Before settling in at the starting gate, we wandered through the team parking area, grabbed the free water bottles from Team BMC (that’s George’s team! Christie’s boyfriend!), left Luca behind a couple of times (we are BAD mommies, especially since Christie has had Luca since she was like 9 years old!), and after realizing that none of the riders were out yet, we chose a spot to camp in the starting gate area.
The sun was bright and the Traveling Gals were without sun block. Christie went in search of some and, of course, free bike swag. Christie wandered the lifestyle festival and found some sunblock at Hincapie (that’s George’s company!) but they weren’t open for business yet. "10 more minutes", they said. Within 15 minutes, Christie got a couple of stickers, free canvas bag, purchased sun block, and while on the lookout for more swag, got her feet tangled in a clear plastic bag and took a MAJOR fall. !@$#$#@*&$^#@*&#$@#!!!!! Four cycling fans ran to her aid, helping her up while she said, “Someone should remove that bag, it’s a liability!!!”. The fans recovered her glasses and her wallet (yes, they flew off as she landed hard on her knees, hands, and elbow) and after Christie assured them she was OK, she started walking back. Well, it was more like a hobble. Within moments Christie thought “I’m not OK” and realized her knee was throbbing. She lifted her pant leg and was shocked to see a golf ball had grown on her knee! Good grief! Feeling wounded, both her body and her ego, she texted Anna to let her know what happened. “Don’t text and walk!”, Anna wrote. Christie finally managed to get back to Anna who decided, along with the staff of Amgen, first aid was in order. This in between “can I see your knee”? Marcus, a cool cat from Colorado who helped Amgen set up the start gate, and Anna stuck Christie in the offical Amgen truck and headed over to First Aid. An ice pack and several band aids later, we finally settled back into our seats and had an amazing great time watching the riders approach the starting gate. Here are a couple of highlights:
The sun was bright and the Traveling Gals were without sun block. Christie went in search of some and, of course, free bike swag. Christie wandered the lifestyle festival and found some sunblock at Hincapie (that’s George’s company!) but they weren’t open for business yet. "10 more minutes", they said. Within 15 minutes, Christie got a couple of stickers, free canvas bag, purchased sun block, and while on the lookout for more swag, got her feet tangled in a clear plastic bag and took a MAJOR fall. !@$#$#@*&$^#@*&#$@#!!!!! Four cycling fans ran to her aid, helping her up while she said, “Someone should remove that bag, it’s a liability!!!”. The fans recovered her glasses and her wallet (yes, they flew off as she landed hard on her knees, hands, and elbow) and after Christie assured them she was OK, she started walking back. Well, it was more like a hobble. Within moments Christie thought “I’m not OK” and realized her knee was throbbing. She lifted her pant leg and was shocked to see a golf ball had grown on her knee! Good grief! Feeling wounded, both her body and her ego, she texted Anna to let her know what happened. “Don’t text and walk!”, Anna wrote. Christie finally managed to get back to Anna who decided, along with the staff of Amgen, first aid was in order. This in between “can I see your knee”? Marcus, a cool cat from Colorado who helped Amgen set up the start gate, and Anna stuck Christie in the offical Amgen truck and headed over to First Aid. An ice pack and several band aids later, we finally settled back into our seats and had an amazing great time watching the riders approach the starting gate. Here are a couple of highlights:
- HTC rider with his hand in a box attached to a cooler. Another rider sits next to him, laughing, and says “what the fuck are you doing?”
- Christie yelling “Hup Holland” to a German rider from RaboBank. Dummy.
- Seeing our favorite riders up close: George, Cancellara, Andy Schleck, Jens Voigt, Marc de Maar, Popo, and so on.
- The absence of Lance Amrstrong was felt. Heard in the crowd “Mommy, is Lance going to be here?”
Luca! Wild Night?
Luca in front of George's Bike!
Christie at First Aid!
I'm OK! And I Ride For Life!
Fabian Canellera!
Smile Andy!
Big George!
Michael Rogers!
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