I just got done watching “Line of Sight” – an alley cat racing film by Lucas Brunelle. Right off the bat I feel a bit conflicted writing about this movie. It is about alley cat races – which means a bunch of guys riding like jack asses; completely ignoring all traffic laws in a dense urban area. It is exactly what we DON’T want to encourage our children to do, and personifies each and every negative stereotype that uneducated motorists will hurl at us as we pedal on the run.

It is also one hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Predominately filmed by Lucas Brunelle using a custom helmet cam rig of his own creation, the film covers alley cat races across the globe. In addition to actual race footage the film features a dramatic representation of a “shoot out” between messengers in the streets of Guatemala, a ride on the Great Wall of China, and scened from the Bicycle Film Festival in San Francisco. Aside from the Guatemalan shootout fun, this is all real footage of actual events – unlike the Hollywood representation in Premium Rush (Spoiler Alert: Premium Rush kinda sucks).

Hard core bicycle advocates will probably want to avoid this one. But those of us that can set aside the obviously wanton lawlessness that is alley cat racing will likely find themselves with a bit of an adrenalin rush watching traffic and pedestrian dodging. Yea, sometimes people pick the wrong lines and the relative positions of the wheels and saddle get inverted. That just adds to the fun. Oh, the classic heavy metal soundtrack doesn’t hurt either.

The soundtrack itself actually indicates a key point that a lot of people miss with these types of urban cyclists. The stereotype is a young, early-twenties, PBR swilling male hipster grabbing cars and riding the wrong ways in traffic. In truth, most of these folks are much older – later 30s – and have been riding in traffic for 10-15 years or more. And yes – there are women in these races too. This experience has taught them how to do what they do – to predict the ebb and flows of traffic, to read to signs. While many would call what they do reckless – and it is – there is a certain knowledge that has been gained by years of earning a living carting parcels from one side of a city to another. What you see in this film is a minority of urban cyclists, and even a minority of bike messengers. These are folks that know and intimately understand the risks of what they do. In other words, don’t try this at home. There is nothing cool about being dead.

Enjoy the movie, but leave the wrong way riding, intersection blowing and pedestrian annoying to others. And if nothing else, the scenes of Lucas doing trials riding, underwater in scuba gear is worth the 60 minute run time of this picture.

Line if Sight is available on DVD from select retailers, on online for $20 from the online store at https://www.lucasbrunelle.com/shop/

Update: Stage 1 was canceled. And Delores Pickford (@dpk4d) gives us a really good example of why.

The official release from officials says that Stage 1 of the Tour of California is slated for a 1:15pm Pacific time start – using a much shortened course allowing for the scheduled end time of  3:15-4pm pacific to remain as scheduled.

However, given the weather that just rolled through Sacramento, there still remains the possibility of a complete neutralization of the inaugural stage of the 2011 race.

While I myself was riding across Sacramento – about 100 miles west of the South Lake Tahoe start of Stage 1 – I found myself caught in a hail storm, and thunderstorms continue to roll through this area.  However, the official release sent out at about 11:30 am states:

Stage 1 of the 2011 amgen tour of california to start at 1:15 p.m. pT

Route Shortened Due to Later Start Time, but Still Includes KOM and Sprint Competitions

Lake Tahoe, Calif. (May 15, 2011) – After monitoring weather conditions overnight and this morning, while consulting with public safety and race team officials, organizers of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California have announced that the current and projected weather conditions will allow Stage 1 of the race to start at 1:15 p.m. PT at the original start line in South Lake Tahoe.  Race officials will continue to pay close attention and monitor the course and all other conditions. If at any time it is determined to be unsafe to continue, the race will be neutralized.

The new route (which merely eliminates a portion of a loop around Lake Tahoe) will continue to take the riders from South Lake Tahoe to Northstar around the west side of Lake Tahoe and will be approximately 50 miles.  The projected finish timing, which was to be between 3:15 and 4 p.m. PT will remain unchanged.

The Lifestyle Festival in Northstar will open as scheduled at noon PT, with the timing of the Amgen Breakaway Mile remaining on schedule for 2:30 p.m. PT.

“We have been in constant communication with all parties involved in the 2011 Amgen Tour of California – from public safety and transportation authorities to teams and all of our partners – to ensure our decision protects the safety of our riders and fans,” said Andrew Messick, president of AEG Sports.  “We thank everyone for their tireless efforts in bringing this race together, and pledge that we still have a great day of racing ahead of us today.”

Fans are still encouraged to come out to the start line at Montbleu, where rider sign-in will take place at 12:15 p.m. PT, allowing them to see the cyclists up close before they take off for the start of the race.  Unfortunately, with the change in course, people will not be able to see both the start and finish in person.  Fans in the South Lake Tahoe area who want to experience the Stage 1 finish at Northstar will need be on the road by 12:30 p.m. PT at the latest.

Beginning with a neutral start that takes the cyclists west out of South Lake Tahoe, the race will follow the second half of the original route and feature highlights including:

• King of the Mountains (KOM) competition at Emerald Bay at approximately mile 13
• Sprint line at Tahoe City at approximately mile 31
• KOM competition at Brockway summit at approximately mile 43

The revised stage 1 map revised puts the route along the west shore of the lake, a route familiar to many that have ridden in this area.

Riders in this years Tour of California will be wearing wrist bands to honor fellow cyclist Wouter Weylandt.  Weylandt was a rider for Pro team Leopard Trek.  His life tragically ended after a crash in stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia.

Stage 4 of the Giro was neutralized in memorial, with riders completing the stage as a group, Leopard Trek leading across the finish.

Also joining Leopard Trek at the front of the peloton was Tyler Farrar, friend of training partner of Weylandt.  Farrar opted not to complete the Giro after Stage 4 in an understandable move to mourn the loss of his friend.

The move of the Amgen Tour of California to mid-May as caused many of the top riders in pro cycling to opt out of the Giro in favor of the California event – especially those teams with large US title sponsors.  Among them is Team Radio Shack.

Levi Leipheimer mentioned the effort on his twitter feed by saying:

All riders, team staff & race staff will be joining @leopardtrek in wearing these at AToC. We will not forget! http://t.co/iSZYlnI