Moving.... and then, The Tour of Utah!

Sorry it's been a while. I've been on the move, last week driving 49 hours in six days from Montreal to Santa Fe, en route to our new home in Davis, California starting on the 26th.

You all know how moving is. When we left Santa Fe 13 months ago, we stored all our stuff in this building here, which was full from floor to ceiling. Star items uncovered included 12 bikes, most special of which were 2 oldies. These were my second-ever racing bike - a Picchio - that I rode for my local New Mexico team Strings 'n Spokes before I got picked up by Ten Speed Drive, and the Crest bike. This is one of only 12 small-tube frames that Cannondale ever made, in order for the Crest team to comply with a UCI regulation about frame size (which was later overturned). My mom had the Picchio, which she's been riding daily while wearing my old Brancale brain bucket, one of the first hard-shell helmets ever made. Too bad I don't have a picture of her to upload - she surrendered these historic items in exchange for a new upright bike and a helmet that actually lets the air in to cool her down. Let's just say my new Cannondale Super Six performs a lot better than those old favorites.

But in the interim before Davis... Monday I fly to Salt Lake City to announce The Tour of Utah along with Jeff Roake and Bob Roll. I'm really looking forward to working with them. It will be great to be alongside Bobke in a less adversarial role than the last time we worked together, racing against each other on competing teams in the Coors Classic , Redlands, even the Vulcan Tour -- a race that Roake himself used to promote in Northern California. I wish Dave Towle was also on the crew like he was last year with me at Utah, but he's currently announcing the Tour of Ireland.

The Tour of Utah runs from August 18th-23rd and features 5 stages plus the prologue, totaling over 30,000 feet of climbing and 325 miles. It is a stunning and grueling course. Major teams include Ouch, Bissel, the young crew of Trek/LIVESTRONG, Team Type 1, BMC, Rock Racing with Oscar Sevilla, and many others. Check out their website http://www.tourofutah.com/

And after that, the Vuelta a Espana, baby! Universal Sports is offering a ton of daily coverage of the full race, with additional features that I'll fill you in on as soon as I can. Stay tuned...