Nobody yelled back (none of us were outfitted with PA systems) so he answered for us.
“NEVER! That’s when.”
I suspect there hasn’t been a whole lot of stuff happened in Oak Creek, Colorado. The town is a long way from anywhere, has only a couple of streets, maybe two hundred yards long and appears to have been locked in a time warp since the middle of the last century. However, the people are welcoming, the general store is well stocked and the sandwiches we had for lunch were the best we’ve eaten in a long time. I like this place.
It’s early on today’s ride and the cyclists will just be getting warmed up by the time they arrive. The real meat of the stage comes after they leave town and start climbing. Bachelor Creek is a long, grinding haul which could well decide the race winner. We drove down it on Tuesday, when our truck was being bratty and I’ll admit; I was exhausted after doing that. I can’t imagine what it would be like to ride a bike up.
They have a sprint to complete as they roll through town though so we’re all lined up with our cameras at the ready. All except Dear Wife that is, who has had not one but two cameras crap out on her this week. She’ll be using my cell phone while I man my trusty ol’ film camera.
By now we’re getting the hang of judging when the riders are due to arrive (you can tell by the order of the support vehicles and cop cars) so we’re prepared for when they get here. Which is good because none of these guys seem to be getting and slower yet.
They come into sight, there’s a whirr of spinning cogs, a clanging of cowbells and on they go. Then we spectators say thanks to our hosts for their hospitality, load chairs and other assorted crap back into our cars and away we go for the next leg.
And life in Oak Creek goes back to normal.
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