It's only appropriate in July to take a look at bike racing. Now I am not a racer, I vaguely remember something in my past about a triathlon or two, but I really think it was a painfully disappointing nightmare. I'm not even a very good spandex hamster, my idea of a club ride is a brisk 15 mph paceline...downhill, with the wind. But it is fun to watch people try it.
Our local club sponsors a real live criterium race which brings out the aficionados each year in mid-July.
Complete with manufacturer's reps and local bike shops to sponsor, It becomes a great affair for the family and supporters of the racers.
The SAG support is not what you might expect,
but the family support is great
and a good time is had by all.
Criterium racing is fun because the race is held on a course of 1 mile or so, and the racers go at each other for 30-60 minutes depending on the class.
That means we actually stand in one place and watch the strategies and drama unfold as they make repeated passes past us.
It's like having your own helicopter to follow the route of a Tour along with a really good 3-D TV. Better than that, there's no air-conditioning and we get to share the rider's discomfort and admire their collective pain.
While it doesn't have the star quality of more publicized races
and it's not the stuff movies are made of, it's still a great experience in racing. Who knows, if more people start watching this, that reality thing might expand from TV.
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