Forth time out for the Acura LA Bike Tour on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. The bad news was waking up at 2:30 AM to go to the race and that I got a leg cramp in mile 2 or 3 that never went away, the good news is that the ride through downtown LA is always a lot of fun. Also, Dave and Luke did the race this year. Luke got out in front and finished 20 minutes ahead of Dave and I. Dave and I rode together for 17 of the 22 miles, and had a lot of fun. They took out the Monster hill from last year, and the course was a little easier. I really enjoyed the ride up to the Staples Center, but the ride through the Fashion and Jewelry Districts really lacked any ascetic appeal. Dave and I witnessed a truck that had students and cases of water in the bed run into a tree. They were unloading the water for the Marathon water stations, and somehow the driver missed the giant tree on the side of the road. No one was hurt, but it was a really funny sight to see the students with a look of absolute shock as the are standing in the back of the truck when it hit the tree. The people that were unloading the water applauded loudly. Acura really did a much better job with the hospitality this year. We had a bike repair group and the usual coffee, juice, fruit and donuts before the race... and a wonderful breakfast after the race. Nothing says I finished a race like a hash brown, egg, and bacon burrito... The other nice thing was doing the bike tour for the fifth time, with the forth different person(s). Year 1 (2003): Fred and I braved the course, the morning after "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" opened at PV Players Year 2 (2004): Joel and I almost decided not to do it, as we had just hit Ben's bachelor party the night before and didn't have much left in the tank at 3:00 AM on Sunday morning. Year 3 (2005): Molly and I rode together and had a lot of fun... the morning after Dustin's Wedding Year 4 (2006): I didn't ride since Molly and I did the Marathon... Year 5 (2007): I did the bike tour alone... Molly did the water station, completing the Honda tri-fecta: Marathon, Bike Tour, and Water Station. This year (2008): Dave, Luke, and I. If I get any pictures I'll post them for you. I know Diana (Luke's wife) and Dodie (Honda) got some shots along the way.
