Connor's Journey

Yes! That did just happen!

Sunday morning started early for me, I was up at 6:00am and headed to Nevada City soon after.  We went straight to our good friends the Doolittle’s, they live right on the race route. There was a really nice spread of food at their house so we ate and watched all the people arriving and heading down to the start. Katherine Doolittle and Duane Strawser are the main people who set me up for a day of dreams coming true. I knew going into the day that I would be riding in the VIP chase vehicle but I didn’t know for sure I’d meet Lance. I tried not to get my hopes up, I just wanted to be sure to enjoy the adventure no matter what it was. So around 10:00am me and my family started walking around and headed to the riders motor homes. It was amazing to see all the cool bikes and a bunch of riders. At the very top of the hill I could see hundreds, maybe thousands of people crowded around the Radio Shack Motor home. I was totally shocked to see how many people were there just hoping to catch a look at Lance. Me and my Dad headed towards Radio Shacks  motor home and just kind of checked out the bikes and looked at Lance’s bike. Still I am in total amazement. I have read 3 books on Lance, I follow him on Twitter, I follow him in races, I could tell you so much about him because he is a Hero to me (along with my Dad). I could just feel this weird excitement being so close to someone who has worked as hard as anyone I have ever heard of, trying to reach a goal. When my Dad and I were looking at everything my Mom got a call for us to RUN to the VIP booth that there might be a slim chance I could meet Lance. So of course me and my family bolt. It was 3 blocks away and there were so many fans it was hard to weave through all the craziness. Once we got to the booth they told us we needed to RUN back up to the Radio Shack bus. This time it was 3 blocks up hill (good thing we are in such good shape). When we got there they took our group straight to the door where the riders exited the bus. Then we waited for a while. It was really hard to see so many fans trying so hard to come up with a story to get closer to Lance. I felt really bad, I mean why was I so lucky? Once Lance came out of the motor home I got shoved straight into him, it was crazy all of a sudden a huge rush of people with cameras all push forward to get a shot of him. My Mom was trying to push her way forward to be with me, luckily she is tough because next thing I know she is right beside me. Lance grabbed my helmet and said “not much room to sign this” and then said “good job on RAAM” (I think, it’s all a blur). On his way out I asked if he would sign my shirt and he said in a super friendly voice “sure”, then as he rode off my Mom yelled “Thanks Lance, we will be cheering the loudest for you today”. After he was gone I felt someone tug on my arm and say “Hey Connor over here” it was a news guy then next thing I know I am totally surrounded by cameras and microphones. Once again my Mom was standing there holding me and helping me to answer a few questions. I couldn’t take long because the AMGEN people were yelling for me to now RUN back down the 3 blocks to get in the chase vehicle. My Dad, Mom  and I were quickly shoved in cars and next thing  I know I am one of the lead cars going 45 miles an hour down the swervy streets of Nevada city. You would not believe how fast and crazy these riders are. It always felt like we couldn’t go fast enough in the car to get away from them. To look out the back window and see the peloton chasing us was the coolest.  Once the route reached El Dorado County we could hear people say “hey that’s Connor” or “go Connor”. So many people on the route knew who I was? It was the weirdest thing ever! Once we got to the tent right in front of the finish line we grabbed some treats from the buffet and watched the circuit finish.  To see the guys that crashed on the last lap come across the finish with torn, bloody, gear on was a real trip. Tom Boonen came across seriously looking like someone put him through the cheese grader and he was still riding! What a stud!

After that I rushed home to get ready for a dinner with the riders at their hotel downtown. Radio SHack wasn’t there but plenty of other teams were. It was so cool because it was super chill, no media no cameras (except mine). The riders were in their sweats just eating. I can’t even remember what I ate because I was so happy to just be there. Seriously I am in a room with George Hincapie, Andy Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Jen Voigt, Mark Cavendish, Stuart O’Grady,  Tom Boonen, and Chris Baldwin (his wife is super nice). These are just some of the guys I talked to. There were so many nice riders in the room and I got so many pictures and autographs it was fantastic!!!! When I went to bed sunday night I couldn’t stop thinking about my day. It still feels like a dream. This morning my parents woke me up and said “channel 3 is wanting to do a live shot with you this morning” so I hurried and got a shower and next thing I know the news crew is in my house? I was really out of it for the interview I don’t think I was awake yet. It was really nice of channel 3 to do the story though because they totally let me and my Mom plug our cause. Hopefully we will get some more donations from it so I can reach the goal I set in October. Most importantly (as my Mom and Dad remind me) I hope it helps people to want to be Organ Donors.  Before I sign off and hit the sack I want to say “Hey Lance if you read this thanks for being so cool!”