Rode with Lance Armstrong

Yep, I was one of the hundreds of cyclists that answered Lance’s twitter from yesterday. An early rise got me on the Gold Line before the sun this morning. Took the train to Lincoln Heights and headed up the LA River. I’d never seen that section of river before. A natural bottom instead of the ugly concrete and a sunrise made for a scenic spot. Kinda surreal with the commercial buildings and graffiti on just the other side of the fence.

I took the river path all the way to the LA Zoo where I found all the cyclists waiting. There was spandex everywhere. Only a few of us were considerate enough to wear real clothes. It wasn’t long before Lance showed up and the ride started. My friend Bruce and I did one lap (Lance did 3 I guess), because unlike Lance we had jobs to get to. So we took a right where everyone went left. Well except for the few that thought we were Lance and George and followed us. Sorry guys.

Bruce asked if I wanted to do some dirt to get up and over the hill. Since I just missed the Dirt Mulholland ride I was game. We adjusted our tire pressures and started climbing. We hit an 18% grade, then rounded a corner and it got steeper. This seemed like a perfect time to get off and walk. Once at the top it was a fun downhill out to neighborhood on the other side.

It was all downhill from there and onto work. Not a bad way to start the day, and the best commute to work so far! Here’s a link to the gmap of today’s ride.

Thanks to gettin’ us out and movin’ early in the day Lance. Probably wouldn’t have done it otherwise. Ended the day by riding home from work. After being off the bike for 2 weeks it was workout, but it sure was fun.