Feb 20, Wednesday - The drive in to San José last night was a rainy one and lulled me to sleep in the back seat of the van while my reliable workmate did the driving. One aspect of my specific work crew assignment is that we travel by night, consequently I have missed the scenery as we drive through this remarkable state. Another is that, outside of the race venues, we see little or none of the cities that we visit.

If it is to be considered a perk, we eat well and the evidence is visible by my growing waistline. At noon each day the tour provides our lunch. We now jokingly refer to it as the trough, not so much for the quality of the food as for its name- crew feed. We picture ourselves as work horses with our muzzles buried in feed bags.

By mid-afternoon, the sun finally popped out for good and the afternoon was transformed into the kind of February day that makes the California coast so appealing. Running in to fellow St Louis resident, Amy, we had a chuckle at the 20 degree weather we had left behind only days ago. Guess we won't be laughing about it this time next week.

The crowd was thrilled by BMX stunt riders who were getting big air from some metal rampways. One of them took a rather nasty spill. Fortunately he landed on his head so he was able to finish the show. The musical entertainment has been provided by the Damon Castillo Band which is following the tour to each of the finish cities. Having heard their sets for four days now, their groove is getting more and more comfortable.

A quick tear-down and two-hour drive put us in San Luis Obispo for stage-4. Our overnight is at the Madonna Inn, a quirky establishment with 109 uniquely themed rooms. More tomorrow.

 

The San José city hall rotunda provided an interesting backdrop.

Check out this beauty with the argyle accent.

Oh yeah, and check out these beauties too.

It's strange seeing Big George in a Highroad jersey.

The UCI pros weren't the only ones who could ride a bike.

The distinctive Rock Racing selling booth was hard to miss.

Levi is second wheel rounding the last turn before the finishing straight.

The peloton was broken into several groups.

The chase group makes for the last 300 meters.

A look at the race venue from the 18th floor of city hall.