When the World came to Richmond

The UCI World Cycling Championship was held in Richmond this year - this was a major big deal for our city and very exciting!  The event is held all over the world each year (next year in Qatar) and it's hard to believe Richmond was chosen.  Of course, there was plenty of negativity leading up to it and concern over parking, road closures, etc. and I'll admit I was so worried about parking and getting to work, but it all ended up being just fine and really quite an awesome experience.  

We met up with Andy, Tara, and Samara to watch the team time trials the first weekend.  We had a little picnic in the median and watched the teams fly by.  When Claire first spotted them, she said "Now I know what I want to be when I grow up!"  (At the time, she had not even attempted her bike without training wheels!)  They had fun ringing their cowbells and cheering for the teams - or any person that happened to be on a bike.

We took the kids to play on the playground nearby.  They LOVE playing with their cousin!!  Everything was fine until Samara had a bloody lip and Fielder took off running away from us, so we called it a day!

The whole week was filled with cycling events and people from all over the world coming to visit our city. I had a blast being at work and in the middle of it all.  (work a little, go outside and watch, work a little, etc.)

Monday I volunteered at the convention center and "guarded" a door.  I also directed the riders when they came through - the winners go to sit at the podium until they either win or someone knocks them out of the winners circle.  It was so fun to watch them all come through.

This is Kristin Armstrong who sat in 1st place for the longest time, but unfortunately was beat by someone at the last minute.  I really knew nothing of cycling prior to the races, but had a great time being a "new fan."  I just thought it was so weird that they sit there waiting to find out if they won while everyone is just staring and taking pictures!

The 2nd weekend of the races was the BIG weekend to watch.  Saturday was busy (Barbie birthday party...blog post to follow) so we went to watch on Sunday for the big mens race.  We found a perfect spot to cheer on Monument.

After 27 trips to the bathroom, 1 long walk to find the free popcorn, and some more whining and complaining about snacks, we decided the kids had had enough and went home to watch the rest on tv!

It was such a great week and I am now an official "wannbe" fan of cycling and especially Peter Sagan!