Bicycle Race in the Front Yard

I counted up the years, and was surprised that there have been 14 of them since the First Union Grand Prix was last held in Atlanta. This circuit race came through the neighborhood -- passing right in front of our house -- and had created some mighty fine memories:

• Each year, there would be prizes for the house that held the most elaborate party. We won the $1000 catered dinner one year and threw another party.
  
• The kids would draw their outlines on the street using sidewalk chalk and bang on pots and pans for noisemakers.
  
• We would grill chicken and burgers and invite everyone we knew.
  
• Our busy street would be blocked off for traffic. For hours, our street felt like a street and not something we had to keep the kids away from.
  
• There was a kid from Texas that everyone wanted to see. They thought he might do well at the Tour de France. It was the first time I had heard of Lance Armstrong.
  

Now we've got the Tour de Georgia. We still get to see Lance, and the circuit race in Atlanta is still a blast. The streets still get closed and it seems to be successful bringing money to the host cities along the routes.

It doesn't have the same feel however. Perhaps because it is spread across the state, maybe because the circuit race skirts my neighborhood instead of coming right through it, maybe because it is a professional event with the full corporate machinery, it doesn't get the spectators as involved.

I hope we can throw another big cycling party.

TdG - High Road Express

 

Race leader Kanstantsin Siutsou (#28 in the yellow) is escorted by members of his High Road team starting into the 9th of 10 laps. They are at the front of the pelaton and about 40 seconds back from the breakaway at this point.

A group of us rode from Aurora Coffee over the the race course and got to 5th and W Peachtree just as the second lap came by. There was already a breakaway group of about 8-10 riders at this point of the race.

The rain wasn't falling when we got there, but the weather was certainly a factor. Numbers of spectators were down, the speed was down, but the excitement was still there. It's impressive what these athletes can do day after day of hard riding. The only riders I saw with a smile were the ones crossing the finish line ahead of the pack.

The race was fun even though the crowds were thin. Corners were where we found most people and they were enthusiastic. I would have been more enthusiastic if we weren't forced to ride on the sidewalks. Still, riding a bike was a good way to see different parts of the course. I recommend this again next year.