We had to content ourselves this year with watching the Tour of California on TV — there was so much other stuff going on. It was the first year we missed standing on the side of the road. Hopefully we’ll be back out there in 2016.

But last year, 2014, we took so many photos of the race that I came home, started sorting through them, and got so overwhelmed I put the task on the back burner and forgot about it. They’re still only half sorted, but I wanted to share some of the best ones.

We rode our bikes from our house over to the “new” Folsom Crossing bridge, and from there we had a fine view of the cyclists as they sped by during the time trial.  It was the first time we’d watched a time trial in person — although we’ve seen plenty of them on TV.  Let me tell you, there’s a big difference!

We were standing inside the final kilometer of the course, which was marked by the Kenda banner.

Since the riders were passing us one at a time, about 3 minutes apart, I figured it would be a cinch to grab shots of them all. Wrong!

I never fully realized how fast those guys can go on their time trial bikes! It took some serious concentration, skill, and most of all luck to get the shutter pressed right at the optimal moment as they flashed across the camera lens.

In the end for me, it was mostly dumb luck on the very few photos where I got it right, but I think the Big Guy did a lot better with his camera.