It’s taking some getting-used-to whenever I see Tony Cruz in his new kit. I took this shot while the Toyota United Pro Team was getting ready for the Amgen Tour of California Stage Two start in Martinez. Stephanie, the soigneur, was working on Chepe Garcia’s legs - check out that tan line...

Stephanie has been with the Postal/Discovery team pretty often here in the States. Before that, I think she was with Saturn. I was telling her a while back about when I first went to the Cascade Cycling Classic - maybe 1999 or 2000 - and the NutraFig raggle-taggle team guys asked me to do the Feed Zone for them. They had no support team and no money - they traveled to the races in a beat-up old van. I felt sorry for them - I totally knew nothing about the long stage route around Bear Mountain or whatever it was. I didn’t know quite how to feed, but I said yes - what the Hell - they were obviously pretty desperate. They gave me a rather smelly team vest (you have to wear the team jersey or vest when you feed) - it was like size XS and I most certainly am not. They gave me several bottles and asked me to not give them to any other rider and to pick up the empties and save them. They didn't have any money to buy new ones....

I didn’t even have a race bible or route info, so I jumped in my car and tried to follow Stephanie in the Saturn team car, going backwards along the open traffic route to get to the Feed Zone. She didn’t know that I was frantically following her, and I’m telling you, that gal drove like a crazy woman. I drive really fast, myself, but she was hitting 90 and passing everyone of the poor, unsuspecting tourists on the highway. And I am keeping her in sight and having to do the same. I am sure we scared the bejeeezus out of a lot of people. We just had to get there in time. On a long, hard, hot stage like that, you just gotta be there to feed those guys or they are gonna bonk and suffer.

Stephanie took a wrong turn, and of course, I followed. After a couple of miles, she screeched into a U-turn and I did, too. She looked at me like, who the Hell are you and what are you doing? I, of course, wasn’t in a team car... We took off like a shot again - it was just hell-bent-for-leather all the way. Long story short - we made it in time, and then had to do it all over again to get to the second Feed Zone. That was my introduction to the crazy, frantic world of being a team support person. I loved it.....

Just updated my CyclingMedia.com webpage with some cycling photos - you may have seen them before, but check out the flash presentation.. Click on the Link to get there....