more from a guest photographer

andrew, who was gracious enough to be a guest photographer last friday gets another incredible cycling photo posted today - this one from last month's tour of california.  in this image we see just how close fans can get to the star atheletes.  in case you are wondering, that is last year's tour de france runner up, andy schleck leaving his tour bus and heading toward the starting line.

more from the tour of california

 on sunday i mentioned that we had traveled to claremont to watch a stage of this year's amgen tour of california bicycle race.  i wanted to share a few more photos from that day.  above you see a front on picture of the peloton as they circled the city of claremont.  you can see just how many people were out lining the streets, and how many professional riders started the race (although not many of them made it all the way up to the summit of mt. baldy.

below you can see how hard it is to photograph moving cyclists.  i almost deleted this image before even getting home but i'm glad i didn't because as it turns out - one cyclist happens to be crystal clear!  it is almost as if i photo-shopped it, or planned it that way!

tour of california 2011

i can't believe this is the fourth year i've been able to check out the amgen tour of california race in person (year 1, year 2, year 3).  this year the race included a stage which traveled from claremont to the top of mt. baldy, so i joined some friends and made the trip out there.  since so much else happened this weekend, i thought i'd give you another photo collage of our day.

clockwise starting in the upper left: race day starting line, meeting some of the pro's, photographing the race (more photos to come soon), and braving the crowds in claremont.

the race concludes tomorrow in thousand oaks with chris horner (pictured above in the gold jersey) of team radio shack hoping to hang on to his overall lead for the win.

one more from the tour of california

the tour of california concluded yesterday with michael rogers (who was pictured in yesterday's post) hanging on for the victory. this shot is of a racer tearing around the corner in front of the beautiful disney concert hall.

amgen tour of california

the streets of los angeles were packed with cycling fans yesterday as stage 7 of the tour of california rolled through town. people came out in droves, lining the route of the individual time trial. although he wasn't the fastest in today's stage, michael rogers (pictured below) finished in second place and held on to the golden jersey as the leader of the race.

the tour of california rolls in

coincidentally, bike week pasadena is happening during the amgen tour of california cycling race. pasadena has been a host city in the past few years, but unfortunately construction on highway 2 changed this year's route, bumping our fine city from being included.

have no fear cycling fans, because we are still within a short distance of catching some of the tour. downtown los angeles is the host for this year's individual time trial portion of the race. while it isn't quite as convenient as pasadena's rose bowl, it will still be really fun to watch each rider barreling around the los angeles course.

it is taking place today at 1pm, and i'll be there with the camera at the ready. look for reigning champion, california's levi leipheimer (above photo from last year's time trial), to challenge for the lead after today's stage is finished. levi currently sits in fourth place.

team astana

the tour de france is taking place right now. for those who are unaware, this marks the second time lance armstrong has returned to the tour after taking time off (the first time during his fight with cancer, the second is his return from retirement).

currently lance's team astana is doing pretty well - 4 riders in the top 10, and ranked second overall in team time. the tour has not been without some drama as we are all still wondering how things will shake down between lance (currently in 3rd place) and his teammate alberto contador (currently in 2nd).

today's picture is of team astana and is from this year's tour of california stage that ended in pasadena.

the final 100 meters

these are the top three finishers from the pasadena stage of the tour of california. can you guess who won? a hint: in cycling, drafting or following to cut down on wind resistance, is key. so the third rider - who happens to be rinaldo nocentini of team ag2r - ended up winning this stage because of his perfect positioning behind the lead cyclist.


speaking of cycling - in march I will be riding the solvang century. this isn't my first 100 mile ride, and I hope it will not be my last. however this particular ride is special. i am going to ride 100 miles to raise money toward world vision's bikes for africa project. to find out more, or to sponsor me, check out my fundraising website.

rounding the rose bowl

here's the peloton during one of their final laps of saturday's stage 7 race in pasadena. the amgen tour of california was won by levi leipheimer who you can see in this picture riding with his teammates. he's one of the last riders at the front with the blue helmets, riding next to lance armstrong (in the yellow helmet).

breaking away

the lead pack of riders had stretched out a sizable lead by the time they hit pasadena during yesterday's stage 7 of the tour of california. this photo is of that group of 10 riders who ended up crossing the finish line ahead of everyone else at the rose bowl. the race concludes tomorrow in escondido, ca.

more to come tomorrow.

lance rides again

and if you want to see more of mr. armstrong and his fellow riders (including california's own levi leipheimer who currently stands in first overall), head down to the rose bowl today at around 3:00 when the tour of california riders arrive for the stage 7 finish.

take a blurry picture and see if you recognize anyone

one last picture from sunday's rainy and wet tour of california. stay tuned tomorrow for some non-bicycle material - maybe of the neon variety.

tour of california finish

this is the breakaway group on their final lap around the rose bowl. zirbel - the rider in red on the left - led for most of the final 5 laps. he ended up finishing in 5th and was passed by hincapie - the rider who is second from the right who seems to be pulling away - who eventually won the rose bowl stage.

tour of california

the final stage of the 2008 tour happened to be a few miles from our house. it's amazing to watch professional cyclists ride on roads that you normally ride on, only at speeds you cannot fathom. this picture shows a bit of the lovely weather that we were graced with on sunday. rainy and cold for the end of the race - five 5 mile laps around the rose bowl.

actually, the rose bowl is at the end of the rainbow

the tour of california cycling race ended yesterday with one spectacular rainbow. from where i was standing it looked like the bottom of the rainbow fell right into the middle of the rose bowl. it was a great day to be outside, even with the precipitation. more pictures of the race and its riders will be on the schedule for this week.