Description Not Necessary

Amgen Tour of California 2010: Stage 7 Los Angeles (Individual Time Trial)

Spent the day at the races: The Amgen Tour of California: Stage 7 Individual Time Trial was held at Downtown Los Angeles. Shutting down Downtown L.A. must have been a logistical challenge, but it definitely was well worth it. L.A. hosted some of the world's top class cyclists, many of whom will be racing in less than two months time at the Le Tour de France. Some pictures from Stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. I have plenty more pictures, but I'm tired of cropping and editing.


(Arrived well before the start time and caught some riders pre-riding the course; pays to be the early bird!)(All photos were taken with Canon XSI and 50mm 1.8)(Click to enlarge)






(It was a good sign when the first picture you take doesn't need cropping and the subject just happens to be Fabian Cancellara (UCI World Time Trial Champion) and Jens Voigt)





(Mark Cavendish sighting,(right)some would say he is currently the best sprinter in the pro peloton, he is fast, but he owes a lot to his lead out train.)




(Fabian Cancellara aka Spartacus wearing the UCI World Time Trial Champion Stripes.)




(Lars Boom - future of Dutch cycling; I was pleasantly surprised at the reception this young rider received from the crowd. Everyone was yelling "BOOOOOOM!" as he passed by.)





Bert Grabsch - former World Time Trial Champion, current German National Time Trial Champion)





(Andy Schleck - Current Luxembourg National Road Race Champion, 2nd place 2009 Tour de France)






(Jens Voigt - He eats Chuck Norris for breakfast!!!)






(Jani Brajkovic - one of Lance Armstrong's mountain goats)






(Levi Leipheimer - 3 time Tour of California winner and current defending champion; all around nice guy, representing Santa Rosa to the fullest.)






(Peter Sagan - Liquigas Doimo's revelation; only 20 years old; future star)





(Dave Zabriskie aka DZ nuts - current U.S. National Time Trial Champion, Captain America)





(Michael "Mick" Rogers - Amgen Tour of California race leader(yellow jersey))

Downtown L.A. Old and New

Although Los Angeles or Hollywood is considered to be the "entertainment capital of the world" it seems that very few movies are actually set in L.A. or Hollywood. If ever a film uses L.A. or Hollywood as the setting you either get one of two idealized views, the superficial, celebrity centered, L.A., or the gritty and grimy, crime infested, L.A., as seen in "Boyz in the Hood," or "Colors," even in the "Fast and the Furious." I've lived in L.A. all my life and there's simply more to this place. It's definitely changing fast but there are a few relics from L.A.'s storied past. I was pleasantly surprised by the film "500 Days of Summer," not so much by the movie's story line, but by the way the film used/presented Downtown L.A. They honestly presented the character of this part of Los Angeles.

Trailer:




After having seen this movie, I decided to seek out some of the places the movie shot some scenes, but most of all I had a bit of fun exploring a little bit of the Downtown L.A. Downtown has some mad hills!!!



U.S. Bank Tower = Tallest Building in the L.A. Skyline



Downtown L.A. 7th St. and Flower



Macy's Plaza 7th St. and Hope



The view from "Tom's Bench" "500 Days of Summer"



Bradbury Building: Where Tom meets Autumn



The Bradbury Building has been featured in a lot of movies. Some of Blade Runner was shot in here.



The Bradbury Building's famous antique lifts aka elevators.

Blue Gold, The Denim Movie

This should be an interesting watch...trailer is already giving me hella ideas.

Monocle Magazine

Have you ever gone to the newsstand and stood there not necessarily having anything specific in mind to pick up? That's exactly where I was a few days ago, except I remembered from some article or something I read online about how dope Monocle Magazine was. I remember specifically how the pictures in the magazine were suppose to be incredible. I'm a very visually oriented person so at the newsstand I decided to ask for the latest issue of Monocle Magazine to appease my curiosity. Coming with a pretty hefty price tag of $10, for a magazine, I figured that's money down the drain. Honestly, for $10, this magazine is the cream of the crop; well written with very little advertising, great articles, and yes the pictures were good too. Monocle Magazine check it out.

Cool Video...just had to "Post It"

Making the Best of Jury Duty

I received that red notice in the mail that every citizen of this country, but most of all Los Angeles County, dreads. Yes, I was summoned for jury duty. Unlike the previous time, I decided to only postpone once, after all I'm now a seasoned veteran having served in a trial. I was on call for most of the week, but early today, I was told to report. I decided to get it over with, packed a book, and faced a long boring day of sitting in the jury pool selection room. I did not get picked to serve on a jury panel, in fact, they only called for two jury panels the whole day, fortunately, I was not called, and unfortunately the two panels were called in before noon, which meant a long day of guaranteed boredom. I always have a digital camera, so come lunch break, I decided to go on a little stroll. I've lived in L.A. for most of my life, and rarely do I even visit the Downtown area, it so different from the rest of L.A.'s sprawl.




I have no idea what this sculpture is at the Los Angeles Mall. It looks cool enough from far away, but up close, it's just a fantasy playground for pigeons!


Walt Disney Concert Hall. One of the more super modern sites that can be found in Downtown Los Angeles.


City Hall Downtown. It's definitely an iconic building, but is the renovation job ever going to be finished? The best part about this building is, they filmed The Naked Gun 33 1/3 here with O.J. Simpson playing a cop. Who would've thought he'd end up in the criminal courts building across the way.


The Los Angeles Times. One of the last great Art Deco structures in L.A. With a lot of newspaper publications disappearing, who knows how long this building will remain buzzing with the latest headlines.