Livermore turned into a street party and they were serious about it. Around 5:30 p.m. on First Street there was an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest flashmob dancing in the street. We're not sure the book will accept it, however since it was actually a planned event. Inevitably, someone, somewhere, will lodge a formal protest, even if they did have a good time trying. And all of the fun happened on what was earlier a racecourse.
The Amgen Tour of California ended Tuesday with Peter Sagan as the winner. He won for the third day in the row, but that's the headline.
Now, the part of bike racing they don't always still you about is the preparation, the waiting, the anticipation in places like Walnut Creek, for instance, where people traveled far and wide for front row seats.
Some people traveled to the end of their block to see the race. Some say the bike race is one of the most exciting things that has come to Walnut Creek.
The third leg began in San Jose with a 115.3 mile ride to Livermore, with a detour to Walnut Creek, via Mt. Diablo. Racing fans had asked for this diversion and they got it.
Fan appreciation would be one reason they gathered at Walnut Avenue and Oak Grove Road. Racing fan Jim Welsh pointed out the other.
"They're going to narrow down from a 50-foot wide street to an eight-foot wide street. It could be bad," said Welsh.
First a break-away group rolled through. Then eight minutes later, everyone else zipped through the opening without incident. It was a wonderful memory for Walnut Creek.
This was the end of the Amgen tour for the Bay Area. Wednesday, it moves on to Sonora to Clovis -- a 130 mile portion of the race, which some say is the toughest. It finishes on Sunday in Los Angeles for a total of 715 miles.
