Dirty Fingers bike shop in Hood River, OR. Very cool shop that's attached to a coffee shop/roaster. Good people, good coffee.
Oh, and their shop counter is also their bar counter. Pretty much amazing.
One of my most important tools. Aeropressing first thing, then bike racing can happen.
Small pre race meeting before the first stage. Melissa (leaning against the car) helped out with feeding over the weekend and did body work for a couple of the guys. Really awesome person to have around.
Apparently the team car had a slightly flat tire. Turns out this is also one of my responsibilities.
Start line for stage one.
My office during the race. Rag for bottles, a few wheels, and a bag of food/water. A very nice place to spend a couple of hours.
View out the window of the car, the weather turned wet and wild shortly after this picture. Glad I caught the sun.
The pelaton climbing, there is a hairpin turn just ahead of the car so I got to catch a good shot of the field.
Finish line day one. Back in the sun
With a view of the Columbia from the finish.
Dam and all.
I think the term is "juxtaposed" . Getting the TT bikes ready for stage two.
The TT bikes were housed down the street so the shop went to them. We had a number of great hosts, two of whom had garages for bike storage. Always good to keep them out of the rain.
And how do you get the correct drop on your TT bike? Top cap? What top cap?
Exciting Friday night! New wheel sponsor = new wheels. Ten sets from Mercury Wheels.
And then twenty tires from Vittoria and tubes to go with.
Finished product. Ready for racing.
The flag at the TT start. Steady wind of 25 mph was the story of the morning.
Right behind the van you can see the A frame that we usually hang all of the bikes on.
Temporary A frame. Fully windproof.
Start house for the TT. Pretty sure those tents don't always look like that.
Part of the crowd on hand for stage three. The crit happens in downtown Hood River in front of Full Sail brewing. Good times had by all.
GM Alan Schmitz getting riders ready for a big night downtown.
Good shot of the women's field as they rolled past the brewery.
Didn't get a chance to stop by the beer garden, but it looked like a good time. Alas, duty calls.
The pit. Sram neutral service was there to assist. Lots of action during the race.
Laying down the Criterium game plan. Which worked out well. Chris ended up third on the stage.
As it would happen, not much is open late night in Hood River. However the Sherry's, aside from offering French Toast as a breakfast side, also has a gambling room in the back. Apparently it's so popular that saloon doors must be labeled to prevent injury.
Post Sherry's van loaded and ready for the final stage.
A balanced breakfast is key to a successful day. Plus when Cal Giant Strawberries sponsors a team, they usually share the wealth.
Host housing on a beautiful Sunday morning.
We did also take over this garage. The beer on the table was one of the prizes from the previous night's race. Thank you Full Sail.
Mountain view from our house.
Mountain view from the Stage 4 start.
Plus van.
Weather heated up for Stage 4. The guys all lined up for four and a half hours of biking fun.
Mountain still there at the finish. Glad to see the end after a long day in the car.
Sitting down to a giant Full Sail burger after a long weekend. Very very satisfying.
