The second stage of the Amgen Tour Of California Men's Bicycle Race has come and gone through Nevada City.
English sprinting specialist Mark Cavendish won his second-straight stage. By the time he crossed the finish line in Lodi, the giant awning, fencing, and signs at the start of the stage in Nevada City had already been disassembled.
There are hundreds of Amgen staffers who tear down and set up each stage. Most have been doing this for years.
But, in each city, there are also between 40 and 300 volunteers who require direction.
Duane Strawser owns a bike shop in Nevada City and is a city councilman. But on Monday, he is the local area coordinator for the Amgen Tour.
An hour before the race he's giving out parking assignments.
"Get em all the way down here by the chamber," he says.
When that's done, a woman asks about a table she wants to set up.
"Did you check about t-shirts?" she asks.
It was dark when his day began.
"We're arranging for close to 200 vehicles that follow this race all the way down the hill and we have to have parking for them," says Strawser. "And earlier this morning I was in Grass Valley working my way backwards across the course marking with orange paint all the hazards on the route so the cyclists will see them."
Strawser also oversees the annual Nevada City Classic race on Father's Day.
This is the third time the Amgen Tour of California has come through Nevada City.
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