Must be some real fans in Georgia...

Richard Adams

Just for a lark I looked on ebay to see how many Mario Cipollini
autographs were up for sale.

Not a one.

psycholist

"Richard Adams" <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote in message
news:c6j4tm$qdo@dispatch.concentric.net...
> Just for a lark I looked on ebay to see how many Mario Cipollini
> autographs were up for sale.
>
> Not a one.

On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown Bald in
GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours before the race
was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines were so long to board
the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the mountain) I had to blow
it off and go find somewhere else to watch the race. There were thousands
of cars parked along the roads and the license plates were from all over the
southeast. I ended up sitting atop a small hill halfway between Hog Pen Gap
and Brasstown Bald. By the time the race came by, there were probably 100
of us stationed on this small hill in the absolute middle of nowhere. I
talked to people from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky ... even two guys
who drove all night from Texas just to see that particular stage.

There were some real fans in Georgia ... but they came from way far beyond
Georgia.

Near as I can tell, the Tour de Georgia had to be a huge success by any
measure.

Bob C.

Boyd Speerschneider

"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in
news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net:

> On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown
> Bald in GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours
> before the race was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines
> were so long to board the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the
> mountain) I had to blow it off and go find somewhere else to watch the
> race.

I find it hard to believe they could or would have prevented you from
*walking* up the mountain.

- Boyd S.

psycholist

"Boyd Speerschneider" <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Xns94D774429444FbspeerscNOSPAM@65.32.1.7...
> "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in
> news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net:
>
> > On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown
> > Bald in GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours
> > before the race was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines
> > were so long to board the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the
> > mountain) I had to blow it off and go find somewhere else to watch the
> > race.
>
> I find it hard to believe they could or would have prevented you from
> *walking* up the mountain.
>
> - Boyd S.

Well, I'm not really sure about that. They had gates that were closed and
huge lines waiting to board the shuttle. It would have been at least a two
or three mile uphill hike to get from the nearest place to park up to the
gates. There was no way to stop and fully assess. I just saw what I saw
and I didn't see anyone walking up the mountain. Had I attempted to drag my
wife with me on such a trek, it would have meant certain divorce. Plus, you
can read my reply on the thread "OT: Cycling After Hip Replacement" and
you'll know better why I didn't attempt it.

Bob C.

curt

> Near as I can tell, the Tour de Georgia had to be a huge success by any
> measure.
>
> Bob C.

I hope it was. It would be nice to see some success in this country in
cycling. I know my city lost the only bicycle race around here. It was a
shame and not supported very well, even when Lance was here.

Curt

Richard Adams

"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message news:<c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net>...
> "Richard Adams" <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote in message
> news:c6j4tm$qdo@dispatch.concentric.net...
> > Just for a lark I looked on ebay to see how many Mario Cipollini
> > autographs were up for sale.
> >
> > Not a one.
>
> On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown Bald in
> GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours before the race
> was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines were so long to board
> the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the mountain) I had to blow
> it off and go find somewhere else to watch the race. There were thousands
> of cars parked along the roads and the license plates were from all over the
> southeast. I ended up sitting atop a small hill halfway between Hog Pen Gap
> and Brasstown Bald. By the time the race came by, there were probably 100
> of us stationed on this small hill in the absolute middle of nowhere. I
> talked to people from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky ... even two guys
> who drove all night from Texas just to see that particular stage.
>
> There were some real fans in Georgia ... but they came from way far beyond
> Georgia.
>
> Near as I can tell, the Tour de Georgia had to be a huge success by any
> measure.
>
> Bob C.


Sounds like it really was. I was a bit bummed to find Postal wasn't
going to have riders at the Sea Otter, but I guess the Tour de Georgia
was a bigger priority and preparation clinic.

Aricles I've found on the web seem to indicate that the presence of
Cipo, even if Gord took 2 of 3 from him, did a lot of good.

Now if we could just get some $&^#$* televised coverage instead of
dullsville early season basebore.

psycholist

> Sounds like it really was. I was a bit bummed to find Postal wasn't
> going to have riders at the Sea Otter, but I guess the Tour de Georgia
> was a bigger priority and preparation clinic.
>
> Aricles I've found on the web seem to indicate that the presence of
> Cipo, even if Gord took 2 of 3 from him, did a lot of good.
>
> Now if we could just get some $&^#$* televised coverage instead of
> dullsville early season basebore.

I'm half expecting OLN to hire Adrian Karsten and go to 1/2 hour TdF recap
shows just like ESPN used to do. That seems to be the direction they're
headed.

Bob C.

