Top & Bottom: There were all kinds of riders there, from beach cruiser bikes to high end road bikes, but most were racer types from the many local clubs with large contingents from PAA/Merrill Lynch, Warner Brothers, USC (last weekend I rode 14 miles along the beach with three USC jerseyed riders while I was wearing the UA jersey. A Pac-10 pack?) and lots of semi-pro riders. From the start we were doing 25 mph on the flats of the 5.25 mile loop past Travel Town (old steam locomotives and railroad memorabilia) on the same course that Graham and I rode in a road race many moons ago. The climb was about a mile at 6% and we were doing 12mph up most of it. Armstrong only rode 3 laps so afterwards many riders rode the 5 mile climb up to the observatory on a paved road that is only for cyclists and park service vehicles. Below the observatory with downtown LA enveloped in the smoke of the fires that are still burning in the nearby mountains. they expect containment in 7 days.
2 of 3