A few months back I heard the Amgen Tour of California would come to Visalia. Conner of course is a big Lance Armstrong fan and loves to watch The Tour. So to hear a pro cycling event was coming to our town, were in. Then the news came that Lance Armstrong would return to cycling and come to the race. We were thrilled to give Conner the opportunity to see his hero.
On race day we got up at 6am to ensure we would find a place to stand. The paper had stated the cyclist check in at 8:30 and sign autographs after until race time. We went looking for the designated spot that was nowhere to be found. Marty ended up going up to one of the tour organizers who told him "Stand by that red carpet and you will meet them all." so we walked right up to the barrier and just stood. As we walked up we met some people from Minnesota who flew out here to follow the race. They said that was the ONLY place to meet the cyclists. They said the paper had erroniously reported the facts and we were in good.
So we waited and the waiting paid off. We got to meet all the big names in cycling including Lance Armstrong himself. He signed the most autographs and took the most time with the fans. We saw Levi Leiphiemer who today took home the overall race. We also saw Floyd Landis on his return to cycling, he was the nicest of the bunch and even talked to me for a second. Overall it was a wonderful experience and Conner was thrilled to have met his hero. It was a big deal for our whole little town and we are all curious to see if the tour comes through again.
