and the aforementioned elasticized sleeves. There was no wind wrinkle from flapping in the stiff breeze. Even the shorts felt fast – stretching nearly to my upper knee. Cutting through the win with such aerodynamic efficiency reminded me of wearing the one-piece “skin suits” that cyclists prefer to wear for time trials – timed events run alone pitting competitors head to head in grueling races that prove who is the fastest over a certain distance,

I wondered whether I would be mistaken for the likes of Freddie Rodriguez or another one of the racers. Or more likely, fellow cyclists probably believe I am just another “groupie” who is kitted up like a pro. Well, there’s nothing bad about that. And if you’re a motorist who takes notice of a cyclist’s colorful or elaborate outfit, that’s a good thing. If they see you riding, the danger of them hitting you is significantly reduced.

A Long Day Wednesday

Can you spot me supervising Tyler Hamilton's interview?
Not-Sure-Where-I-Am, But In England - It's Day 4 of the Tour of Britain and the longest one for me so far.

Between sponsor relations, managing other tasks and reporting on the race, I barely had time to unpack my suitcase (at 11:45 p.m.) and re-pack it (at 7 a.m.) before it was time to get back on the road Thursday for the start of Stage 5.

There was plenty of good news today: Santiago Botero of Rock Racing was in the break today, the hotel was very nice tonight and the weather was sunny and warm.

On the flip side, I was running around after dinner to coordinate an interview for the official one-hour TV recap program. Things got a little tense at times, but it seemed to come off fine in the end.

Following the stages at the Tour of Britain is unusual in that I don't hardly see any of the race. There's no (live) TV coverage, so it's a matter of following the race on Twitter. Then, I provide my own commentary and information on Rock Racing's Twitter feed. I do it all from the press bus - no, there's no press room - which is actually a nice motorcoach parked at the finish. (Stop me if I've written this all before - it's been a long tour!)

Let me have the pictures do the rest of the talking. (Special note to Julia: I'm documenting all the restrooms in England just for you!)

Terrible Tuesday

Burnham-on-Sea, England - I'm rushed. No doubt about it. Not much good to talk about from Tuesday's Stage 3. So I'll let the captions do the talking.

A Harrowing Experience

That's the car I drove (but not me driving).
Newbury, England - My life passed before me. More than once.

That's what happens when you offer to help out. I thought I would be carrying bags from the third floor to the team truck this morning. Instead, they told me to go fuel up the team car. Uh-oh.

Driving on the left side of the road is bad enough. Then there was dealing with shifting (it's not an automatic) with my left hand. And looking out the rear-view mirror, trying to figure out which side of the car the vehicle behind me was going to pass me on (I was only going about 45 and it was rush hour traffic on a Monday morning).

I made it to the gas station - and back - sweating profusely. I felt like a student driver all over again.

A couple of quick observations and comments before going to bed:

- You can purchase a commemorative Rock Racing kit online for about $470. But in England, it'll cost you a lot more - about $600 (when you convert pounds to dollars).

- Serena Williams won the US Open, huh? I saw her being interviewed live by SkyTV at about 12:30 a.m. my time. When is the men's final being played? Wasn't the US Open supposed to be wrapped up by Monday (originally Sunday)?

- I got in a 24-minute workout at the hotel's "mini gym" tonight. It amounted to 20 flights of stairs, 550 calories burned and a watt output close to 850-900 the entire time. I was dripping in sweat (second time today).

- There was no live TV coverage of the race today. So I watched a Twitter update on the press bus, then typed my own account. Memo to race organizers: Don't leave your audience hanging. The guy doing the updates typed "Garmin is on the front" with about three miles to go. Then nothing more. Yep, he left everyone hanging while he jumped out of his follow car to watch the finish.

- I spoke to one of the race commissaires today appeal a ruling on behalf of the team. I knew the answer I was going to get before I even asked the question. But it was worth asking. And I found out that international commissaires know the rules as much as I do.

- The news that Lance Armstrong is coming back dropped a lot of jaws over here, too. And many of these guys know Lance and have raced with him.

And finally, some pictures to close out the night:

Tour of Britain: The First Stage

London - First, let me say I'm glad that I don't have the cold that our photographer, Paul McKelvey, has come down with recently. He's coughing and wheezing his way around England. And that makes him the plague as far as the riders are concerned. If they get sick, it's all over for them. So I might have to get him a surgical mask to wear.

Today's opening stage of the race went fairly well. Rock Racing placed a rider in the top five and no one crashed or lost time. Media interviews went fairly smoothly, too.

