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TOUR OF CALIFORNIA CHRONICLES: SIGNS IN SAN FRANCISCO
Brad Roe
February 15, 2009
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For all us who ride bikes on a regular basis, we are aware of the feeling you get after a long ride. We plan on doing it again the next week and the one after that. Riding helps us improve and we plan social and endurance events around our bikes and most of us have more than one.
Walking around Union Square tonight I looked up and saw a huge mural of Lance Armstrong with the words, "Hope Rides Again" above the Nike Town store.
Today at the top of the first KOM climb in sideways rain and sleet, I saw a kid with some Live Strong yellow chalk writing down his favorite riders names.
Fans in the rain of Santa Rosa saw a former 4th place finisher in the Tour de France go off the front at the start of the stage, then mount a sprint in Santa Rosa after drilling it all day long.
Supporters of Team Type 1 saw Phil Southerland and Fabio Calabria make the time cut and power their way to the finish line so they can race another day.
Watching the peloton work together in a spoken pact to get over the climbs and stick together through the tough weather was a site to behold. It reminded me of when, every so often, on local group rides, everything meshes. The ride is smooth and the speed is solid.
What an image the non-cycling world gets to see this week in California and around the world-and what a reminder to all of us who may take for granted the gift of riding.
Walking around Union Square in San Francisco I looked up and saw a mural of Lance Armstrong.
Hope rides again.
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