I tried to take a shortcut to my volunteer job in Sacramento yesterday, but got stuck in a traffic jam of cars stopped to let the AMGEN Tour of California bicycle race go by. I really wasn't in a hurry, so I enjoyed watching. Police officers barricaded the intersection, and then we waited. Waves of vehicles went by, punctuated by an occasional California Highway Patrol car with flashing lights. There were groups of vans with bicycles in racks on top, four or five ambulances together, and several groups of smallish motorcycles - somewhere in between the size of a moped and a Harley. There were a few waves of bicycles, but they seemed to be at touring speed, not racing.

And finally came the racers. There must have been fifty or maybe even a hundred, all in a pack. It looked like they were going about thirty-five miles an hour. There was nobody way out front, and nobody far behind. I read that the bikes got to Sacramento later in the day, and then down into the Sacramento River Delta.

Apparently, they stayed overnight somewhere in the Delta, and then will race again several days this week.

So, what are the logistics of a professional bike race like this? How do the races get paid, especially the ones who don't win? How do they determine the winner of a race that runs several days, punctuated by overnight stays?

This was all very interesting to watch, but it would have been more enjoyable if I had been able to figure out what was going on.

-Joe-