www.chechurubiera.info - an online magazine for fans of Chechu Rubiera
TOUR OF CALIFORNIA DIARY
by Amy Bush
Hero Revisited
Dictionary.com defines the word "hero" as "a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities".
I’ve only ever considered one person in my life to be a hero and that was my father who faced his battle with cancer as only a hero could. Today, Chechu has joined that very short list. Yes, for different reasons but he is a man of courage, bravery and ability as is evidenced by his chosen profession. He is also, in my humble opinion, a man of noble qualities.”
I opened the vaults and dusted off the files and took this from the very first blog I ever wrote for ChechuRubiera.info at the 2008 Tour de Georgia. It only seemed fitting to do so considering what the man has been through this past week.
Since discovering my love for cycling, Chechu has been my favorite rider. I’m not sure what it was about him that drew my attention his way out of all the riders in the peloton but I think the thing that sealed the deal for me was in the 2003 Tour de France when Lance caught his handlebars on a spectator’s musette while leading the charge up Luz Ardiden. When Lance was finally able to get his chain back on and remount his bike, it was Chechu who helped him get back into the race, motioning for Lance to take his wheel and settle down and seeming to reassure him with a simple gesture that it was going to be ok.
When Chechu crashed on Thursday’s Stage 5 from Visalia to Bakersfield, no one would have blamed him had he immediately abandoned the race. He was bleeding and raw and shaking but he got back on his bike and he kept on going. When I saw him the next morning, I gasped. "I am in so much pain. I will try to finish but I don't know" These were his words to me and, despite the pain, his smile was ever present - strained perhaps, but present none-the-less.
When I got to Big Bear Lake, another journalist told me in the parking lot that he had abandoned. It’s bad enough driving a car on the road my GPS called the "Rim of the World", I couldn’t imagine having to climb it on a bike wounded from head to toe.
But it wasn’t true. Chechu, the man that he is, gritted his teeth and got the job done. That night, Johan Bruyneel himself called Chechu a hero. I could have told him that years ago.
Hanging Out With Peter Pan
Tuesday. So I’m hanging out at the start in San Francisco and I spy a certain actor just breeze on by me. "Was that Robin Williams," I ask myself. "Probably so," I thought as I watched him walk towards the RadioShack bus.
But I continued to wonder around the team buses and enjoy the absolutely magnificent ocean atmosphere and didn’t think anything more about it. I ran into Chechu again and snapped a bunch of pictures. He takes direction well and smile as previously instructed.
After catching up with some other old friends, I found my spot near the start line and they began the rider introductions. And that’s when I heard it ... "LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE". Sure enough, Robin Williams was kneeling down at the start line less than three feet away. As the riders headed out on course, he continued to mumble all kinds of hilarious things. When I had the chance, I turned around and said “I knew that was you”. He just snickered and said "Yep, it’s me" and reached out so I went in for the hug. I was in the presence of comedic genius and in complete awe. (For those of you who aren’t Robin Williams fans, the title of the blog is a nod to his appearance as Peter Pan in the movie Hook).
The finish town of Santa Cruz was equally as wonderful. They had it at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk where the roller coasters and other rides were located. It was also right next to the beach and the media room had an incredible view of the ocean. There was a mini parade with some old surfer cars, a band and a large group representing the Breakaway From Cancer.
Levi, once again, tried to get away on the Bonny Doon climb and he sort of succeeded in that he did drip the peloton but he had company ... Dave Zabriskie and Michael Rogers were with him. The podium in Santa Cruz was an eerily familiar site ... it was the same podium as last year’s Tour of California, just in a different order. I have a feeling it will be those three on top at the end of the week though I’m not ready to predict the final results. If forced to, I’d have to remain loyal and say Levi was going to pull out all the stops to end up on the top step for the 4th time.
I’ve been pretty sick since before I left home and it’s only been getting worse. I can barely breathe and have coughing episodes that feel like both my lungs are coming up. I’ve been taking it as easy as possible and avoiding do a lot of in between stuff and just hitting the starts and finishes.
On Wednesday, however, I had to return to Sierra Rd. Last year, it was a miserable day with cold, wind and rain. My fingers nearly were frost bitten and I was soaking wet when all was said and done. It was really nice to see it on a good day. I got to hang out with Sharkie, who is the mascot for the San Jose hockey team. He was cheering all the riders and running along-side of them. All the amateur riders that did the climb before the pro were locals and they all knew who Sharkie was and were getting hi-fives from him ... just a fun morning on top of Sierra Road and, thankfully, no cold, wind or rain. I was a little sad that Chechu was on the opposite side of the road than me so I didn’t get any pictures of him that day.
I’m thinking we’re about mid-way. Most of us don’t know what day it is, what city we’re in or what we’re supposed to be doing but we move on everyday and keep chugging along. I hope that I am able to do so because I love doing this and I love sharing my adventures. So, until next time, Adios amigos!!
It Never Rains In California…..Are You Kidding Me?
Monday. The Mamas and The Papas had a song way back when titled “It Never Rains In California”. Well, I’m not exactly sure which California they were referring to but I’m here to tell you that it does, indeed, rain in California ... at least the one located on the west coast of the U.S. They changed the dates of this year’s Tour of California to May in hopes of revisiting the “Soggy Days Of February” we experienced last year.
But there we were in beautiful Davis, California for the start of Stage 2 and the poncho that stayed in its packaging for the whole of the Tour of Missouri was, sadly, pulled out and put on. It was nice, however, that the start was in exactly the same place as last year which gave me as an out-of-towner a familiarity I usual only get on home turf.
