Tour of California Dates/Cities Announced

(From Bicycle Retailer's website 2009 Oct 23)
Beginning with a road stage, a first for the race, the 2010 Amgen Tour of California will visit 16 host cities for official stage starts and finishes, while other cities along the route also will have the opportunity to witness the excitement of elite professional cycling. Stages for the 2010 Amgen Tour of California include:

Stage 1: Sunday, May 16 – Nevada City to Sacramento
Stage 2: Monday, May 17 – Davis to Santa Rosa
Stage 3: Tuesday, May 18 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz
Stage 4: Wednesday, May 19 – San Jose to Modesto
Stage 5: Thursday, May 20 – Visalia to Bakersfield
Stage 6: Friday, May 21 – Pasadena to Big Bear Lake
Stage 7: Saturday, May 22 – Los Angeles (individual time trial)
Stage 8: Sunday, May 23 – Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village/Agoura Hills

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong’s announcement of his intent to compete in the fifth-annual race was met with enthusiasm from race organizers and fans. After mounting an incredible comeback to professional cycling in 2009, competing in the Amgen Tour of California and other top races around the world, including finishing third in the 2009 Tour de France, Armstrong will start the 2010 season on his newly formed Team RadioShack. Returning to the Amgen Tour of California for the second consecutive year, Armstrong is expected to be a top competitor in the race.

We have stores in many of these cities, and there are some opportunities for us here. The smallest of those would be scheduling a day off to see the world's greatest riders roll through your city. A big one for Sport Chalet would be some level of sponsorship. If you fit in the middle, volunteering is an option: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Tour/volunteer.html

Main info page on the race: http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

Bike University 2009!

Bike U is on, at the same place as 2008. It's a one day event, so no demo rides are planned, and it'll be a very full day. Oct 27, 2009, starting at 07:45 and concluding at 18:30. Sign up thru the Endzone training calendar. 2 paid per store, voluntary attendance "possible" with pre-registration.

We need a logo, and PDQ. Not just a symbol, not just text and simpler than what's above. Please let me know if you can throw something together, it may get used! Deadline? Sunday PM.

Can't afford Hope? Try Alligator!

This has nothing to do with Obama, so ease up there. This entry refers to me mentioning Hope Gothic rotors for years, and how nice they look. (Well, to a bike goon like me, they look cool!) I had held off from getting a set as they were kinda expensive at a minimum of $50 each. A friend of mine was changing from this set to another, and made an offer I couldn't resist. Once burnished in, these run silent thru the pads and have about the same power as Hayes V6's. Since these have less surface area they are likely to wear faster than Hayes, but for the price it's reasonable.

Let me know what you think and maybe we could stock these!