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08-16-03, 09:20 PM
So today, I got out to Downers Grove for the National Criterium Championships- of course, because I was so excited and eager, I got there waaaaay early- like 9:15AM, when the race didn't start until 12PM! Luckily, I had lawn chairs, and on a whim, I'd brought my bike lock. So I locked my chairs to the gate and strolled around town. I got back at like 11:00AM, and I settled into my lawn chairs. I got a great chance to photograph the cyclists as they warmed up and raced around the course. I also got the chance to talk to a lot of them too, and they were definitely cool folks to talk to.
Some of the races were just ok- I have to say I was definitely looking forward to the more advanced riders, so I found it more difficult to wait for them to ride up. Still, I did enjoy seeing the open races- I'd definitely would like to race next year in the Women Cat 3-4. It really looked like fun.
The women in the International Women Open were unbelieveably strong- they were almost as fast as the Men 30+, and the Men 30+ was ripping around the track averaging at speeds of 30+ miles per hour! I clicked away picture after picture and talked excitedly to my friend who accompanied me for the entire day.
At one point, VegasCyclist stopped through with his uncle to say hi, and they said they'd be back on Sunday, so I look forward to hanging with them then.
The Pro-Am Challenge was definitely the highlight of the race today- the men were so fast I couldn't even get pictures of the ones I wanted to snap pictures of! By the time they came around the corner and I flashed off a shot, they were gone! At one point, I went to a part of the course where the riders come from around the bend on a downhill, and as they came around the bend, they were almost out of control- so many of them were turning that corner at once that they all began sliding towards the crowd! I was scared, and so was everyone else! People started screaming and running, and we were screaming, "watch out!" to the riders, and they seemed to all adjust and turn their bikes away from the crowd and take off into the distance. It was almost a really bad crash, but because the guys were such experienced riders, they avoided a pretty big accident.
The highlight of my day, however, came after the last race ended. I'd been trying all dang day to get pics of Rahsaan Bahati from Team Saturn. The guys were just so fast and strong that I couldn't get any good pics. Finally, I figured I'd catch him in the victory lap, but he never reappeared once the race ended. I was disappointed, and my friend and I set off for her house. She kept joking that we were going to check around corners and under bushes for the guy because he just COULDN'T have disappeared, when all of a sudden, we stumbled right onto the van for Team Saturn! She pushed me towards the van, and there was Rahsaan, sitting there and having a drink with his team members. I was just loathe to interrupt him, but my friend kept pushing, so I approached him and asked him if I could take his picture. He said yes, no problem, and I thanked him profusely and got a couple of shots off him, which was the coolest! We then laughed our way back to the car, and she drove me home.
When I got in the car, I could feel my shoulders were just stinging- I guess I have a sunburn, but I don't think it's bad so far- that was the only bad part of the day. :cry:
I got pictures of a bunch of cyclists. My friend laughed at me, because she said that I jinxed a rider who I'd talked to just before her race started, and she ended up dead last. I felt so bad for her, but she at least finished, which was cool, considering that some people jumped out of the race and quit when the going got tough. But then the next woman I'd talked to before her race finished first, so I guess the jinx must have been all in our heads!
The under 17 riders looked strong- one kid didn't pace himself well, and I told my friend he'd definitely get overtaken and sure enough, with about 2 laps to go, he got overtaken, and ended up finishing somewhere in the middle. It was sad to see that he didn't know how to pace himself well. Within the under 17 riders, there was a group of girls that were pretty strong too- one girl finished within a lap of the end of the guys, and the rest of the girls finished a few laps later, but all as a group, which was cool. There was even a girl there who was pretty big- I'd have to estimate that she was about 5' 5" and about 180 pounds, but she was pretty strong, and she finished with the rest of the girls pretty strong too. It was nice to see someone so fit (see http://www.store.yahoo.com/heartzones/fitandfa8hez.html for the "Fit and Fat" book by Sally Edwards).