I arrived too late to roam around the team buses so I went straight to the sign-in stage. They had us corralled in a rectangular shaped area. I like to refer to these places as the mosh pit because there is so much fighting for position. Today it lived up to the name. When Lance came to the sign-ins, all the media swarmed to him like flies to fly paper or moths to a flame ... whatever analogy you want to use. There was so much pushing and shoving by “professional” photographers that I just stood back and watched it happen. I’m guessing this is why I’ve yet to get any good pictures of Lance Armstrong at any of the races I’ve been too ... I’m just not willing enough to do the pushing and shoving that is apparently necessary to get the picture. Now, if it’s Chechu, that’s another story.
When Chechu came to the start area, I was so excited to see him. I called his name and he looked over at me and just smiled that smile of his. After he signed in, he spent a little time on autograph alley then came over for a few seconds to have a chat. Always the gentleman, he greeted me with kisses. He mentioned that Nicky had told him I’d be sending her pictures and I said, “That’s right so whenever you see me, make sure to smile”. So warm and friendly, a rare trait in the world these days, he accommodated my poor attempt at humor. I wished him luck on the stage and told him to be careful and off he went. Thank you, Lance, for coming out of retirement so we fans can enjoy Chechu in the peloton for a few more years.
Where Am I and What Am I Doing Here?
Sunday. I arrived in California last Wednesday with stars in my eyes ... just kidding. I actually arrived sick as a dog fighting a stomach virus by that point for 3 days.
The flight was pretty interesting. I met a nice guy on the leg from Atlanta to San Francisco who was on his way home from the Bahamas. He’d been there on vacation and was returning home to go back to his job as a first grade teacher. We had a nice conversation and enjoyed a drink together called “It’s Five o’clock Somewhere”, which is a combination of rum, cranberry juice and orange juice. One certainly was enough for me, the light-weight that I am when it comes to alcohol, plus it probably wasn’t a good idea to put that on my stomach considering the condition I was in at the time.
Anyway, after a rather bumpy landing which I was told was not normal, I headed across the airport to pick up my rental car. Now, this should have only taken me about 15 minutes but ultimately, it took over an hour because my bank froze my credit card thinking it was stolen. I guess it’s not used to seeing such massive charges on the other side of the country. It took quite a long time to resolve this problem but I was eventually given a car and headed to San Leandro, California for a two-day visit with my cousin Tom and his wife Deb. I rarely get to see them so it was a perfect opportunity to do so.
Day 2 of my California sojourn was a nice relaxing day with my cousin. I slept in then we sat in his back yard talking cameras. I actually learned a thing or two from him that I hope to apply while I’m here but I’ll most likely forget.
After our camera lesson we headed out to lunch. Now, what is the first thing that comes to mind as a good choice to eat while fighting a stomach virus ... Indian food, you say?? You would be correct. Me being who I am ...
Later that evening we headed for Oakland to check out Barlata. I had hoped last year to do so but the opening was delayed and I missed the opportunity. But I wasn’t going to this year and my cousin and his wife are always up for a good meal.
We just happened to get a table directly under a framed set of autographed jerseys that appeared to be gifts Chechu has received from friends ... one was an Euskaltel-Euskadi jersey from Sammy Sanchez, another a Maglia Rosa from Alberto’s 2008 victory jersey, one was and Astana jersey and one a Maillot Jaune from Lance.
The menu had quite a selection. The waiter suggested that we each get at least 2 tapas. I chose the Ox Tail which is braised for 5 hours and comes with a red wine sauce and mashed potatoes. I also ordered the Patatas bravas which are fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce and allioli. There were both fantastic. The ox tail was so moist and tender and the tomato sauce for the potatoes was wonderful with just enough kick to it to make you think about it. We also sampled the 3 gazpachos (salmorejo, ajoblanco and gazpacho—that’s what my “souvenir” menu says), a roasted asparagus wrapped in ham and some sort of ceviche (which I DID NOT try ... sorry, not a seafood girl).
By far, though, the desert was the highlight of the night in regards to food. We ordered Pan con chocolate, which is a warm breaded pudding/ruby port figs/candied lemon/chocolate sauce, Fruta con crema dulce, which is seasonal berries/sweet cream/sugared almonds and Crema Catalana, which is lemon and cinnamon custard with a caramelized crust ... the best desert I have ever had in my entire life.
I am sad to report that the waiter did not know who Chechu was saying he didn’t know anything about the cycling side of the restaurant ... needless to say, I filled him in.
When “vacation” time was over and I had to start thinking about the race, I headed to Sacramento. I was horrified to find, when I got in my rental car Friday morning, that there was a 30 inch long crack in the windshield that was not there when I drove it off the lot. When and how it happened I have no idea but visions of dollar signs started floated through my head thinking about my insurance deductable. It is a problem I have yet to deal with as there are more important things to do.
I attended the pre-race press conference in addition to the gala in the evening where the team presentations were being held. We were relegated to the balcony of this auditorium and, with the distance and the very low lighting, I didn’t manage many good pictures. But it was my first opportunity to see Chechu this week and I think my friend Rebecca and I had more fun than the people that paid hundreds of dollars to be there.
I wasn’t able to make it to Nevada City for the start of Stage 1 because I had to cover the women’s race in Sacramento but I am looking forward to stalking the RadioShack bus in hopes of saying “Hi” to Chechu. If he’s wearing the same bright yellow shoes he had on the night of the gala, I won’t be able to miss him.
Photographs © Amy Bush