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This whole trip has been a blast and what better way to end these escapades than with a party at the Golden Saddle Cyclery? As the AMGEN Tour of California finished up in LA, the city rejoiced. Over at GSC, the party was going strong and Hennie, the Rapha Mobile Cycle Club served up the coffee as Kyle and company made brunch.
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The closer we got to Los Angeles during the AMGEN Tour of California, the more fun the days became. We woke up bright and early in LA and drove out to Azusa. From there, we parked and rode up towards Baldy. Words cannot express how much fun this ride was. We climbed as high as we could before the course started to get closed down, totaling around 35 miles and 4,600′ of elevation.
Hennie, the Rapha Mobile Cycle Club was parked at the first KOM, so our group arrived and the party had already been raging. I can’t describe the afternoon, so I’ll let the photos do the talking!
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Edit: I’ve added the Previous posts for the #ATOC below…
After covering the AMGEN Tour of California, for almost a week now, the last thing I wanted to do was get back to work. Waking up, bright and early, gets harder and harder each morning. Yesterday was no exception to this either. We ended up rolling out of our luxurious suite at the Motel 6 a few hours later than anticipated. As we scrambled to find the second KOM, we quickly realized that the peloton had already blown through the gate there. The tailwind was no joke apparently…
What was left to check out before the finish was the feed zone. This is where the racers and support vehicles can re-up on food and water, via their musettes. Once they’ve finished stuffing the treats into their jersey pockets, the bags and bottles are discarded on the road. Let’s see, free stuff and cool photos? Sure.
After some re-routing through the desert, we found ourselves at the base of the climb up to refueling station. The action came and left within minutes, sending us on a sprint to the finish in our vehicle. The 20 mile drive up to Big Bear Lake is breathtaking. Winding roads with little or no shoulder makes it less than ideal for cyclists but the views are stunning out across the range.
Once you make it up the mountain a ways, the roads widen and we found ourselves passing cyclists (and other attractions) every other bend. Meanwhile, a Frenchman had broken away from the peloton. But would he make it?
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After four grueling days of stage racing, the AMGEN Tour of California found its way into Bakersfield. After a late night, we woke up at 5am and embarked on a local’s loop. Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than waking up to a hammerfest out to the foothills.
We were done before the temperatures spiked into the 90’s and tallied up 60 miles with about 3,800′ of climbing. After a quick shower, the Rapha sprinter van and Mobile Cycling Club headed over to the ATOC TT where the crowds stuck to the shade and the sun beat down on the racers and spectators. Seriously, it was hot!
Once again, I found myself in a team car, this time following Chris Jones of UnitedHealthcare. Chris had the unfortunate experience of wrecking on the first day, sending him to the hospital for 20 stitches after a spoke lacerated his leg. But this didn’t stop him from continuing the tour and today, his perseverance was evident as he tore through the time trial course.
Once the day had ended, we headed further south to Palmdale. While en route, we ended up driving through a massive windfarm…
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Yesterday was a hot one. As we’re moving south with the AMGEN Tour of California the temperatures are rising. We spent the night in Sonora and woke up to the start of the race. After the group took off, we loaded the sprinter van up and headed to the finish. Driving through the California farmland was beautiful.
At the finish, we were greeted with the quaint town of Clovis for the finish. As expected, Peter Sagan seized another victory…
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After only shooting the start of the AMGEN Tour of California yesterday, today I was glad to be out on the course. My good friend Jeremy Dunn ensured that I got to ride in one of the SRAM support vehicles. We were in a caravan of about 20 cars, as the peloton chased down the break through the mountains. The biggest prick on the elevation map was Mt. Diablo and as the temperatures rose throughout the day, it was surely hell for the racers.
While I didn’t have the chance to hop out of the car and frame any shots, the audience and super fans provided more than enough entertainment as we drove through some of the most beautiful countryside California has to offer. Oh and descending in a team car is something else. Wow.
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This morning I found myself walking up to the second stage of the AMGEN Tour of California not knowing what to expect. I didn’t attend the opening day in Santa Rosa, nor did I experience the Sunday afternoon crowds that flooded the city, so I had no idea what awaited in San Francisco.
SF is a cycling-savvy city, to say the least and the reception, especially on a Monday morning, was warm. Each team’s caravans bustled on the inside, as their bikes were neatly leaned against the side. Fans walked up, commented on gear and patiently awaited for the athletes to leave their busses.
Once a team would exit, they were swarmed with fans, flashing their iPhones, interrupting them for a photo and it quickly became apparent that it was going to be an energetic morning. Rather than go too much more into it, I’ve compiled a nice Photoset, only of the start. We didn’t make it to stage itself, or the finish, but I’m happy with how these came out.
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No, really. I’m back in SF yet again. This time I’ll be covering the Amgen Tour of California. I couldn’t make it to the start today, but coverage will begin tomorrow. My week will end in Los Angeles, so maybe I’ll see you there? More to come…
Team Dream continues their coverage of this year’s Amgen Tour of California with pro team AG2R during stage three’s course out of Laguna.