I don't particularly prefer to be in the spotlight when it comes to working for the team, but I will point you to a complimentary story mentioning me at today's race.

By the way, if you don't know about Twitter (mentioned in the story), it's a way to receive short message updates. Cousin Barb is a Twitter fiend. Check out the Rock Racing Twitter feed here (you don't have to sign up for anything by clicking on it.).

As for the slideshow above, here are a few details (girls, pay attention, there might be a quiz):

- Because our media shuttle could only travel 60 mph, the police escort we had left us in the dust. This made us arrive in London much later than we had anticipated.

- More than 100,000 people lined the five-mile route at today's race that passed by Big Ben, the House of Parliment and hugged the River Thames. (Lauren, I did not see the hospital that's in your book. Sorry!)

- Finding a Catholic church - with a mass at a time I could attend - proved to be an impossibility. So I did the only thing I could think of to make up for it: watched a 48-minute (singing) mass on Youtube.com. This had better not happen again next week.

- My dinner partners enjoyed a meal at a place called "World Giraffe" that had the world's largest collection of child seats. The funny part was that there were no children there - and only three other customers.

- The elevator in our hotel (or "lift" as they refer to it here) stopped working yesterday. So I'm going to spend tomorrow morning helping move baggage and equipment from the third floor out to the cars.

- There's a large motor coach that serves as the press room for the race (sorry, no picture yet). That's where the restroom photo came from in the slideshow.

- I hope few motorists noticed when our bus stopped on the way back to the hotel (a two-hour drive) and the U.S. Criterium Champion relieved himself by the side of the road. (Not a PR person's best situation.)

- Fortunately it did not rain on today's stage. But we are bracing for some route changes later in the week due to severe flooding.

- When we returned to the hotel from dinner at 10:30 p.m., U.S. Open tennis was on the TV in the lobby. I don't know if it was live.

- I am quickly learning to pretty much double the price of an item to determine its "real" cost. In other words, something that costs 4.5 pounds (the English currency) is nearly $9 in U.S. currency. So while everything seems relatively inexpensive, it's not.

Finally, a few photos from Paul at Vero Image. He's always kidding me about my camera phone. I don't know - do his pictures really look better than the ones in the slideshow above? *GRINS*

Our motorcycle escort ... before it left us.

Tyler Hamilton and a familiar-looking guy walking to his left.

A great shot of the scrum of media and fans I deal with daily.

Those commemorative bikes cost more than my car.

On The Run, But Having Fun

Milton Keynes, England - It's the eve of the Tour of Britain and that made for one busy day. And through it all, the rain kept falling.

Actually, I did see the sun twice today - for a total of about 20 minutes. But otherwise it was overcast and sprinkling or just an outright downpour. For most of the Rock Racing training ride, it was the former. And that's good when you're trying to get a few miles of training in on a new bike you have never ridden.

Also, I learned that this city, Milton Keynes - which is a suburb about 90 minutes south of London - has the most roundabouts of any city in the world. What makes this great is that we only saw one stoplight in our four-mile drive to the race hotel. Those things are confusing, but they keep you moving.

The highlights of my day (it's 12:45 a.m. Sunday so I need to keep this short):

- Coordinating an interview and photo shoot for GQ (Italy) magazine.

- Making my first purchase (in person) with my British pounds.

- Seeing a Burger King (no, I didn't eat there).

- The desserts at the team meal tonight. They were motivation for my nearly hour-long workout (one that was cut short when they closed it down at 10 p.m.)

- Getting first class treatment by the race organization at team check-in while at the same time being stared down by every other team.

Here's what I am dealing with on the media front. This is from a British publication, The Sporting Life:

Elsewhere in the Tour of Britain field, there is the usual mix of the sublime and the unwelcome.

Falling into the latter category are the Rock Racing team who have named a five man line-up including the American Tyler Hamilton - returned to racing after a two-year ban for blood doping - Spaniard Oscar Sevilla and Colombian Santiago Botero.

All three were named in Operation Puerto, a Spanish police investigation into organised doping, and although no criminal charges were brought against them, success for any of the three ought to be hugely embarrassing for the Tour organisers and their sponsors given their presence is not necessary to the success of the race.

Nice, huh? Well, they are expecting a half a million people to line the race route tomorrow and I'm guessing a lot of them are going to turn out to see what this "Rock Racing" team is all about.

Here's a few more photos from the guy who can really shoot, team photographer Paul McKelvey of Vero Image:

The special commemorative bike - just for this race.

