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Post by Scott Baker on Apr 23, 2006 19:28:08 GMT -5
I went to my first Tour de Georgia (and first pro cycling event) this weekend and it was awesome. We went to see the stage 5 finish at Brasstown Bald. Myself and my family along with Chris, and Gibbs' & his family went. We parked on 180 on walked up tot he 180 Spir turn-in to Brasstown Bald. It was VERY steep, and still about 3 miles to the top. Chris can give a better summation of the event. We had a great time and it was killer to see all the pro cyclists racing on a tough climb finish. Long story short (Chris please provide a better event narrative), here is a fun compilation of photos myself and Chris took at the race. It is a little over 5MB, so I recommend a high-speed connection. Enjoy! www.motionmakersbikes.com/2006_TourdeGeorgia_Web.wmvP.S. I'll have this and video of teh race where we stood also, and I can create a video CD if anybody wants one. Just leave a CD-R at Motion Makers with your name and "2006 Tour de Georgia" on it. I'll have the OLN coverage on DVD next weekend too if you want a copy leave me a DVD-R or DVD+R and I'll see if I can transfer it. -Scott |
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Post by 1yellowtire on Apr 23, 2006 20:26:51 GMT -5
Scott hit the high points, so instead of giving you a blow-by blow (which would look something like this: drive, wait, watch, drive home), I'm just going to make a list of things I learned on Saturday.
Stuff I learned:
1) When you go to a race, bring a scanner--you can then pick up race radio and hear the updates that get passed on to the team cars. We didn't bring one so we had to mooch off everyone else's (BTW- it seems like the heavier the person, the more likely they are to have a scanner).
2) Bring your bike--everyone was riding except us. Next year I want to get there really early, bring my bike, ride some of the course and then watch the race. Darby even has some plan where you can ride a metric century and watch the race at three different places--sounds like a good idea.
3) Bring beer--everything's more fun with beer (especially when you've already banked a ride)
4) Don't make fun of Gibbs' minivan until you ride in it--DVD player, plush leather--that's my kind of family truckster.
5) Even the pros sometimes ride ditch to ditch--Freddie Rodriguez must have ridden twice as many miles as everyone else. He looked like me trying to climb Mitchell last summer.
6) Floyd Landis is in good shape (not as good as Scott, mind you, but good). When that first group came by (Danielson, Popyvych, Landis, etc.), they were flying. We all know that from watching TV, but it's pretty amazing when you watch it in person.
7) Little kids need attention. I know the parents knew that, but it was news to me.
8) Guys late in the pack actually ask to be pushed up the mtn. One guy looked me dead in the eye and asked me to push him (it sounds homoerotic, but I'm pretty sure he was just tired). Running beside them and pushing them is surprisingly fun--if you tried to get close to Barry Bonds, his bodyguards would beat you to a pulp--only in pro cycling are you encouraged to touch the athletes (sort of like an athlete petting zoo).
9) If you live here and you ride bikes, it's worth the drive over there to see the TDG. The Brasstown Bald stage is arguably the biggest stage of the biggest race in America---and it's only 1 1/2 hours away.
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Post by Scott Baker on Apr 23, 2006 21:39:06 GMT -5
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Post by Scott Baker on Apr 26, 2006 19:40:20 GMT -5
Here is a short clip of when the leaders came by us. Note that this is about the 90-mile mark of racing (and not the first or beginning of this climb), and the grade here is a solid 15-17%. These guys were cooking it. I can't wait to watch the OLN coverage this Sunday at 4PM. www.motionmakersbikes.com/2006_TourdeGeorgia_Leaders1.mpg-Scott |
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Post by YellowLemondTed on Apr 26, 2006 22:05:55 GMT -5
That is unbelievable....my jaw keeps dropping and dropping
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Post by Clint on Apr 27, 2006 23:28:38 GMT -5
Thanks for putting that up Scott! I really wanted to see the leaders pass by!
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Post by Mr. Knickerbocker on Apr 29, 2006 0:13:55 GMT -5
Thanks for the video Scott. What sort of royalties is Chris getting after each viewing?
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Post by Scott Baker on Apr 29, 2006 8:08:57 GMT -5
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Post by Scott Baker on Apr 29, 2006 8:24:43 GMT -5
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