What a fun day of watching cycling!!!!! After a week of watching/listening to the USA Pro Cycling Challenge it all ended Sunday right here in Denver. The stage started in Golden. You may remember Golden from a post I did here when I rode on some of the very same roads that these famous riders such as Levi, Frank, Andy, George, Cadel and Christian were about to ride. And then the climb up Lookout Mountain* that you may remember from the post when Jill and I conquered it for the first time. They then headed back through Golden and into Denver.
I had a plan...I really wanted to be able to see them climb Lookout so I decided that I would watch it live on the Shack Tracker and then, since they would be passing only miles from my house I would then hop in the car and go down to watch them pass and If all went well I could then be home to watch a couple laps in Denver and see the finish! It worked perfect! Here are a few shots I took as they passed. It goes so fast that trying to figure out who is who is almost impossible! It was nice though that they were broken up a bit when they passed. First there was a lead group of just a few riders, and then one chaser...I didn't get good photos of these guys and soon came the first half of the peloton being led by Team Radio Shack.
As you can tell we were on a little bit of an incline here, not that it seemed to slow them down any!
Here comes team Liquigas heading up the second 1/2 of the peloton. Do you call it a peloton when it's broken up..is that one or 2 pelotons? As you can tell I'm still pretty new to this whole bike racing thing.
Wow!!!! A seriously great day for Me, Denver and all of Colorado as they are saying that this race seems to have drawn crowds larger then any other race in the states! And it will be BACK! And next year I will be making plans to experience a little more of this race.
*Just a little side note about Lookout Mountain...my 15 year old son has just taken a driving class which included 6 hours of driving time with an instructor. Zach had spend little to no time behind the wheel of car prior to his first drive with the instructor, which as you may have guessed by now had him driving up Lookout Mountain!!!! Makes me just a little more nervous about going up that hill again! :) But it's funny...things haven't changed much over the years as when I was learning to drive (more years ago then I want to count) I too had drive up Lookout Mountain.
14 comments:
The Challenge was awesome! I want to take off from work next year and follow the race through the state!
That is cool, glad you decided to go out and watch some of it.
How exciting!! I was running yesterday and missed the climb up Lookout Mountain but according to my son, they didn't look like me when I went up that thing ;). I did watch the laps around Denver, which was pretty cool. What moved me the most was all the people around the course rooting for them...honestly, it reminded me a lot of running Boston and I got the chills. I remember the Coors Classic years ago and how exciting that was...I just hope that this race generated enough income, and support, to come back and not fade like Coors!
I so need to get my sorry biking butt up Lookout again...we should plan a day. I haven't been on my bike in months...let's just start up with a bang up that beast! :) I think that's how I operate though. Ha.
So glad you got to enjoy such an exciting race!! My friend, Tara, was down at the end of the race and "touched" one of the cyclist. She said she wasn't washing her hand for a month. Ha.
That's awesome! I was totally wondering if you got to watch it. Don't you wish we could ride that fast? Glad you had a good time.
I wanted to so badly to go yesterday but wasn't able to :( Do you have any idea how long it took them to climb Lookout?? I was curious, just for comparison's sake. I'm guessing approximately 1/4 of the time it takes me!
So cool that you got to see this! During my relay, it was like we were following them around. I saw all their names written in chalk on the route I ran down from Vail Pass. And we saw lots of cars and vans with bikes on the highway. But I never saw any of the racers themselves. Glad you did! These guys are always inspiring.
BTW, you should do a relay. You would LOVE it. The key is to rent a condo in some ski village so you can take a real nap in a bed between legs. It seriously helps. After all, we're not 20 any more. And then you'd get your run under the stars. Well worth it, I promise. :^)
It's so cool that you got to see them! I'm so jealous!
That's pretty cool - biking is totally not my thing, but good athletes are good athletes - it would have been awesome to see!
Love all the pics. I think it's so cool to see "real" cyclists. It just amazes me to see their speed, and how close they can ride together. That would scare me to death.
That is sweet! I was so into the TdF this year, I love watching cyclist!
Nice pics!
Wow! Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to have a road bike. My husband bought this tri bike as a surprise. That being said riding in a group is scary to me and those races they ride in, even scarier!!!!!
That is amazing. I have to admit though, anytime I see a peleton or paceline, it terrifies me how close they get. I'm super relieved that tris are not draft legal!
SO cool!!! I would love to see that live. This year was the first time I've ever watched the TdF and I still don't really understand what is going on half the time. So excited that you got to see it!
I love watching - it is such a motivator!!!
Post a Comment