Homeward bound

Sunday was the final day of the Tour de Georgia presented by AT&T. The overall leaders jersey was almost completely locked up, so the race was much less tense, with riders talking and smiling during the race. It all came down to a massive sprint on the last lap, every man for themselves, fighting 149 other guys for position. What a great sight, and a great show for the spectators.

The race was held around Olympic Centennial park in Atlanta, Georgia. There was a very large expo going on for the bike race, but as it turned, local Atlanta codes dictate that vendors have to have a license to give away free stuff. Where did those boxes and boxes of “stuff” go? Thats right, the back of our truck. We asked every vendor in the park, and they all gave us everything they brought. Needless to say, the truck was riding a little low at the beginning of the day. We had a blast passing everything out, and hardly announced anything, we had to throw schwag non stop to get rid of it all before the end of the race. What a blast. We found homeless man on the last lap and dropped a whole box of sample organic granola bars. Yummy!

I learned a lot in Georgia. I learned that most people arent there to see a bike race, they are there to see a show, and as long as you put on a good show, they dont care about much else. I learned how much I like talking about bike races, and how much I dont like talking about “free kiddie bike corrals” or “Sign up now for your chance to win a new bike” promotions, but how to do them both equally well, because someone has to pay the bills.

Hoping to make it to another race is Washington D.C. this weekend. The Crystal City Air Force Cycling Classic is put on by one of the most well respected race promoters in the country. J (event services employeer) asked me to help him do staging and results for the race, but it would be a free ticket to a great show! D.C. has some really cool stuff downtown at night, and we would get to set up a day early so we had a fun day in between. Sweet! Hope all works out.

Go Watch a Bike Race!!!