We have not even started yet and…
Like last year Bluebird loaned us a big motorhome/bus to transport our riders from our hotel to the start and from the finish back to the hotel. It gives our riders a place to have some quiet time, a place where Johan can give the team meeting and last but not least a reason to take up huge amounts of parking area.
Like last year our bus driver is a guy named College. He is one of Lance’s good friends and if you saw the show overhaulin, College was part of the prank. That was where Sheryl gave Lance a cool car but it was no where near pristine. They have it “stolen” and fix it up ultra cool style and give it back to Lance. Well, College was the main guy to make the prank (theft) happen.
Last year college had a fender bender. It was funny and sad at the same time as Bluebird had give us this bus to use and we tried like hell to keep it nice. But in College’s defense, it is down right long as heck!! It’s even a pinch longer than our team truck. Our truck has a 24 foot box and when you add the cab, our truck is over 30 feet long. Even a great bus driver would have a tough time is some of the narrow areas we have to park in. And this is NOT College’s normal area of expertise. A good driver but in this, it is a challenge. But last year we got through at least a couple of stages before “IT” happened.
This year was a different story. The bus was on the way TO the first stage and as it pulled out of the parking lot of our B&B, he hit a cement curb and had a little body damage. It was not as bad as last years damage but still was something that was now no longer perfect. And we have not even started racing yet.