I took today off so I could watch the Tour of California, which rolled by today. I have yet to miss this event in six years. I think it is simply wonderful that I live by a stretch of road that the riders actually fear, and that the Tour considers vital – Sierra Road. The first four years, the Tour went right by my church – another nice stretch of road. In more recent years, they’ve missed the church, but have always hit Sierra Road, which is a scant five miles away from my house. Since the grade is 9.5% at the base of the hill, this is a great vantage point to see the riders because they slow way down. It sure beats seeing them on the flat or coming down a hill, like at my church, because then they are traveling 30-50 miles per hour. I want to see their faces! Today I saw, Chris Horner (today’s winner), Levi Leipheimer & Andy Schleck in front and a tired and dejected Thor Hushovd bringing up the rear. Thor has not been feeling well, and might abandon. He looked absolutely peaked when he pedaled by.
Down in the merchandise area, I saw a “Lance Armstrong” Nissan GTR. What a cool car! I also got to walk by all the team busses (twice) because I parked right by them. When I got home, I saw on TV that Bob Roll was broadcasting from the merchandise area… and I missed him! Oh well. I also showed up on TV today in about 10 frames of the Sierra Road footage. My kids were so excited to find me in the crowd.
While I was watching the Tour of California on TV, my friend Bill called me and invited me to a movie (Priest – a terrible movie). Hey, why not, I was off today. He paid for my ticket as a thank-you for all the call committee stuff I’ve done over the last year and a half. I was so taken by his generosity, I was all choked-up! What a good friend! He made me feel special; made me feel valued.
Day 136 mood: Happy and fulfilled