The rains began early today and have been more than just a little intermittent. The stage, your classic “transition” stage, looks to be a long, slow, and obviously wet affair for the riders.
For the caravan of media, staff, crew, and other support personnel for the Amgen Tour of California we took the more direct route of Highway 101, nestled between the Sierra de Salinas and Gabilan mountain ranges, down to San Luis Obispo.
Although considered less than scenic, Highway 101 feels like an old soft comfortable shoe. It was a highway my family traveled many times up from Anaheim to Salinas to visit a great aunt. My remembrances of it were often less than memorable, “too many cars,” “too long,” and “too boring,” were my frequent complaints to my more than patient parents.
But as I made my way down from Seaside, Highway 101 felt like my surrogate home. On the drive, images seemed to float and linger in my mind; of cattle grazing on the sides of foothills and mountains, of sinewy and barren trees, and farm lands that seem to stretch for miles, of pickups, irrigation pipes, and immigrant workers hoeing brown soil. It was as if the highway opened up to reveal a portion of my life’s story.
As I roared pass the black and neon green luxury bus of Rock Racing, I realized that I had literally come full circle; one based on two-wheels.
2 comments:
Very cool and well written.
thanks anon...
Post a Comment