It is Monday morning already, and time to say see y’all next year to Austinites and the LAF. The RftR was a huge success! This time, at the end of the ride, I stood and watched the cyclists separate out into an arrival chute for Survivors and a separate chute for all other riders. I have to tell you that almost everyone riding was heading down the Survivor chute. Each survivor is presented with a rose as they ride through by LAF volunteers. It is usually a crimson red rose, but this year the roses were a peach-tinged yellow. Live Strong!

The media truck was pretty full of TV cameras and CBS people. They were filming for a Survivor segment on Charles Osgood’s morning show. There is always a juggle for the prime spots along the tailgate. Most of the time, the pro photographers know how to work it out so everyone gets a chance to have a good shooting position some of the time, anyway. This year, there were folks who never moved from their spots. I had to sort of ease into a spot in front of a tall cameraman, who was nice about it. But my shooting time was pretty limited.

Then the Media Truck had a mechanical - we had a flat tire on the front! One of the RftR cyclists pointed it out as he rode by. The driver had to divert off course and we headed into Elgin to fix the tire and wait for Lance and Company to return from their 70-mile ride. There is a traditional Survivors rest stop in Elgin - Rest Stop Number 5, where Lance stops briefly and greets all the survivors, It is the usual media and fan zoo that surrounds Lance and wants autograph and pics, and they mostly want being able to say that they saw Lance and what was said or done.

So we press folks waited a couple of hours for the flash of Lance and then we all piled into the back of the truck, with the replacement, semi-inflated spare tire slapping along the asphalt. We beat the celebs back to the finish, so the photogs were happy. The more celebs that ride, the better for the press folks. This year was a goodie, with Sheryl Crow, Robin Williams, Will Farrell and Bob Roll riding the 70-mile route. Davis Phinney did a great 40-mile stint - he and I chatted outside the porta-potties in Elgin. Fatigue causes side effects with his disease, so he knows his limits. He is a great guy! And, of course, Bobke was hamming it up for me, so be sure to see the pics in my gallery.

I’m heading back to SJ via good old Southwest, and back to the daily grind. I was so pleased to hear from so many people at RftR how they read my Tour reports daily on The Paceline, and how much they like what I write. So thank you, every one of you, for being the best, loyal, Velogal readers. And thanks for coming up and saying hello, I was so glad to meet each and every one of you!

So I’ll see y’all in here or in Austin next year. Live Strong...

Austin is covered with red roses in a field of yellow, polka dot and green - the LAF forces have arrived. Every year, it is like a huge family reunion - thousands strong, who LiveStrong. Even the Omni Hotel folks are wearing yellow 2004 LAF tee shirts instead of their business attire. Move over, cowboys and punk rockers on 6th Street, the Ride for the Roses contingent is movin’ in.

I arrived Thursday night - fought the traffic on I-35 from the airport. It can’t be over ten miles and it took me forever. Its like a Los Angeles freeway commute. The Omni was starting to come alive, so I hung out in the Lounge area and said hello to a bunch of RftR folks. I chatted with a construction guy - trueborn Texan who knows nothing about cycling, but thinks that Lance is the best thing that has ever happened to Texas. He wasn’t a part of the LAF group at all - he just saw my hat and sat down to say Howdy. He told me that he’d never owned any kind of shoes but cowboy boots his whole life.

The Peloton Appreciation dinner was last night, and it was great. About 900 of us got together for a little dinner and other festivities. Good food, good drinks and good people. Bob Roll was the emcee, awards were handed out and then Robin Williams came rippin’ in with his high-speed, manic wit - I love that guy! Sheryl sang and got Lance to join in - he needs to keep his day job on wheels, but he was pretty good! College did a little emcee bit and sounded like a Pro... Bobke, Sheryl, Robin, College and Lance - all great, down-to-earth folks that the crowd obviously loved .

Today is the Expo and then tonight is the Conversation with Lance, so the day is gonna be full. But, for some Postie stuff - congrats to Max for being in the running for the Best Dutch Rider - the Gerrit Schulte Trofee award for the most victories.

Today was filled with events and autograph signings here at Interbike. Some of them overlapped and everyone was tearing around to find the right sponsor booth. If you looked for the longest lines, you would always find Tyler. But today, the long lines were also for Floyd Landis - people were lined up way early and they had a long wait. There was a huge crowd for the interview with Bob Roll, Gilberto Simonei, and Damaino Cunego.