Steve Blankenship

"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
news:c6jbgj$2rif$1@news3.infoave.net...
>
> "Boyd Speerschneider" <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns94D774429444FbspeerscNOSPAM@65.32.1.7...
> > "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in
> > news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net:
> >
> > > On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown
> > > Bald in GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours
> > > before the race was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines
> > > were so long to board the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up
the
> > > mountain) I had to blow it off and go find somewhere else to watch the
> > > race.
> >
> > I find it hard to believe they could or would have prevented you from
> > *walking* up the mountain.
> >
> > - Boyd S.
>
> Well, I'm not really sure about that. They had gates that were closed and
> huge lines waiting to board the shuttle. It would have been at least a
two
> or three mile uphill hike to get from the nearest place to park up to the
> gates. There was no way to stop and fully assess. I just saw what I saw
> and I didn't see anyone walking up the mountain. Had I attempted to drag
my
> wife with me on such a trek, it would have meant certain divorce. Plus,
you
> can read my reply on the thread "OT: Cycling After Hip Replacement" and
> you'll know better why I didn't attempt it.
>
> Bob C.
>

It was fine to walk it, which is how my bunch got up. The shuttles were a
clusterf**k and it was obvious they weren't going to work. So we just
hoofed it and ended up at the steepest 20%+ "wall" section a bit over a mile
from the finish, as that looked like the strategic spot for any final
attacks. Turned out that's where Grajales had originally planned to go, but
he ended up bolting just below. It was really hitting the fan when they
came by us, and you could see all the front guys had it pegged. But easy to
see why someone might pass on walking; that's one seriously steep climb.
Worse walking down than up, actually. Award of the day goes to one guy who
was riding down on top of his wheeled beer cooler! Good thing he waited
until the DV & Saeco boys had gone back down, casually strafing through the
large, unsuspecting crowd at speed.

Brian P

Troll. Or a completely ridiculouse statement. The TDF coverage has improved
impressively over the past few years.
We have also seen virtually every spring classic, some live. We now have a
road to the tour show, etc, etc.
What else do you want?
"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
news:c6jhgb$2ts0$1@news3.infoave.net...
> > Sounds like it really was. I was a bit bummed to find Postal wasn't
> > going to have riders at the Sea Otter, but I guess the Tour de Georgia
> > was a bigger priority and preparation clinic.
> >
> > Aricles I've found on the web seem to indicate that the presence of
> > Cipo, even if Gord took 2 of 3 from him, did a lot of good.
> >
> > Now if we could just get some $&^#$* televised coverage instead of
> > dullsville early season basebore.
>
> I'm half expecting OLN to hire Adrian Karsten and go to 1/2 hour TdF recap
> shows just like ESPN used to do. That seems to be the direction they're
> headed.
>
> Bob C.
>
>
>

Tom Kunich

Bob, sometimes I have to wonder about you. When you have something to say it
is usually intelligent and comprehensible. When you don't you seem to post
trolls and idiot postings to kill time. I much prefer the former.

"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net...
>
> "Richard Adams" <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote in message
> news:c6j4tm$qdo@dispatch.concentric.net...
> > Just for a lark I looked on ebay to see how many Mario Cipollini
> > autographs were up for sale.
> >
> > Not a one.
>
> On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown Bald
in
> GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours before the race
> was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines were so long to
board
> the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the mountain) I had to blow
> it off and go find somewhere else to watch the race. There were thousands
> of cars parked along the roads and the license plates were from all over
the
> southeast. I ended up sitting atop a small hill halfway between Hog Pen
Gap
> and Brasstown Bald. By the time the race came by, there were probably 100
> of us stationed on this small hill in the absolute middle of nowhere. I
> talked to people from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky ... even two
guys
> who drove all night from Texas just to see that particular stage.
>
> There were some real fans in Georgia ... but they came from way far beyond
> Georgia.
>
> Near as I can tell, the Tour de Georgia had to be a huge success by any
> measure.
>
> Bob C.
>
>

Tom Kunich

Steve, any estimates on how fast the front guys were going up the wall?

"Steve Blankenship" <steveNOSPAMblankenship@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:XI2dnU1SZpeFxxDdRVn_iw@comcast.com...
> "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
> news:c6jbgj$2rif$1@news3.infoave.net...
> >
> > "Boyd Speerschneider" <bspeerscREMOVE_ME@ME_TOOyahoo.com> wrote in
message
> > news:Xns94D774429444FbspeerscNOSPAM@65.32.1.7...
> > > "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in
> > > news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net:
> > >
> > > > On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown
> > > > Bald in GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours
> > > > before the race was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the
lines
> > > > were so long to board the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up
> the
> > > > mountain) I had to blow it off and go find somewhere else to watch
the
> > > > race.
> > >
> > > I find it hard to believe they could or would have prevented you from
> > > *walking* up the mountain.
> > >
> > > - Boyd S.
> >
> > Well, I'm not really sure about that. They had gates that were closed
and
> > huge lines waiting to board the shuttle. It would have been at least a
> two
> > or three mile uphill hike to get from the nearest place to park up to
the
> > gates. There was no way to stop and fully assess. I just saw what I
saw
> > and I didn't see anyone walking up the mountain. Had I attempted to
drag
> my
> > wife with me on such a trek, it would have meant certain divorce. Plus,
> you
> > can read my reply on the thread "OT: Cycling After Hip Replacement" and
> > you'll know better why I didn't attempt it.
> >
> > Bob C.
> >
>
> It was fine to walk it, which is how my bunch got up. The shuttles were a
> clusterf**k and it was obvious they weren't going to work. So we just
> hoofed it and ended up at the steepest 20%+ "wall" section a bit over a
mile
> from the finish, as that looked like the strategic spot for any final
> attacks. Turned out that's where Grajales had originally planned to go,
but
> he ended up bolting just below. It was really hitting the fan when they
> came by us, and you could see all the front guys had it pegged. But easy
to
> see why someone might pass on walking; that's one seriously steep climb.
> Worse walking down than up, actually. Award of the day goes to one guy
who
> was riding down on top of his wheeled beer cooler! Good thing he waited
> until the DV & Saeco boys had gone back down, casually strafing through
the
> large, unsuspecting crowd at speed.
>
>

