I thought I’d have more time to relax before they got to the hotel.

Our team rode to the start for today’s stage. At the same time, I headed to Monterey in the team truck where we will be staying for the remainder of the Sea Otter Classic. Last night we stayed at an awesome hotel. The Sofitel which is an extremely nice hotel. Now we are at a cookie cutter hotel. Nothing special but nice enough. Too bad we could not stay at the Sofitel for the 5 nights we will be at this race though.
After getting some lunch, picking a parking spot, plugging in power and water, I had to play the role of hotel soigneur for one day. On days where we have a race and transfer to a different hotel afterwards, we have a vehicle take luggage to the next hotel. The hotel soigneur gets rooms set, and then puts the rider’s and staff’s luggage and some water in the room. That way when the riders arrive after the stage, they can go directly to their room to get cleaned up and ready for dinner and/or massage.
With only two soigneurs it was my job today. Eric Brandt, my second mechanic, went to the stage and did caravan mechanic duties for today’s stage. The two soigneurs (Dave Bolch and Paula Marzella) both had to go to the stage to feed and to take care of the riders afterwards. So it was up to me to do luggage AND get ready for the riders to arrive.
The riders protested the stage due to course concerns, and the organization ended up editing the stage. I got a call letting me know the riders would be here early. Actually my soigneur accidentally called Dave A. (Saturn mechanic doing hotel duty) instead and told him. We were at the same hotel as Saturn so Dave A. told me the news. While they were racing, I had done tasks I had planed to do like get TT bikes ready for the next days stage. I had a few more tires to glue also. I was really hoping to get a short nap in. The days before this race left me tired from racking cars and helping decal cars. But no longer than I had finished my tasks when the team arrived. The plus side is when they arrived early, Eric and I finished bikes earlier than planned. Finishing early was really nice. But, I thought I would have some more time to relax a bit before they got to the hotel.