I get to ride with George Hincapie
 

This seems post-worthy... certainly, for me, it is

The Tour of California is coming to town in a few weeks, sponsored by Amgen, a bio-pharmaceutical company dedicated to fighting cancer. As a prelude to that, the Breaking Away from Cancer charity ride will be held.
For 150 bucks, you can ride a 25 mile loop "with" George Hincapie (like I'll actually see the guy, let alone ride along with him. But, close enough for me and I *do* get the commerative jersey :)).
The loops cruises through the wonderful riding environment of the mid peninsula, through Palo Alto, Portola Valley and Wooside. Rolling hills, open chapparal, redwoods, $million+ homes... just a beautiful, beautiful area. And, at times, challenging. We do live in hill country here thanks to a quite active seismology. Living on the Faultline, indeed.

I rode part of this area the day I picked up my LeMond a year ago... about killed me :lol:
But I've come a long way since then and, before I could ride with George, I had to know: Could I do it?

So I set out to find out today and, even with getting lost, going in a big circle -adding an additional 4 or 5 miles to the ride- and having to cover part of it twice, the answer is I am signing up. It was actually pretty much a non-event.

Sure, as usual, I started out too fast and had to find some reserves about 2/3's of the way in and there were a couple of "spots of bother" when I had to go up some -for me- prolonged climbs (and one of them twice) but, in the end, it wasn't all that demanding. 2:15 minutes of riding plus 15 minutes of breaks along the way... OK, I'm not fast but the event, including post-ride festivities, is scheduled for 4 hours so I know I'll make it in time. Even the last bit before returning to my car... driving over it, it seems long and steep and daunting and I kind of dreaded having to deal with that at the end but, no big deal... got my pace going and I was up and over before I knew it.

I am stoked.

Here's the route and the profiles. Apologies for the profiles' formatting...
The first is the route I took today, the second is what it was supposed to be.
The Map
What I did
What it should have been

Congratulations! Your links worked perfectly.

The congratulations is on the ride, however. Looks like fun. Please say hello to George for me!

Shows that those hills work on fitness if you can do a ride now within your comfort zone that last year you found a bit hard. Hope you will be just as pleased after the ride- but don't try and put the pressure on George by shooting off the front. He's getting a bit past sprint riding nowadays.

Give him a run for the money.

That's great! Both the improvement in your abilities and the opportunity to ride with George.
Go easy on him. ;)

Have a great ride.

I was once in an out-and-back charity ride "with" Lance Armstrong. As I was going out, he was coming back. His group went by in a blur of speed--which was probably just an easy spin for him.

I would agree it's well worth the money. My brother was riding around Greenville a couple weeks ago and spotted George out riding in a training group with 5-6 other fellows. Seems to be one of the good guys.

Tell George "Hi".

Hincapie is one of my favorite racers. As jppe said, he seems to be one of the good guys. Does some charity work, strong rider and seemingly a great teammate. Hope you do get to see him and exchange a few works with him. Tell him to win Paris-Roubaix this year. Looks like the ride is for a good cause, so thanks for coughing up the bucks.

Sounds like a great time. One of my old mags laying around has a recap of last years ride. Seems to draw a good many riders, and has a reputation as a good course. Have Fun!!

Sounds like a great ride.

Just as a small correction, Amgen is a bio-pharmaceutical company dedicated to making money, and cancer is one of their vehicle.

SKT comes back to the forum in style!

Sounds like quite an event.

Is there any opportunity where once he rides off into the distance and you don't see him anymore, for you to take a shortcut to intercept the leaders and ride with them briefly before they once again dust you?

Well, I try not to be so jaded but, yeah, point taken

Sounds like a wonderful ride, SKT. Of course we'll expect a full report and pictures of you in the jersey.

Have fun!

Hope you get to see him, talk to him, enjoy the ride, and that the jersey becomes your second favorite (right behind the 50+ jersey). Now if I were making this post, I would have to title it, "I get to ride behind George Hincapie". The first time I rode with pros, I was stunned at how easily the could ride so freaking fast. Should be a great day for you.

We've taken the tandem along some of that route, with Hermes and Velodiva. You're right that it's beautiful and rolling and hilly. We enjoyed the ride very much.

Congrats on how easy it's become for you! I'm glad you're going on the ride "with" George and I'm sure it'll be fun.

Can't wait for the report and pics.

While I agree that is the focus of the mgmt and the shareholders, having worked 20 years in big Pharma I can say that the people I work with on the bench and in middle management are dedicated scientists looking to develop cures for diseases that ruin peoples lives. 8 out of 10 projects they work on for years at a time get dumped due to side effects, politics or other reasons. This is a big disappointment but they get back on the horse and start over again. Those with cancer taking EPO so they can have the energy to play with their kids or walk around the block would also feel pretty positive about Amgen's contribution to health.

SKT, riding with Hincapie would be pretty cool, I say go for it.

George is definitely one of my favorites! Have a great ride with him! Some of my sisters and I are going to go watch the first days of the Tour of California, I am getting very excited!!

:D Have fun! :D

Don't give him 'the look' when you pass him half way up a mountain - he's seen it done before, and it only makes him cross;)

Have a great ride. I had the pleasure of meeting him after a race I saw: "Tour de Cathar" in SW France 3 years ago, and he was the most pleasant and approachable guy with time and enthusiasm to mingle with bike riders -- a real hero.

I wonder if it's going to be televised on a station where regular folks can watch it.

OK, that's it, I'm all signed up. They even include a personal website where I can collect pledges.
Anyone interested? Doesn't matter, really... I'd gladly pay the $150 minimum to do this ride, I can afford it; but if I can sweeten the pot, why not? Cancer has been far too big a story in my life and I want it gone. Now.

Darn, our route is a big loop so if I don't see him at the start or at the post ride festivities, I won't see him at all. Still worth it.

George, I get Versus on DirecTV (satellite). Many cable providers carry it. Can you not get it where you live?

Yes, I watched the TDF on that channel. I had to ask then what station it was on because the tv guide didn't show it. Thanks for the tip and I'll be tuned in. I really like this stuff again I wish I knew about it when I was younger. I guess I was busy with boats and motorcycles for the most part. I just signed up for a subscription for Road Bike Action. Did I say I really like this sport.:D