                | These are the bikes we ride to and from the course. It's about a 2 mile flat ride. We park the bike inside the heavily guarded hotel premises; we even have to show our credentials to get out of the gate. I took a video of us riding out side the gate passing the guard. When the guard saw me taking the picture he wanted to take my camera and destroy the photo. I told him Mao said I could take the picture and everything would be alright. He didn't understand me, and by the time he went for help I was already speeding off on my bike. Kris our coach, and Warren our spare riding in style. Kris is wearing the white driver hat backwards I gave him from our gear package. Sam is celebrating his victory of passing through the very complicated metal detectors. I don't know if Mao forgot to teach his country men common sense, but I'll tell you that Thomas Payne never showed up here. I counted 15 of these volunteers working the metal detector franticly trying to do things right, but I don't think the text book they were learning the procedures give them real life situations. The great minds come together. Kris, Mike, and Tim smile at the dozen people taking their picture as they over look Wes and Elliot's rig. The first day the course had terrible visibility. Notice you can't even see the start line. It would be like racing in a void, then all of a sudden a great cheer as the crowd would appear out of the fog near the finish line. That afternoon it cleared up a bit. You can faintly see the mountains in the distance. Since then the air has steadily cleared up, but not without a smoggy glare. Not a crack goes with dirt between the stones. The entire course is in pristine condition. And our ride home. Back to Home |