MOUNT HAMILTON — The first meeting of an ad-hoc group devoted to the rural roads between Patterson, Livermore and San Jose became a lively forum with the upcoming Amgen bicycle race as the central topic.
The Jan. 16 meeting at the Smith Creek California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station drew dozens of ranchers and area residents, including a few folks who weren’t happy about the Amgen Tour of California’s route.
 Cyclists in the 2007 Amgen Tour of California race through the Altamont hills northwest of Patterson. Photo courtest of Doug Pensinger and Amgen Tour of California
The 700-mile internationally renowned bike race, which will run Feb. 17 to 24, includes a leg from Modesto to San Jose that will pass through Del Puerto Canyon and Mount Hamilton on Feb. 20.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Donald Gage, who hosted the meeting, said the bike tour has become a focal point for many residents’ worries about rural roads in general, and many attendees agreed.
“We now have a head of a zit to pop,” Del Puerto Canyon resident John Chamorro said by phone Thursday after the meeting.
Chamorro was one of the most vocal attendees at the meeting, grilling Amgen course director Eric Smith and county and law enforcement officials on various topics. Those included how residents will be notified about potential course changes, where emergency vehicles will be parked and how potential spectators will be controlled.
Smith gave specifics about where signs would be posted and information about how many emergency vehicles would be available.
He also said the bicyclists competing in the race would be far different from the amateur bikers who typically ride the rural roads west of Patterson.
“I don’t think anyone here has seen an event quite like this,” Smith said.
The race includes Tour de France riders and world champions, who will be moving as fast as 60 mph during certain descents, he said.
Smith said the entire race will likely pass any single point on the road within 10 minutes. Those who lag too far behind will be out of the race, and they will have to go on a “broom wagon,” which will be at the rear of the event.
Still, Smith noted that the ride in the hills west of Patterson would be grueling.
“There’s no question, this is a tough stage, with the climb up Del Puerto Canyon and some climbs up Mount Hamilton,” Smith said. “Will (the race) get spread out? It can. I’m hopeful that it won’t.”
Race organizers will post electronic signs eight days before the race in Patterson at Sperry Avenue and Del Puerto Canyon Road and near The Junction, where Del Puerto Canyon, San Antonio Valley and Mines roads meet, Smith said.
In addition, tour organizers will send letters to people along the race route before the race, and they will post advertisements in area newspapers, he said.
Residents on Mines Road, which leads to Livermore, also will be notified about the race, as Amgen could opt to use that road if Mount Hamilton is too icy the day of the race. However, Smith said it would be impossible to know whether the route would change before the day of the race.
Safety first?
As for safety issues, Smith said there will be two emergency medical technician units on site — one posted on Del Puerto Canyon Road and the other on Mines Road. In addition, a helicopter will fly overhead to notify race organizers of potential obstacles.
Rural residents with medical emergencies will be given priority over the race, Smith said.
Some residents expressed concerns about potential spectators, and Mines Road resident Kylan Hoover asked about potential tailgaters.
Smith said he did not expect much of that, and he said he was trying to discourage people from viewing the race from Del Puerto Canyon and Mount Hamilton because of a lack of available parking.
Still, some attendees were cynical and asked California Highway Patrol representatives if they could block off Del Puerto Canyon Road to all nonresidents. CHP officials said they would consider it.
A couple attendees expressed ire that financial resources had to be spent on the CHP to patrol the race.
However, Gage said the event would generate tourism in cities such as San Jose, and sales tax generated from merchants could go toward road construction in the county among other uses. He said his main concern was for safety and for rural residents to be notified of what was happening.
“You’re not going to stop a race on a public road,” Gage said.
He said the county would oversee any cleanup of the race if it is needed, and the county would bill Amgen for it. However, Smith said the race typically does not generate roadside trash.
 Racers compete in Stockton last year in the Amgen Tour of California's third stage. Photo courtest of Doug Pnesinger and Amgen Tour of California
Area concern
Though most attendees at last week’s meeting were from the Mount Hamilton area, there also were several people from the hills of Stanislaus and Alameda counties and many attendees who lived within the Patterson Unified School District.
Mines Road resident Neil Jorgensen said he was more concerned about the aftermath of the race than the actual race itself, saying it could make area rural roads more popular for bicycling.
Even residents who support the race said they have had problems with the occasional rude bicyclists who block traffic or make obscene gestures, and bicyclists have taken issue with some residents.
San Antonio Valley rancher Garry Stoddard said many of the issues voiced at the meeting had more to do with rural roads than with the race itself.
Gage said the race would be a test case for the new ad-hoc meetings, which seek to resolve some of the longstanding issues facing area residents, such as trespassing, cyclists and safety issues. Another meeting will take place after the race for residents to discuss how it went.
A similar ad-hoc group has met in Livermore to discuss rural roads issues in Alameda County, and a few attendees last week also regularly show up to those meetings.
Chamorro, who still had some contentions with the upcoming race, said he thought the discussion about roads issues was a good start.
“I think we’ve come a long way,” he said.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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Jonathon, As usual your articles are fairly written . This time however I feel I must ask where that quote came from? If it was indeed a quote, it must have been taken out of context as I certainly don't remember using the phrase and don't see how it could be applied to a bike race.
JC