I still have about 400 pictures free available on my memory cards, and I'll finish taking my pics and posting them- some of them will probably make the "Fit Guy Cyclists Pics" and the "Fit Female Cyclists Pics" thread- I even got a sneak shot of a guy changing his clothes off on the side too... :p I'll give a new analysis of the race when it's all over.
What a great day!
Koffee
Some of the races were just ok- I have to say I was definitely looking forward to the more advanced riders, so I found it more difficult to wait for them to ride up. Still, I did enjoy seeing the open races- I'd definitely would like to race next year in the Women Cat 3-4. It really looked like fun.
The women in the International Women Open were unbelieveably strong- they were almost as fast as the Men 30+, and the Men 30+ was ripping around the track averaging at speeds of 30+ miles per hour! I clicked away picture after picture and talked excitedly to my friend who accompanied me for the entire day.
At one point, VegasCyclist stopped through with his uncle to say hi, and they said they'd be back on Sunday, so I look forward to hanging with them then.
The Pro-Am Challenge was definitely the highlight of the race today- the men were so fast I couldn't even get pictures of the ones I wanted to snap pictures of! By the time they came around the corner and I flashed off a shot, they were gone! At one point, I went to a part of the course where the riders come from around the bend on a downhill, and as they came around the bend, they were almost out of control- so many of them were turning that corner at once that they all began sliding towards the crowd! I was scared, and so was everyone else! People started screaming and running, and we were screaming, "watch out!" to the riders, and they seemed to all adjust and turn their bikes away from the crowd and take off into the distance. It was almost a really bad crash, but because the guys were such experienced riders, they avoided a pretty big accident.
The highlight of my day, however, came after the last race ended. I'd been trying all dang day to get pics of Rahsaan Bahati from Team Saturn. The guys were just so fast and strong that I couldn't get any good pics. Finally, I figured I'd catch him in the victory lap, but he never reappeared once the race ended. I was disappointed, and my friend and I set off for her house. She kept joking that we were going to check around corners and under bushes for the guy because he just COULDN'T have disappeared, when all of a sudden, we stumbled right onto the van for Team Saturn! She pushed me towards the van, and there was Rahsaan, sitting there and having a drink with his team members. I was just loathe to interrupt him, but my friend kept pushing, so I approached him and asked him if I could take his picture. He said yes, no problem, and I thanked him profusely and got a couple of shots off him, which was the coolest! We then laughed our way back to the car, and she drove me home.
When I got in the car, I could feel my shoulders were just stinging- I guess I have a sunburn, but I don't think it's bad so far- that was the only bad part of the day. :cry:
I got pictures of a bunch of cyclists. My friend laughed at me, because she said that I jinxed a rider who I'd talked to just before her race started, and she ended up dead last. I felt so bad for her, but she at least finished, which was cool, considering that some people jumped out of the race and quit when the going got tough. But then the next woman I'd talked to before her race finished first, so I guess the jinx must have been all in our heads!
The under 17 riders looked strong- one kid didn't pace himself well, and I told my friend he'd definitely get overtaken and sure enough, with about 2 laps to go, he got overtaken, and ended up finishing somewhere in the middle. It was sad to see that he didn't know how to pace himself well. Within the under 17 riders, there was a group of girls that were pretty strong too- one girl finished within a lap of the end of the guys, and the rest of the girls finished a few laps later, but all as a group, which was cool. There was even a girl there who was pretty big- I'd have to estimate that she was about 5' 5" and about 180 pounds, but she was pretty strong, and she finished with the rest of the girls pretty strong too. It was nice to see someone so fit (see http://www.store.yahoo.com/heartzones/fitandfa8hez.html for the "Fit and Fat" book by Sally Edwards).
I still have about 400 pictures free available on my memory cards, and I'll finish taking my pics and posting them- some of them will probably make the "Fit Guy Cyclists Pics" and the "Fit Female Cyclists Pics" thread- I even got a sneak shot of a guy changing his clothes off on the side too... :p I'll give a new analysis of the race when it's all over.
What a great day!
Koffee