Ride For The Roses Pics

(Click here for the 2001 Ride.)

Back In The Saddle

I'm starting to like the great state of Texas. Don't worry, I'm not saying "ya'll" or wearing cowboy boots, but I have partaken in a Shiner Beer or two and oogled the famously good looking women (yes, the rumors are true.) Back in the day my brother and I drove across country in his Boss 302 Mustang. We hit the Texas-New Mexico border just as the sun was going down, and the Texas-Louisiana border just as the sun was coming up. Lone Star darkness it was. Then, a year ago, I got hooked up with a fundraising project for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and found myself in Lance's home town of Austin. To make a long story short….I'm back….in Texas! Now I'm going to make the story longer. Read On.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

This town goes absolutely nuts on Friday and Saturday nights. You've got the University of Texas, you've got tons of honky-tonk bars and, on this Friday night, you've got their most famous citizen, Lance Armstrong, flying in from Europe for the Ride For The Roses Weekend! Woo hoo...let's go to a concert! Headlining tonight, Stone Temple Pilots. And it's the first night of their tour. "Interstate Love Song", "Vasoline", "Plush" and..."Shine On You Crazy Diamond"? Yep. STP opened with a Pink Floyd song. And 10,000 partygoers loved it. Lance's appearance on stage that night was just one of about 20 appearances he'd make that weekend.

Anybody Up For A Little Ride With Lance?

Now it's Saturday and 200 of us are off on a little scoot with our hero. We're all here because we support the Lance Armstrong Foundation whose mission is, simply stated, to help people manage and survive cancer. When my own mother died of cancer 30 years ago, she didn't stand much of a chance. Nowadays, people are surviving, just like Lance did from his terrible bout with testicular cancer that even spread to his brain. You might have heard the story, but I'll tell you again. Through his determination and will to live he battled the disease and came back to win the Tour de France……three times! And he became a dad. And he became a symbol for cancer survivors everywhere. I have seen the good work of the Foundation first hand, and that's why together we helped raise 2.2 million dollars to continue the fight against cancer. Check out their website at www.laf.org.

Pardon Me Sir, But Could You Sign My Leg?

Lance signed two items for each of us and, let me tell you, people brought everything. Bikes, posters, jerseys, photographs, even a homemade Lance doll and, yes……a leg or two. Hey, if you don't take a shower that could last for weeks. I had him sign a Trek team cycling jersey and a very cool Oakley poster. That's another thing. When he lay on his deathbed and the manager of his European cycling team came by to fire him from the team, a bunch of Lance's sponsors came forward to show their support. That's why I will always support Oakley, Gyro, Trek and Nike. Plus, I like that saying of theirs, Just Do It! Try it. It works. And let me thank Bone listener Mark Kasche for his generosity. He wrote a check for $2,500 for an autographed Tour de France leaders jersey that I brought back from Austin last year. Mark, you're the best.

Riding High In Texas

I'm trying to figure out how I can tell you how cool it was to go on a private ride with the defending three-time winner of the Tour de France. If you're a guitarist, think jammin' with Jimmy Page in his living room. If you're into baseball, imagine a little game of catch with Barry Bonds….right in the middle of Pac Bell Park. If you watch the WWF five nights a week, wouldn't it be the best to have The Rock lay the smackdown on your pitiful body? In 1974, Fleetwod Mac had an album called Heroes Are Hard To Find. Sorry, but on this gorgeous Texas morning, 200 of us had no problem in that department whatsoever. For a cyclist to go on a private ride with Lance right there in his own backyard is probably the coolest thing that could ever happen in the history of the universe. All right, I'll shut up now.

Party On The Patio

No I won't. Because the story isn't over yet. They kept sending us to all these parties and receptions and stuff, which is good because, being in the media for all these years, your web reporter here has learned to appreciate the value of FREE FOOD! And good free food too. The best of which was the Saturday night gala / fundraiser / silent auction where the beautiful (and rich) people of Austin turned out to support their #1 native son. We heard touching stories of cancer survivors, of people who have dedicated their lives to the fight against cancer and a fellow who lives just a few miles from The Steven Seaweed Building, one Robin Williams. Turn him on and wind him up, there is no man funnier or more spontaneous. And he's a big supporter of The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Takin' It To The Streets

Even though he lives in Spain most of the time to train for all the big European races (can you say 'Tour de France'?), Austin is still Lance's hometown and he's ridden thousands and thousands of miles in the neighboring "hill country." No wonder then that this weekend he was riding his bike to all the events they had him scheduled at for appearances. "look ma, there's Lance!" By the way, speaking of mom, Mrs Lance Armstrong stayed in Europe this time with little Luke and their new twin baby girls.

The Look...

And speaking of Europe, just for fun, let's look ahead to say, the middle of July, when the 2002 Tour de France starts really heating up. Lets pick day 21 for example, when probably a quarter of the riders will have already dropped out of the race. They're in the Alps in southern France and it's a bitch of a climb called Mont Ventoux. Everybody remembers that famous picture from last years Tour when Lance looked back at Ullrich and the rest of them, then absolutely hammered to victory on l'Alpe d'Huez. My prediction: a big win for my boy Lance that day. Of course he's the favorite to win the whole thing again this year, so why not make sure you've got a subscription to OLN right now? www.olntv.com

The Alps of San Francisco

And while we're on the subject of bike racing, here's a date to mark on your calendar: September 15, 2002. The San Francisco Grand Prix is back! That's a picture of the legendary Fillmore Hill from last years race won by Lance's U.S. Postal teammate, George Hincapie. The good news is that Lance and the Posties will be back again this year. The race starts and finishes on the Embarcadero and winds through North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf and up THAT HILL that's so steep the sidewalks are STEPS! It's a great spectator event and you can be sure that 107-7 The BONE will be there.