Made in Waterford, Wisconsin at the Waterford factory, Gunnar has something for everyone in their catalog for sometimes half the price of other US-made frames. Their bikes range from off-road tourers, to all-road bikes to classic road bikes like their Roadie model. With clearance for a 28mm tire, stainless vertical dropouts and a geometry fit for either fast rides or even racing, the Roadie is a die-hard road frame. Some people might race on it, but a majority of customers will buy it as their go-to road cycling frameset.
Matt‘s Roadie is built rather uniquely. Sure the Ultegra group is pretty standard, but his Salsa Cowbell bars, Ruffy Tuffy tires and Carradice bag imply something more. That and that funky Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in the Michael Keaton Batman movie bar tape just adds a bit of character. It’s hard to say where I’ll see Matt on this bike, but knowing him, it’ll probably be somewhere (high) in the mountains with some burritos stuffed into his saddle pack, waving a Mudfoot flag.
These days, Stinners are everywhere, even all over the pages of this website and while it might feel like some kind of marketing conspiracy, with loads of money exchanged and bathtubs filled with gold coins, I can assure you it’s not. Since I moved to Los Angeles, I see more Stinners on the road and in the trails. Rightfully so, seeing as how their shop is located in Santa Barbara, just 90 miles north of LA and yeah, they make some pretty stellar bikes.
Yesterday before our group ride to watch the Amgen Tour of California, Frankie Andreu rolled through the Cub House to talk to Sean of Team Dream / Ringtail / The Cub House about riding in the Los Angeles area.
Stage two of the Amgen Tour of California fell in our literal backyard, taking place in the Angeles National Forest and finishing in Santa Clarita. The Peloton battled Highway 2, Big T and every incline of the day with prowess and panache. Unfortunately, our party didn’t make this highlight feed, but don’t worry, coverage from that is on the way tomorrow!
… when the Amgen Tour of California comes through town. Thanks to everyone that came out to the GSC / TDT / RAD ride up the 2 this morning and thanks to Amgen for bringing this race through some of the most scenic roads in California! Expect a full write-up soon!
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be leading a group ride from Golden Saddle Cyclery (1618 Lucile Ave) to the Cub House in South Pas (1412 El Centro St) at 8am. We’ll roll out and meet up with the group ride leaving the Cub House at 9:30, so be on time! From there, we’ll all ride at a chill pace up Highway 2 to Upper Big T where Sean’s VW Van is parked, loaded with goodies as we watch the Amgen Tour of California race past!
2015 was an amazing year for the Radavist. Not only in terms of traffic, or stats, but in terms of content. We take pride in the site, the rides we record, products we feature and yes, the bicycles we document. This year was huge in terms of the places we traveled to and the people we met along the way. With people and places come Beautiful Bicycles and a lot of work!
Without rambling on too much, here’s a list of the Top 10 of 2015 ranked by traffic and social media chatter, from highest down…
Never does nature say one thing and wisdom another. The Angeles National Forest is a magical place, where ex-pro road cyclists learn to summon their inner powers of levitation by smoking pipes filled with sun scorched Poodle Dog Bush while drinking fermented Untapped Maple Syrup packs. Or something…
Ted King is technically still a pro, until January 1st but yesterday the two of us took off on a ride into the ANF. The last time Ted got to experience Highway 2 was in a peloton during the Amgen Tour of California, which as Ted so gracefully put it, was very, very painful. Luckily pain wasn’t on our agenda yesterday. Instead, we took a super casual pedal up to Mount Wilson and back down to Mount Disappointment.
NorthEast coasters should know better than to not bring gloves on a ride in the mountains, yet the sunny and warm temps on the streets of Echo Park fooled Ted into thinking it’d be warm, even around 6,000′ elevation. Bottom line, Ted was cold. I was cold. We were kinda cold.
While we took a break to bask at a warm and sunny switchback, I took the time to check out Ted’s new, yet temporary bike: the Cannondale SuperSix EVO Hi-Mod fit with Zipp 404s and SRAM’s new mountain magic eTap shifting system. Now, I didn’t see cables anywhere on those derailleurs, so I can only assume it’s more Poodle Dog Bush magic that makes it shift. Crazy huh? This bike just looks fast, sitting still. Yet, I know what you’re thinking: SLAM THAT STEM. Well, ya know what? When ex-pros leave the peloton, spacers magically appear under their stems, which also shrink in length, sometimes up to 3cm. I too was amazed at the transformation this bicycle seemed to go through. It’s like, life for Ted was about to get more fun.
There’s more to come here at some point, but for now enjoy some sleek, lightweight road bike photos with an epic backdrop straight out of a Lovecraft novella…
This year was a whirlwind. I think I traveled somewhere around 220 days, jumping the pond a few times and yes, spending lots of time in California. But what was the pinnacle of the year was the rebrand from PiNP to the Radavist. The pinnacle because it meant more contributors, more photos and ultimately, more, good content.
Without the contributors to this site, it wouldn’t have been such a successful year. Those guys really killed it.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s start from Day 01…
