On February 15, an estimated 2,000 spectators, braving a downpour of rain, lined Howell Mountain Road to catch a glimpse of World Champion Lance Armstrong and the 2009 Amgen Tour of California. This year, the race passed directly in front of Pacific Union College, drawing hordes of students, faculty, and staff to the street with signs, cameras, and umbrellas.

Some PUC alumni made a special trip to Angwin for the occasion. Kit Kohler, class of 2003, and Jakki Raines-Kohler, class of 2005, got into the spirit of the tour by traveling from their Palo Alto home to Angwin by train, ferry, and bus; the last leg was a grueling and wet bike ride up Howell Mountain Road. Several alumni traveled from as far away as Colorado to watch the event with their alma mater.

To read more about the Amgen in the Napa Valley, read the Napa Valley Register story.

See a gallery of Amgen's ride through Angwin.

The Amgen Tour of California, a professional cycling race, began in Davis on February 14 and concludes in Escondido on Sunday, February 22. Sixteen of the world's best professional teams race over a statewide course of more than 750 miles. Stage One of the race came through Napa County on Sunday, February 15.