- Donner Lake, CA – May 15, 2011
The weather department said it would be snowing in the Sierra Mountains, and they were right. Despite predictions of foul weather, Lutrell and I braved the trip because we are two enthusiastic fans of pro cycling. The Amgen Tour of California was scheduled to begin on Sunday at South Shore Lake Tahoe. Before leaving Sonoma, we discovered that the race start-time had been postponed from 10:30 to 1:15 due to freezing conditions. All the better for us because we wouldn’t have to rush the drive. When we pulled out of Sonoma, the windshield had occasional misting on it. Outside of Davis the sky was an ominous grey to the east. North of Sacramento, we had the windshield wiper going full speed. At Donner Summit we were in stop-and-go traffic, and it was snowing. I couldn’t imagine anyone, even the pro’s, riding in such a storm. Forty-five minutes away from South Shore Lake Tahoe, I used my cell-phone to Google “Amgen,” and discovered the the stage had been cancelled. Mother Nature 1, Amgen 0.
We drove to the Finish line at Northstar Ski Resort anyway, just to see the scene. There were plenty of people and vendors to make it exciting and worth the effort, but it was seriously cold. You know it’s cold when your temporary display has ice-sickles hanging from it.
Frozen merchandise at Northstar
That evening we spent the night at Donner Lake because the second stage of the tour was routed up and over Donner Summit. That would have been a spectacular stage to watch, but, alas, it too was scrapped because of road conditions. Although the snow prevented the riders from coming through, it was nevertheless stunning to see.
- Sunday evening at Donner – May 15, 2011
Day two, the tour bypassed the high mountains and started in Nevada City. We left Donner and headed for Sacramento where the finish line would be. That had not been part of the plan, so we were a little unsure of where we were going, so we searched for the State Capitol, and we did fine.
California State Capitol in Sacramento
When the riders finally came past, it was thrilling. They made three laps around the State Capitol and by us.
- The peloton
At home that evening, we watched television coverage of the event. This next picture is a screenshot from the Versus channel. It shows us in the crowd; Lutrell has his hands in the air taking pictures, and I’m there clacking blow-up souvenir sticks.
In the crowd
I so admire those athletes, their dedication, determination, and indomitable spirit. It’s infectious. All week I’ve been moved to stay positive, try harder, go deeper, and to find strength were maybe I didn’t know it existed.
Those cyclists race for a trophy, sure. But they’re all such winners in my mind because they give it their all. That’s my take-home message: it’s the effort that is the reward.
Speaking of rewards. Yesterday was my last day before summer vacation at Hanna Boys Center where I tutor reading. One of the students absolutely made my day when he presented me with a gift. He had made it and scribed “good times” on it because that is how he feels about our sessions together. Now that’s a trophy!
Have a great week everybody, and I’ll post again next Friday.