My first year in Madrid I went to the Vuelta with Susan and a few other friends. I loved it, but was silly and forgot my camera. Two more Vueltas came through Mads and finally I made it back to the exciting conclusion of the race. The way we did it this year was to camp out on the Paseo del Prado and run back and forth to either side. One side afforded a shady view of the riders coming round the bend at Neptuno and swinging onto the Prado. The other side was in the bright sunshine nearer the finish. This afforded a view of them picking up speed for the final sprint as well as a great view of the giant TV screen showing their laps around the city. We ran back and forth for the first five laps and then stayed put on the sunny side for the rest.
You know the bikers are coming when you hear the helicopter. After comes the motorcycle cops, then the sponsor cars, then the lead bikers, then the train and peletón, and then more sponsor cars and medics. With each lap, this repeats. The first lap everyone is in perfect formation, but it breaks down after a while.
Extra bikes. The first year there were a lot more cars with bikes on top.
The kids looked like they were having a hard time seeing what was going on.
40 km per hour.
The crowd doesn't get too excited about the leads. They went wild for the peletón though.
Bradly Wiggins!
Don't crash!! He's looking back at a guy who's holding his chest.
Almost here...
Rush!!
Whatchoo lookin' at?
Susan is happy. We were giggling as we ran back and forth. I'm always happy when I'm with a friend who isn't afraid of a little giggling.
The train.
Waiting.
Which way did they go, George?
The screen was fantastic, giving arial views of the city as they snaked their way round Gran Vía up to Callao and back down. Wild.
"You told me this would be finished by now."
Look mom! I'm a catapiller!
Making noise by battering the guards. The bikers would sometimes be so close that I would tuck my arms in for fear of hitting one of them.
Those pop can tab braceletes are all the rage. They're even selling purses made of the tabs for women.
Here they come!
The last few laps were super fast. So exhilerating.
Waiting for the last vuelta.
The winner, Juan José Cobo and his son. The first time I came there were parachuters. This time the prince came. I prefer the parachuters. Perhaps they cancelled the parachuters because it was the anniversary of 9/11? Or the crisis? Overall, super fun experiences--even without the parachuters landing in the middle of the crowd with chutes as flags of the countries of the winners. Sigh.
My first year in Madrid I went to the Vuelta with Susan and a few other friends. I loved it, but was silly and forgot my camera. Two more Vueltas came through Mads and finally I made it back to the exciting conclusion of the race. The way we did it this year was to camp out on the Paseo del Prado and run back and forth to either side. One side afforded a shady view of the riders coming round the bend at Neptuno and swinging onto the Prado. The other side was in the bright sunshine nearer the finish. This afforded a view of them picking up speed for the final sprint as well as a great view of the giant TV screen showing their laps around the city. We ran back and forth for the first five laps and then stayed put on the sunny side for the rest.
You know the bikers are coming when you hear the helicopter. After comes the motorcycle cops, then the sponsor cars, then the lead bikers, then the train and peletón, and then more sponsor cars and medics. With each lap, this repeats. The first lap everyone is in perfect formation, but it breaks down after a while.
Extra bikes. The first year there were a lot more cars with bikes on top.
The kids looked like they were having a hard time seeing what was going on.
40 km per hour.
The crowd doesn't get too excited about the leads. They went wild for the peletón though.
Bradly Wiggins!
Don't crash!! He's looking back at a guy who's holding his chest.
Almost here...
Rush!!
Whatchoo lookin' at?
Susan is happy. We were giggling as we ran back and forth. I'm always happy when I'm with a friend who isn't afraid of a little giggling.
The train.
Waiting.
Which way did they go, George?
The screen was fantastic, giving arial views of the city as they snaked their way round Gran Vía up to Callao and back down. Wild.
"You told me this would be finished by now."
Look mom! I'm a catapiller!
Making noise by battering the guards. The bikers would sometimes be so close that I would tuck my arms in for fear of hitting one of them.
Those pop can tab braceletes are all the rage. They're even selling purses made of the tabs for women.
Here they come!
The last few laps were super fast. So exhilerating.
Waiting for the last vuelta.
The winner, Juan José Cobo and his son. The first time I came there were parachuters. This time the prince came. I prefer the parachuters. Perhaps they cancelled the parachuters because it was the anniversary of 9/11? Or the crisis? Overall, super fun experiences--even without the parachuters landing in the middle of the crowd with chutes as flags of the countries of the winners. Sigh.
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