Coming a long way (yet still far to go)

I suppose you could mark the beginning of my press career 27 years ago when I took photos for the public relations department my freshman year at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. By the second semester of my junior year, I was the part time photographer at the Holland Sentinel. I then worked for the Associated Press in Vienna, Austria a couple years later, also as a photographer. My career path changed once I came back to the States, but I tried to keep up with photography and occasionally found myself on the sidelines shooting sporting events.

Fast forward to today, as I type this blog in the media room at the finish line of stage one of the Amgen Tour of California, the premier bicycle stage race this side of the Atlantic. Unfortunately the typing at I hear around me is not about the great race that just finished, but how the stage was cancelled due to snowy weather and the riders' decisions. In light of the dangers of the sport fresh in the minds of the participants, the competitors deemed the possible wet descents too much of a risk. Just last Monday on a fast downhill at the Tour of Italy, Leopard-Trek's Wouter Weylandt caught a pedal and launched himself to his unfortunate death. This no doubt contributed to the riders decision today to cancel the stage.

I have been building up to this moment for over a year as I have been covering Florida bicycle races for Florida Cycling Magazine. I've morphed from a photographer to a photographer and journalist as I've been writing articles as well. Although I am new at interviewing cyclists, I hope to keep improving and bring insightful articles to the readers. I am fortunate to have the support of my Colavita teammates and thank them from the bottom of my heart. Even though this day didn't work out the way I had hoped (Capturing a jubilant pro across the finish line), I will shoot the start tomorrow and then plan to be in the Los Angeles area for the Mount Baldy stage on Saturday.

I just got handed a release from the BMC team with these quotes:

George Hincapie - "There was definitely a concern with the safety of the course and the really fast descent. If it's icy, you don't have control of your bike. At the end of the day, they just prioritized safety. It's really unfortunate for the fans. The way the sport is going, I think it's important that everyone agrees on the final decision and supports the organization."

Taylor Phinney added "It was too bad. I felt really bad for the fans who came out and braved the cold weather. I think it was the best choice for us so we can have seven more days of racing."

So I hope this is just a new beginning for me, covering the sport I've enjoyed being a part of for so many years. I hope too that I bring you some insight that you might not find anywhere else.

Thank you Colavita for leading me down this road and thank you to Florida Cycling Magazine for giving me a chance to write about and take photos of cycling events.