I bet those who are participating in the Amgen Tour of California, weren’t expecting snow. But that’s what they got on Stage 1 — which was cancelled. Stage 2 was moved to Nevada City for the start. Stage 4 begins in Livermore on Wednesday, and the forecast is for rain. Not heavy rain, but just showers and cool conditions (the high is supposed to be 65 degrees).
Tomorrow night in Livermore they are going to celebrate the Amgen Tour by doing a promotion called “Bike Night.” Now normally, this would be the time of year when people would love to come downtown on their bikes and celebrate this big event. But I’m guessing that it’s going to be a low turnout. I’m planning on riding my bike from work to the event (it’s about 10 miles away from the office where I work), but if it rains, I’m not going. I don’t own any biking rain gear, so by the time I would ride into town, I’d be soaked to the bone. And then I’d have the distinct pleasure of peddling back to my car in the cold rain.
I’m sure the competitors in the Amgen Tour are wondering what the hell is going on with California. Snow, rain, freezing temps. Not fun at all, but probably not as bad as the 2009 Tour when the bicyclists rode over the Golden Gate bridge in pouring rain. Lance Armstrong said that part of the race was sheer hell — which is exactly the kind of hell I want to avoid tomorrow afternoon.
