After covering the AMGEN Tour of California, for almost a week now, the last thing I wanted to do was get back to work. Waking up, bright and early, gets harder and harder each morning. Yesterday was no exception to this either. We ended up rolling out of our luxurious suite at the Motel 6 a few hours later than anticipated. As we scrambled to find the second KOM, we quickly realized that the peloton had already blown through the gate there. The tailwind was no joke apparently…

What was left to check out before the finish was the feed zone. This is where the racers and support vehicles can re-up on food and water, via their musettes. Once they’ve finished stuffing the treats into their jersey pockets, the bags and bottles are discarded on the road. Let’s see, free stuff and cool photos? Sure.

After some re-routing through the desert, we found ourselves at the base of the climb up to refueling station. The action came and left within minutes, sending us on a sprint to the finish in our vehicle. The 20 mile drive up to Big Bear Lake is breathtaking. Winding roads with little or no shoulder makes it less than ideal for cyclists but the views are stunning out across the range.

Once you make it up the mountain a ways, the roads widen and we found ourselves passing cyclists (and other attractions) every other bend. Meanwhile, a Frenchman had broken away from the peloton. But would he make it?

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Come hang out with the Golden Saddle Cyclery crew, the Rapha Mobile Cycle Club and the anyone who can crawl out of bed at 8am!

After four grueling days of stage racing, the AMGEN Tour of California found its way into Bakersfield. After a late night, we woke up at 5am and embarked on a local’s loop. Let me tell you, there’s nothing better than waking up to a hammerfest out to the foothills.

We were done before the temperatures spiked into the 90′s and tallied up 60 miles with about 3,800′ of climbing. After a quick shower, the Rapha sprinter van and Mobile Cycling Club headed over to the ATOC TT where the crowds stuck to the shade and the sun beat down on the racers and spectators. Seriously, it was hot!

Once again, I found myself in a team car, this time following Chris Jones of UnitedHealthcare. Chris had the unfortunate experience of wrecking on the first day, sending him to the hospital for 20 stitches after a spoke lacerated his leg. But this didn’t stop him from continuing the tour and today, his perseverance was evident as he tore through the time trial course.

Once the day had ended, we headed further south to Palmdale. While en route, we ended up driving through a massive windfarm…

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Yesterday was a hot one. As we’re moving south with the AMGEN Tour of California the temperatures are rising. We spent the night in Sonora and woke up to the start of the race. After the group took off, we loaded the sprinter van up and headed to the finish. Driving through the California farmland was beautiful.

At the finish, we were greeted with the quaint town of Clovis for the finish. As expected, Peter Sagan seized another victory…

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

After only shooting the start of the AMGEN Tour of California yesterday, today I was glad to be out on the course. My good friend Jeremy Dunn ensured that I got to ride in one of the SRAM support vehicles. We were in a caravan of about 20 cars, as the peloton chased down the break through the mountains. The biggest prick on the elevation map was Mt. Diablo and as the temperatures rose throughout the day, it was surely hell for the racers.

While I didn’t have the chance to hop out of the car and frame any shots, the audience and super fans provided more than enough entertainment as we drove through some of the most beautiful countryside California has to offer. Oh and descending in a team car is something else. Wow.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

This morning I found myself walking up to the second stage of the AMGEN Tour of California not knowing what to expect. I didn’t attend the opening day in Santa Rosa, nor did I experience the Sunday afternoon crowds that flooded the city, so I had no idea what awaited in San Francisco.

SF is a cycling-savvy city, to say the least and the reception, especially on a Monday morning, was warm. Each team’s caravans bustled on the inside, as their bikes were neatly leaned against the side. Fans walked up, commented on gear and patiently awaited for the athletes to leave their busses.

Once a team would exit, they were swarmed with fans, flashing their iPhones, interrupting them for a photo and it quickly became apparent that it was going to be an energetic morning. Rather than go too much more into it, I’ve compiled a nice Photoset, only of the start. We didn’t make it to stage itself, or the finish, but I’m happy with how these came out.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

Portland Design Works presents their new line of cycling lights in this new video. Man, they really are bad at basketball.

