Tour of California

A few weeks back, my family had the opportunity to witness one of our favorite sports, up close and personal...cycling!  René and I took the kids to beautiful (not really) Ontario, California to watch the start of Stage 7 of Amgen's Tour of California.  Stage 7 is the stage where the riders had to climb Mt. Baldy and it was an uphill finish.  Brutal, in my opinion.

What I love most about any pro-cycling event is the accessibility of the pros.  It was so great to walk around with the kiddos and be able to mingle with the pro-cyclist-past, present, and probably future.  The highlights were, in no particular order:  

• We actually met Bob Roll.  If you don't know who Bob Roll is, I will assume that you aren't a cycling fan.
• The family hobnobbed with George Hincapie (I, for one, was impressed with my self-control--I didn't even try to manhandle him!)
• We greeted Brent Bookwalter, as he was coming off of the bus.  He shook hands with the family. (He was so impressed with Daniel's firm handshake.  It was kind of charming.)
• The two officers that led the race, the regulator and the CHP pace car, fawned over the kids and gave them some souvenirs of the race while we waited at the race start.
• Finally, it was amazing to watch the beginning of the race.  There were so many notable riders participating, it felt pretty cool.

Instead of bogging down this blog post with a eleventy billion photos, I'll just link you to my Facebook album.  Enjoy!

Maybe just one....

That man is hotter than an oven....  

We had such a fantastic time and can't wait to our next pro-cycling race!   Life is good!