OK, I admit it, I didn’t see the Amgen Tour of California when it came to Santa Rosa last year. Sure, I knew some of the world’s best pro cycling teams would be racing 8 days and 650 miles down California. But, I thought, “How many people are really going to stand out by the side of the road and cheer on a bunch of people riding their bikes?” Well, the event drew over 1.3 million spectators throughout the state, earning it the title as the largest sporting event in California history.

And of all those whooping and hollering towns throughout California, it turns out that Santa Rosa was one of the most whooping and holleringest of them all. Some 35,000 folks crowded Santa Rosa’s downtown and, judging from all reports, they had a blast. The crowds were big and loud and very festive and news quickly spread of the huge hoopla. Just hours later, I got a call from my friend Cathy in Santa Barbara (another host city) telling me she’d heard that Santa Rosa is packed with a bunch of “crazed cycling fans.”

The town’s enthusiasm won the hearts of the event organizers. And this year, Santa Rosa is not only a host city again, but, it is the only city which serves as both the finish of one stage of the race and the beginning of the next. (In all the other legs of the race, the cyclists are transported from the finish line of one site to the starting point of the next.) On Feb. 19 (President’s Day) the racers will ride from Sausalito and finish the first stage of the 700-mile race in town, arriving at about 3 p.m., and circling three times around a 1-mile circuit from Morgan Street to Brookwood Avenue. The following day, at 11 a.m., the race's second stage will begin in Railroad Square, where cyclists will depart for Sacramento.

My friend Ruth is looking forward to Amgen returning to Santa Rosa. She’s not a big cycling fan, but she loved the Amgen event. “First you hear the roar of the pack of bikes coming around the corner,” she said. “And then the roar grows and the rush of the wind grows and it reaches a crescendo as they race by you. It’s all speed and color and wind. And all the while, there’s this huge crowd cheering and cheering and you cheer too. I actually had a chill run down my spine.”

She wasn’t the only one who got chills. Michael Roth, vice president of communications for AEG, the organization which put on the race, was quoted in the Press Democrat as saying: ``One of the two to three most vivid memories for me ... was the first finish line of the race. Being on the street in downtown Santa Rosa as the peloton came down, it still gives me chills to remember ...”

Obviously, I don’t know whether this year’s event will prove to be as exciting as the last one. But, I do know that this year, I’ll be one of those folks cheering on the side of the road.

Here's the local tour route so you can figure out the best places to stake out a spot:

• Stage 1 (2/19/07) Sausalito to Santa Rosa, covers nearly 100 miles and climbs in elevation to almost 1,200 feet. The route through Sonoma County will go north on Highway 1 through Bodega and Bodega Bay, over Coleman Valley Road to Occidental Road, then to Fulton Road, Third Street and into downtown Santa Rosa where the peloton will make three circuits around the downtown area.
• Stage 2 (2/20/07) Santa Rosa to Sacramento, covers almost 120 miles. It starts off at Railroad Square and includes a ride along Bennett Valley Road to Glen Ellen then up over Trinity Road, one of the most difficult climbs of the tour (elevation of 1,800 feet), and into Napa Valley.

For more info call 577-8674 or go to www.srcity.org/toc.