This photo looks distinctly European.

The team has had all of its support vehicles "wrapped" with signage.

First Day In Great Britain

Milton Keynes, England - So much to write, so little time to do it.

First, is it "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" or "England"? I've found it listed all three ways in various drop down menus, etc. What a pain.

That's little compared to the trouble I had when I first arrived here. First, my flight was delayed (see previous post), so I arrived in the third "wave" of Rock Racing personnel. But instead of just hopping on a shuttle, I spent about 90 minutes looking (and waiting for) two riders who ended up already being at the hotel. But it was nice to catch up with Tyler Hamilton and meet one of the team's soigneurs from Europe, Letti Kemp (no relation to Mike Kemp).

Once we got on the road, it was a 90-minute drive to the hotel - in pouring rain. It's been raining here 12 days and counting. On the news, there are flood warnings everywhere. It's supposed to continue to fall through Thursday. Nice.

The hotel where we stay is modern. The elevator is "Otis" and it's listed as an eight passenger model, but it must mean eight YD girls because it is small. My room is nice. But I couldn't figure out why the lights didn't work. Or the TV. Or the light in the bathroom. It took a trip to the front desk to let me know I have to put my room key in a slot by the door to make those things work. Crazy!

Another crazy thing is the outlets. But I'll save that story for tomorrow. Suffice it to say that I can power everything I need - just not all at once.

The guys went on a training ride today and it started off as quite an adventure. Rich, the team's chiropractor, pointed out to the riders that they should "stay to the left!" as they rolled out of the parking lot. Tyler Hamilton just about got run over - and then scoffed "that guy needs to learn how to drive" before Rich reminded him that he was in England and should have been on the other side of the road.

The British press is having a field day - and that's going to make my life pretty difficult over the next couple of days. They're calling for Rock Racing to remove three riders from the race. Here's the article. It's shades of what happened at the Tour of California back in February.

It's 12:25 a.m. here so I need to get to bed. Girls, I miss you. I hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Another 'One Minute With Sean'

ROAD Magazine decided to videotape me Sunday night.
If you haven't been a regular reader of the original "YD Cafe" blog, you might not be familiar with Neil Browne of ROAD Magazine and his unusual videos. For me, it started with the Tour de Georgia and this video called "One Minute With Sean."

So when Neil approached me about doing another video, I was able to put him off for about three days - only to have him find me in my room the night before I was heading out. He will not be at the Tour of Britain.

Don't get the idea I am bagging on Neil, though. He's a great guy. I just don't like the attention (seriously!). He did give me a shout out on Twitter the other day that made me blush (see below). After all, it's about the riders. I'm not the one out doing all the hard work pedaling miles and miles.

Ready To Roll

The passport that will get me across "the pond."
So my unexpected trip to the Tour of Britain bicycle race is less than 24 hours away. I'm still rushing around to get everything ready, but I do have the most important part - my passport.

Who would have thought you could get a passport in less than a week? Not me. But there are ways to do it - and it has to do with how much you are willing to pay. And you have to be willing to mail your birth certificate on to someone you don't know, along with a good chunk of change. So there's a little bit of a leap of faith involved.

Before I take off, I get to see the girls! They are coming here tonight and I can't wait to see them. Plus, I have some wonderful souvenirs that I pilfered on my trip to Greenville, S.C.

The USPRO Road Race: A Victory

I ran two blocks to catch up with race winner Tyler Hamilton.
Greenville, S.C. - The pictures will have to tell the story for this post because I am absolutely crazy busy. Tyler Hamilton of Rock Racing won the national road race championship - by two-thousandths of a second (that's 0.002). And you thought Michael Phelps's race was close.

Here's the front-on view of the sprint. Tyler is on the right.

The photo finish camera confirms Tyler has won.

There I am on the right (red shirt), collecting quotes.

Afterwards, fans were asking him to sign all kinds of things.

The woman in the blue shirt in the VIP tent just sneezed.
The photo above is the VIP tent where I spent most of my day. That's because the press tent had no power and no TV. It turned out that the TV wasn't an issue because the Internet/TV service shooting the race for broadcast had all kinds of technical troubles. We didn't see video of the race until only 35 miles were left to go (of 115 total).

My laptop was on my lap for six hours.

The podium hostesses, Rachel and Ashley, were ready backstage.

My friend, Tom Vinson, was on hand to congratulate Tyler...

...who was all smiles at the press conference afterwards.