Bobki told this funny story about Lance riding the new American Chopper that was built for him and the Livestrong campaign. Bobki said that Lance took it out for a spin, and when he came back he headed up the ramp where it had been parked at about 75 miles an hour. Lance loves speed, but I guess his management guys nearly had a heart attack when they saw him come flying up that narrow ramp. There was no problem on Lance’s part, but I guess his guys had flashes of broken bones, etc. Anyway, Lance loves that chopper.

I talked with my buddy, Steve Bauer, all the way down from Canada. He looks great and happy and is already planning his 2005 Tour trips. I went with his group the first time I went to the Tour, and had the best time in the world. His trips are really special and are just first-rate. Then I gave Frankie Andreu a bad time while I was taking his picture. He had to look at every one and told me to take another. He kept grinning that great smile he has, but it was after I took the pic! I said, “Frankie, dammit, you gotta smile before the shot, not after.” I gave him a bad time bout some OLN re-takes the first year that he was doing Tour commentary for them. I was there and took pictures of it all...

So, I just schmoozed my way around the place. I stopped to take a shot of Erik Saunders, and chatted with him for quite a while. Turns out that he and I both feed wild creatures that come into our yards. He feeds wild coyotes and other small critters, and takes tons of photographs of them. I told him about the mother raccoon and her three babies, plus a small black orphaned kitten that the mother raccoon has adopted. I put food and water out for them every night. San Jose has just paved over every place that the wild creatures have as a food source. Then everyone gets pissed when the critters rummage in their yards. It’s like - Hello - these creatures can’t exactly go to 7-11 for food, and they get hungry and thirsty the same as we do.

I stopped and shook hands with Eddie Merckx - he has a big, hearty handshake and a smile to match. He is really a nice guy. He has lost tons of weight: I heard someone ask him if he was getting in racing shape to do the Tour again, and everyone was laughing. I also saw Scott Dauber and Toshi - they work on the special requirements for Lance’s bike and helmets. Toshi designed the TT helmets used at the Tour. Lance has just got the greatest bunch of guys who work on his teams, no matter what their role is, they are just nice, down-to-earth guys.

So Interbike ends tomorrow, and I’m not ready to head back home, but the real world awaits...

Headed out to Las Vegas for Interbike 2004 at an ungodly early time on Wednesday morning. Sitting on the shuttle from long-term parking while it goes around and around the parking lot almost takes longer than the flight. I understand the reasons why the shuttle should be full before it makes its run, but what a waste of time at 5 in the morning! so I arrived early and headed in to register. Same story every year, I request press credentials well ahead of time and every year they can’t find my name in the list. In fact, they mail me the application card ahead of time - Oh well... I always end up with it, anyway.

OK, so who did I see the first day? Tyler Hamilton was signing autographs at two different sponsor booths, and the lines were so long, it was incredible. I walked up and gave him a hug, and said, “Luv ya, guy, I believe you.” He reached into a bag and gave me a handful of buttons that say, “ Tyler- I believe you.” Well, I’m telling you, everybody here at Interbike wants these buttons. Tyler has tons of support here.

Then I saw Bobby Julich signing away at an autograph session, and Frankie Andreu with a pen in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Bob Roll was there with a full beard, looking like a survivalist mountain man. We did the furry cheek kiss-kiss thing to test how soft his bead was. I got a couple of fuzzy pics of his fuzzy beard and bright orange camouflage cap.

I ran into Robbie Ventura, who told me his last race is in Florida this Saturday. He is a great guy and great racer - I’m sorry to see him leave the team and retire, but he has a lot of great future plans.

And then I ran into George Hincapie, who looked absolutely GQ - tall, slim and handsome in a black sports jacket and tres chic jeans. He gave me a hug and told me that the baby is due in 3-5 weeks and that Melanie is doing fine. He will get his Beyond the Podium award this afternoon.
Then I saw Phil Liggett - or rather I heard his voice as I went flying out of the Press Center, and I turned around real quick. He said, “Well, then, you are just going to go right on by me without saying hello?” What a really nice man he is - so genuine and he has so much grace and class.

I forgot to take my Speedlight yesterday for my Nikon, so it was not a great photo day. It is difficult to get shots here, anyway, because of the crowds. Somebody always steps in front if you, and you have to snap the shot so quickly that is composition is usually pretty crappy. It just ends up like a bunch of snapshots, which, I guess is better than nothing. Sort of... I’ll try to get some shots up in the gallery tonight.