Stage 4: Sprint Finish
I spent the day wandering through my home town looking for something interesting to do. Fact: small towns are not terribly interesting unless you live there or have people to see. Needing to kill time in a small town is why people turn to drugs. Well, probably not. But, the fact is: I didn't want to go hiking since I was going to be doing that for 10 days starting the next day, and I didn't really have people I wanted to see. And, there aren't exactly any "sights" except Yosemite and the lake.
Most importantly of all, I wanted to have a good parking spot so I could rush to see the finish line, if traffic was clear enough, and I also wanted to have a good view point.
I shouldn't have worried.
Turns out the only people who turned out were retirees who had nothing better to do and a few volunteers.
I was able to pick a prime spot just the other side of the sprint finish line. From here I knew I'd see all the action.
I stood there at the sprint finish line talking with the other spectators—many of whom knew next to nothing about bike racing. I had the AMGEN Tour Tracker app on my phone (note to all pro tours: this app freaking ROCKS! Love. it.) and was able to see where the racers were, and once the live coverage started was able to watch that, too. The people around me were interested in it, so we watched a bit together and I shared some cycling facts.
And, then, the racers were upon us.
And quicker than they arrived, they were gone. I tried to take some video, but it sucked--they were just moving too fast!
One rider, for no apparent reason (we were already past the sprint line, and they weren't going to be climbing for another quarter of a mile) decided to toss his water bottle. Now, for fans of the sport, a tossed water bottle is pretty good memorabilia. For not fans, a tossed water bottle is littering. The bottle flew out of the rider's hand, bounced on the street, up the curb, and came to rest among the feet of some very offended and flustered old ladies. I went ahead and picked it up so it wouldn't bother them. And, now, I'm the proud owner of a pro cyclist's water bottle. The cool thing is, it's 100% biodegradable. Which, while not usually something I look for in water bottles, is a really great feature for a bottle that is quite likely going to come to its final resting place at the side of the road somewhere.
And, now, for some crappy photos just to prove I was there.
Here they are: the sprint winners flying past:
I clearly don't have a camera designed to take action shots. Notice how unround their wheels look. They were moving so fast my camera couldn't keep up.
And, finally, the Lanterne Rouge (red lantern). At his absolute worst day he's still a million times more an athlete than you.
Most importantly of all, I wanted to have a good parking spot so I could rush to see the finish line, if traffic was clear enough, and I also wanted to have a good view point.
I shouldn't have worried.
Turns out the only people who turned out were retirees who had nothing better to do and a few volunteers.
I was able to pick a prime spot just the other side of the sprint finish line. From here I knew I'd see all the action.
I stood there at the sprint finish line talking with the other spectators—many of whom knew next to nothing about bike racing. I had the AMGEN Tour Tracker app on my phone (note to all pro tours: this app freaking ROCKS! Love. it.) and was able to see where the racers were, and once the live coverage started was able to watch that, too. The people around me were interested in it, so we watched a bit together and I shared some cycling facts.
And, then, the racers were upon us.
And quicker than they arrived, they were gone. I tried to take some video, but it sucked--they were just moving too fast!
One rider, for no apparent reason (we were already past the sprint line, and they weren't going to be climbing for another quarter of a mile) decided to toss his water bottle. Now, for fans of the sport, a tossed water bottle is pretty good memorabilia. For not fans, a tossed water bottle is littering. The bottle flew out of the rider's hand, bounced on the street, up the curb, and came to rest among the feet of some very offended and flustered old ladies. I went ahead and picked it up so it wouldn't bother them. And, now, I'm the proud owner of a pro cyclist's water bottle. The cool thing is, it's 100% biodegradable. Which, while not usually something I look for in water bottles, is a really great feature for a bottle that is quite likely going to come to its final resting place at the side of the road somewhere.
And, now, for some crappy photos just to prove I was there.
Here they are: the sprint winners flying past:
I clearly don't have a camera designed to take action shots. Notice how unround their wheels look. They were moving so fast my camera couldn't keep up.
And, finally, the Lanterne Rouge (red lantern). At his absolute worst day he's still a million times more an athlete than you.
posted by granola girl at 5:07 PM
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