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...