Tom Kunich

"psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
news:c6jhgb$2ts0$1@news3.infoave.net...
> > Sounds like it really was. I was a bit bummed to find Postal wasn't
> > going to have riders at the Sea Otter, but I guess the Tour de Georgia
> > was a bigger priority and preparation clinic.
> >
> > Aricles I've found on the web seem to indicate that the presence of
> > Cipo, even if Gord took 2 of 3 from him, did a lot of good.
> >
> > Now if we could just get some $&^#$* televised coverage instead of
> > dullsville early season basebore.
>
> I'm half expecting OLN to hire Adrian Karsten and go to 1/2 hour TdF recap
> shows just like ESPN used to do. That seems to be the direction they're
> headed.

Only three other guys showed up at the Sports Bar I went to watch L-B-L at
yesterday. Next week will be the Tour de Georgia in the same time slot I
think. Maybe I can get some more to show up then. I don't know what the
coverage is going to look like. If they screw it up like they did for
Paris-Roubaix so that you can't tell who is where and when, it won't be
worth watching.

If you want to see better coverage we have to get sponsors to note that
there were thousands of spectators at the Tour de Georgia. And tens of
thousands watching it on TV.

psycholist

"Brian P" <brian.parsons@nospamadelphia.net> wrote in message
news:t8qdnWwHsfmZwhDdRVn-hg@adelphia.com...
> Troll. Or a completely ridiculouse statement. The TDF coverage has
improved
> impressively over the past few years.
> We have also seen virtually every spring classic, some live. We now have a
> road to the tour show, etc, etc.
> What else do you want?

You REALLY must be joking! Compared to last year, the coverage of this
year's Spring classics has been pathetic. Granted, it's better than we were
accustomed to before last year, but last year we got several hours of
Paris-Roubaix LIVE, I believe we had several hours (and final hours) of Tour
of Flanders and much more than that. Now, even the most important races,
we're getting these heavily edited, impossible to follow, hour-long
summaries. (See George in a 3-man breakaway ... cut to commercial ... see
George 45 seconds down on the group he was 45 seconds ahead of when they cut
to commercial ... huh?) Shoot, they're going to give us SIX DAYS of Tour of
Georgia in a single hour ... with plenty of interruptions so we can look at
Kirsten's new boobs.

If the coverage of the Spring races is any indication of what we can expect
at TdF time, it's going to be a giant step backward.

As for Road to the Tour and those other features, I'd rather have another
half hour of coverage tacked onto those races. They must have done some
research that said the bonehead masses who made Laverne and Shirley the top
show on TV decades ago like Kirsten and Bob Roll more than they actually
like watching race action. I'm sure it was a misinterpretation of the data,
though.

Bob C.

psycholist

It's a slow day here, Tom. I am kinda just pokin' around. But I don't see
what it is in the post you've responded to here that's so offensive to you.
.... whatever.

Bob C.

"Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:zddjc.10377$eZ5.5726@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Bob, sometimes I have to wonder about you. When you have something to say
it
> is usually intelligent and comprehensible. When you don't you seem to post
> trolls and idiot postings to kill time. I much prefer the former.
>
> "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net> wrote in message
> news:c6j650$2o5v$1@news3.infoave.net...
> >
> > "Richard Adams" <ackthpt@concentric.net> wrote in message
> > news:c6j4tm$qdo@dispatch.concentric.net...
> > > Just for a lark I looked on ebay to see how many Mario Cipollini
> > > autographs were up for sale.
> > >
> > > Not a one.
> >
> > On Saturday I drove from my home in South Carolina over to Brasstown
Bald
> in
> > GA to see the stage finish there. I was there three hours before the
race
> > was to arrive. The crowds were so thick and the lines were so long to
> board
> > the shuttles (the only way you were allowed up the mountain) I had to
blow
> > it off and go find somewhere else to watch the race. There were
thousands
> > of cars parked along the roads and the license plates were from all over
> the
> > southeast. I ended up sitting atop a small hill halfway between Hog Pen
> Gap
> > and Brasstown Bald. By the time the race came by, there were probably
100
> > of us stationed on this small hill in the absolute middle of nowhere. I
> > talked to people from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky ... even two
> guys
> > who drove all night from Texas just to see that particular stage.
> >
> > There were some real fans in Georgia ... but they came from way far
beyond
> > Georgia.
> >
> > Near as I can tell, the Tour de Georgia had to be a huge success by any
> > measure.
> >
> > Bob C.
> >
> >
>
>