In my previous post I mentioned that I would hopefully have something more interesting to write...and, good news, I do!
A few weeks ago, Sean and Lydia mentioned that there was a bike race coming through Olsztyn. They said it was a race consisting of several stages throughout Poland and was kind of like the farm leagues of professional bike racing and a mini Tour De France. Not being an avid bike racing fan, I said "oh, that's neat" and, although I was interested in seeing it, didn't really think too much about it.
A couple of days ago, Amber and I saw a poster advertising the race and remembered Sean and Lydia mentioning it. And then this morning, as we were out and about running some errands (including a trip to the World Kitchen store to buy refried beans...we had to go back today since we were there last week but someone--who shall remain nameless, but who's name starts with S and ends with ean--had bought them ALL), we saw that they had the streets blocked off and were busy setting up. It was at this point that we began to realize that this whole event is a lot bigger than we had thought. A lot bigger.
It was amazing. I wish I had pictures that could really capture how neat this event was. My guess is that there were about 200 racers and they were f-l-y-i-n-g on these bikes. My little legs would have fallen off I think. Lydia led us to a great spot to stand to watch, right on one of the curves of the route. As the racers came around the curve, you had to pull any and all body parts back away from them road, as I think they could do some serious damage! There were pace cars that had replacement bikes on top of them, a helicopter hovering and filming, tons of film and camera crews, clowns who took joy in harassing Americans and tying balloons in their hair (see pictures above!), and lots and lots of bikes. You could hear that wheels whizzing and their gears clicking as they flew by. It was really amazing. I have no idea who won, or really any of the details of the race. But, it was sure neat to see! Definitely not something I would have thought "Gee, I'd like to go watch that", but I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
And, for your other blogger readers, let me point out that those tall buildings are part of your apartment complex, or should I say "flat". I think "tall" would be a better name. Is yours shown?
P.S. If I'm wrong, don't correct me. Who else would know the difference, except Amber's fam?
Isn't it fun to get these moments that you think are nothing and they turn out to be exciting adventures. So glad you enjoyed the races. About the clown--if that is the worst thing a foreign clown on stilts does to you I guess that is a good thing. Can't help you with the song title. I am not good at that. Anyone else???
The Queen song would be "Bicycle Race" (And thanks...now I'll be singing it all night!). The bike race looks fun - love the pink spandex!! :)
Post a Comment