Stage 1 - First race and all the riders were nervous and jittery. I hung out at the team cars and the Postie Motorhome - it is huge! I went in to take a peek before then guys came out, and it is deluxe. They were missing a coffemaker, so Dave had to make a run to K-Mart. Posties without coffee? It can't happen. Saw a soigneur with an armload of Jittery Joes coffee bags. Hey, maybe I just figured out why the riders are all jittery, huh?

The OLN film crew, Chris and Rob, were there, filming the wrenches at work. They told me that they travel everywhere with Lance and the Posties. They said that if they had a nickel for everyone who asked them if they need help, that they would be rich. What a job! I'm green with envy. Rob has this belt bag with a ton of batteries - it must weigh 30 pounds. I'm walking around with this huge camera backpack, myself. I forget about it and turn around and whack people, especially when I am trying to get thru tight places. And I must tell you that the professional photographers get a mite testy about who stands where for finish line shots.

I was right beside Lance at the start line, and they brought out this really young kid who has testicular cancer - somebody told me he is ten years old and is living with a foster family. Lance was so sweet to him and listened intently in the midst of the crowd noise. He was totally focused on what the kid was trying to say - His face was just full of compassion for the child. I took a couple of shots from the side - I did not want to get in their faces.

After the race ended, there was a big crowd at the bus, as usual. One guy stood right in front of the bus, holding up a big poster that had Lance magazine covers and photos glued onto it. He had a pen in his hand, and I wondered if he really expected Lance to get out of the bus and sign it. The bus started to inch away and the guy finally moved.

Talked to George and yes, he is gonna be dad and he is getting married in November.

I put up a bunch of shots from today's race on my smugmug gallery - click in the menu on the right to go there...