Sean Martin rides for my boys in Brooklyn, Affinity. Check out this video with the gear-mashin’ ginger as he talks about riding in LA and being involved in a hit and run.

Kyle from Golden Saddle Cyclery named a track bar! After those Save the Track Bike buttons made him millions, he decided to immortalize the slogan in a new handlebar from All-City. Pick these up at your LBS! See more here and here.

While I didn’t get the chance to do a Shop Visit at Pushbike, I did manage to get some great Merckx Mondays content. Sarah has quite the collection of Eddy Merckx memorabilia at the shop, so if you haven’t been, you should really check it out. For now, see more below!

The shoulder patch alone makes this jersey amazing.

Silly mannequin, how are you going to ride with that blind fold on?

Thanks for letting me grab a few photos Sarah!

Breakbrake 17′s triple triangle, Columbus tubing, low pro is now available. Dubbed the transfer, these frames are in stock and ready to ship. Hit up your local Breakbrake 17 dealer, or iMinusD. For more photos, head to BB17′s blog.

Adam from Stanridge Speed has been working with an industrial designer on a new integrated stem head tube. These CNC’d front ends will be a throwback to low pros and pursuits of the 70′s and 80′s but made with modern materials. Throw on some Cinelli LA84′s and you’ve got a mean looking bike. This is only an illustration, but you get the idea. More to come! Thanks to Will Rei Design for the illustration.

Matt Rice has been shooting video for Snow over the past few months and I gotta say, I really, really enjoyed this. It’s creative, ballsy and a lot different than a lot of the FGFS videos I watch. Snow makes damn good use of the environment and his smooth, 29′r style is fast and precise. Good job dude, I’m diggin’ it!

Some of my favorite riding photos came out of my stay in Australia last winter. While I doubt any ride I go on in the near future will compare to the two days into hell that Fyxo and Shifter Dan took me on, I had a blast riding from Sydney to Wollongong with Adam of CycleEXIF. What I thought would be an hour long ride, ended up being a 60 mile ride through rainforests and coastal roads, leading us to the workshop of Primate Frames.

I was on my MKE Orange One, in city clothes, toting a camera bag and Adam was on his singlespeed. Neither were ideal vehicles for this hot, Australian summer sun-filled afternoon but we managed to have a blast. For more dialog, see my old A Day in 10 Photos entry and for more photos, check out the slideshow…

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

This is one of those videos that I watched one night and blanked on posting, then I received a flood of emails from readers sharing it with me. Though rudimentary by today’s standards, this 1945 video depicts how Raleigh bicycles were made in England. I love the dry and sterile explanation, reminiscent of an old sex ed video you’d watch in grade school, but with better visuals. Don’t miss the hub packing clip…

For more sexiness, head to Raleigh‘s website to see how far they’ve come.

How rad is this? While I was at Pushbike today, Travis dropped off a whole lotta color in the form of these Freight Baggage backpacks. They’re in stock now at Pushbike, so swing through and pick one up. The conversation seemed to center around the yellow bag…

It’s Sunday. That means it’s dude day. At least that’s what I found out when I bumped into “those guys” in Full Frame Collective. I remember riding skateboards out to jib spots when I was in middle school but of all the places to ride in SF, these dudes just thrashed a 4″ curb for two hours. Long enough for me to get sunburnt and catch a few flicks.

Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.

If you’ve got 19 minutes tonight, you should really watch this documentary on cycling in Brussels. It’s not just your ordinary courier documentary, it’s a story about how the car has created one of the least cycling friendly cities in Europe. I thought all Flemish cities were havens for the bicycle but Brussels only boasts 4% cycling traffic. Some of these shots make Brussels look like Los Angeles at rush hour.

Both completely different but they kept me watching. Ramon Antonio puts in work in the LBC (land that footplant bar dude!) and Shinya throws down some speedy flatland action in Meriken Park.

No, really. I’m back in SF yet again. This time I’ll be covering the Amgen Tour of California. I couldn’t make it to the start today, but coverage will begin tomorrow. My week will end in Los Angeles, so maybe I’ll see you there? More to come…