PALMDALE – With the best poker hand of the morning, Shanty Acevedo won first place in the 30 mile “Tour de Palmdale” bike ride/poker fun run held Saturday, May 5 in celebration of the Amgen Tour of California coming to Palmdale on May 18.
Sixty-five riders participated in the run ride, which began at Marie Kerr Park at 10 am and made stops at Pelona Vista Park, Foothill Park in Anaverde, DryTown Water Park, Domenic Massari Park, McAdam Park, Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at Palmdale Plant 42, Poncitlán Square at Palmdale City Hall, Desert Sands and concluding back at Marie Kerr Park.
Acevedo took home a $110 Walmart gift certificate for having the best hand. Finishing second was Robert Gonzalez, followed by Alice White in third. Prizes included gift cards for local businesses.
In the kids fun ride, held prior to the adult ride, nearly 20 youngsters enjoyed a mini tour around the park for some great prizes. Grand prize winners of $75 Walmart Gift Certificates for new bikes were Chloe Beck, Joseph Jimenez and Clarissa Jimenez. Several other lucky winners took home gift cards for Coldstone Creamery and Toys R Us. The Jacob Hefter Foundation also donated four packs of tickets to a Jethawks game.
The grand prize gift cards were generously donated by Antelope Valley Bekins Moving & Storage.
The next event in conjunction with the Amgen Tour of California will be a free “Bike Safety Rodeo” for children ages 5 through 12 this Saturday, May 12 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Antelope Valley Mall, 1233 Rancho Vista Blvd., in the parking lot between Sears and the south courtyard main entrance.
The “bike rodeos” will feature a bicycle safety clinic with safety inspections and a safety presentation about the rules of the road. Participants will ride on a miniature “chalk street” course set up in the parking lot where young cyclists are shown where and how to apply the rules. Bike helmets, certificates and medals will be given away while supplies last.
The Amgen Tour of California is coming to Palmdale on May 18. The race, the largest in North America, will open with festivities beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Marie Kerr Park. Once the official start gun has been fired, riders will leave Marie Kerr Park and head east on Rancho Vista Blvd., a flat straightaway past the heart of Palmdale’s busy retail center and Antelope Valley Mall, under the 14 Freeway, and past iconic Joshua trees in springtime bloom. This section of the race will provide outstanding viewing opportunities for bicycling enthusiasts and residents to catch the peloton as it travels through the heart of Palmdale.
The race begins in earnest when the riders take a hard right onto historic Sierra Highway. Formerly the El Camino Sierra Trail used by prospectors and adventurers in the 19th century, Sierra Highway is part of Historic Route 6. Riders will race along this nostalgic thoroughfare, passing Palmdale’s state-of-the-art Transportation Center, beautiful desert landscape, and picturesque Lake Palmdale at 2,980 feet above sea level before turning onto Pearblossom Highway. As the riders veer left onto Angeles Forest Hwy. from Pearblossom Highway, they will begin their arduous ascent into the San Gabriel Mountains, the first of two grueling uphill climbs of the day.
For further information on the 2012 Amgen Tour of California, and to view the 2012 Amgen Tour of California Host Cities video, visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. For information on the race in Palmdale, visit www.cityofpalmdale.org/ATOC.
(Information via press release from the City of Palmdale.)