Amgen Tour of California

 Catch the Amgen Tour of California from the Steps of a B&B

SACRAMENTO, CA [April 20, 2011] -- North America’s most spectacular professional cycling event, the Amgen Tour of California, will roll through California May 15-22, with world-class cycling teams racing nearly 800 miles from Lake Tahoe through the Central Valley, down the Big Sur coastline, and finishing in Southern California. Along the route, several member B&Bs from the California Association of Bed & Breakfast Inns offer a front row seat to the action; some inns are also offering lodging specials just for the event.

On the west shore of Lake Tahoe, Tahoma Meadows Bed & Breakfast Cottages is located directly on the route for stage one on May 15, where the peloton will race past not once, but twice, as the riders make one-and-a-half loops around the 72-mile lake perimeter before climbing to the finish at Northstar at Tahoe Resort.  Tahoma Meadows features charming red cabins nestled among the pines on West Lake Boulevard/Hwy. 89.  All of the cottages have private entrances and baths, many with claw foot soaking tubs. Some also have fireplaces and views of the lake. For the Amgen Tour of California, Tahoma Meadows is offering special rate of $114 per night for two people with a three-night minimum stay. Other rates are available for shorter stays.

For stage two on May 16, the peloton will head over Donner Pass and then begin its 7,000-foot descent into Sacramento, where the riders will make two circuit laps through downtown and finish at the State Capitol building. Three downtown Sacramento bed and breakfast inns—Amber House, Vizcaya Pavilion and Mansion, and Inn and Spa at Parkside—are all within blocks of the stage two route through downtown.

Later in the week, on May 19, the race will travel south from Seaside along the dramatic Big Sur coastline, through the enchanting seaside village of Cambria, and then through rolling wine country before finishing in downtown Paso Robles. The Ollalieberry Inn, a warm and inviting 1873 Greek revival, is located directly on the stage five route as it passes through downtown Cambria. The inn is offering an Amgen Tour special that includes two nights' accommodations (Wednesday and Thursday, May 18-19) and a gourmet picnic with summer sausage, cheese, apples, cole slaw, homemade French bread, olallieberry bars, chocolate and the guests' choice of wine: merlot, chardonnay or white zinfandel.

The charming Danish village of Solvang will host stage six of the Amgen Tour on May 20 with the start and finish for the race just one block apart. Mirabelle Inn, Solvang Gardens Lodge and Wine Valley Inn & Cottages are all within a just a few blocks of the stage six route in downtown Solvang. The route will also pass right in front of the Ballard Inn, located in the quaint town of Ballard, as the riders wind through the orchards and vineyards of the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley.
 
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