Amgen Tour of California, Stage 8

Met up with the San Fernando club today and rode up Mulholland past Rock Store to watch the 4 lap circuit race. I don't think I had ever ridden up that part of Mulholland, and didn't expect it to be as steep as it was. The crowds showed up early and the place was packed. Other than climbing the hills, being on a bike was the way to go, although you had to put up with people that already started drinking and yelled at anything that moved on the highway. I passed a guy wearing speedos and and an American flag riding a huge bike, a guy dressed in a green outfit like a pea, the pope and a gladiator. Finally got up to the top and hung out with about 25 of us in the club.


After a while, CHP cars & motorcycles drove past, then the race referees and a whole motorcade of cars involved with the race. It was like a huge party, everyone was having fun and even the cops were really cool, letting us know when the riders were coming.


Then we saw the peloton coming up the hill, making the climbs look easy. Fabian Cancellara rode about a foot away from me as he passed, and I spotted Andy Schleck, George Hincapie and many others. That was cool. In the bright sun I took photos, but without looking through the camera so basically I was yelling like everyone else and pointing my camera and clicking as many photos as I could.


After they went by we rode a few more miles up the hill and found another place to watch that was not crowded at all. We were again treated to great action of the peleton going right by us. Then we descended the steep hill on Westlake and made our way to the finish line, which was an absolute zoo. Afterwards I got home and watched the final lap on tv.


Here are some of the photos that came out ok.


Top of Mulholland

Fabien Cancellara Frank Schleck (?) on the left

Floyd Landis, liar, doper, cheat

It seems like May always has the most drama when it comes to bike racing, and this year is no exception. The latest is Floyd Landis, who for four years adamantly denied doping after being stripped of his yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Now he admits he lied. And he directly accused many big names in the sport of doping when he was teammates with them, including Lance Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel, George Hincapie and others.

Obviously Landis' credibility is shot. But I am inclined to believe his accusations of others, and so is Greg Lemond. I do not think things will ever be proven against Lance, and it will continue to be a heated debate among cycling fans.

Without getting into all the arguments, I just hope cycling will purge itself of dopers. It is one of the few sports that makes an effort to rid itself of steroid freaks. How boring to watch a race where nobody appears tired and puts in amazing performances every day. It completely removes passion. Any and all dopers need to be kicked out, and the system that forces athletes to cheat needs to be fixed. Otherwise, the sport will be destroyed.

One Step Beyond

I just read a book written by a friend of mine, whom I have not seen since I was a teenager. Mike Pearson's  One Step Beyond is about growing up in the 80s on the westside of Los Angeles. He captures life during that time perfectly, and there are a few stories that had me laughing so hard I wiped tears out of my eyes. Of course, he changed the names to protect the innocent, and I had fun trying to guess who the people actually were in the book.

A couple stories that cracked me up were one where his friends shaved part of their dog and glued the hair to their faces to look older so they could get into a club, but were underaged. Another was when they partied and could not find one guy, who they later found in the back of Mike's truck buried in stolen lawn furniture, and nobody had a clue what happened. There are also great stories about working at the Chevron station on PCH near Rustic Canyon. That place has seen it all, and then some.

It is amazing to think how much things have changed since then. Pacific Palisades is unrecognizable compared to how it was in the 70s and 80s, before everyone built huge houses with gates and landscaping alone that costs more then my house in the valley. One thing that has not changed is the toxic alpha need to crush the competition and the me first attitude that exists there. I remember after leaving that part of town, being surprised that not everyone was like that. What a relief.

Sad news from Orlando Gallery

I stopped by Orlando Gallery today, and sadly found out they are closing their doors in 2 or 3 months. This is their 51st year in business, something that is unheard of in the art world. I had the wonderful opportunity to show there for the last 8 years, and met some amazing people and made some close friends at the openings. I was in 6 group shows and 2 solo shows, and always had new art every month or two in the gallery.

I am not sure whether I will pursue the gallery scene, as I do not like scenes. As Agnes Martin reminded us, "If you come in with the scene, you go out with the scene." At some point I may seek out a new gallery, but in the meantime I will make more art available for purchase online. And, of course, there are many other venues to show art.

And there is still time to show a few more paintings and attend a few more openings at Orlando.