A Westy Weekend at Watkins

How time flies! The weekend after Quebec and Montreal was back-to-back cyclocross races; the first local ones for this season. That made for a busy weekend and the early part of the week was spent getting photos online.

Once that was done though, it was time to get Babe ready for another trip. This time it was another VW camp-out and one I'd been looking forward to attending since I had heard about in 2010. Joel Cort has been running this event for 10 years now and on top of great camping in a beautiful spot next to the Gorge this camp-out ends with a trip to the Watkins Glen racetrack where the buses have a chance to do three laps of the famous course. And the usual good company, great food, campfires and live music.

There were a little over a hundred buses that made it for this 10th edition (Sept. 23-25), a good turnout considering the Friday was a wet afternoon which may have discouraged some people. By Saturday afternoon the weather turned really nice though and Sunday was even better. Andrea had a hearing so we didn't get to leave until the afternoon. It was raining from the start of our drive and I think it only let up once we almost there (a 5 hour drive). We stopped in at the Roosterfish Restaurant and Brewery in Watkins Glen for a tasty dinner before heading to the campground. It was dark by the time we got there, lots of the campsites were already full and so we had picked one that was empty but still close to everything. Turns out we happened to be in the one that Sofie and Jerry had been holding for us. Sofie had left a chair there to make it look occupied, I just drove on by it. When she came over to collect it she was wondering who might have been so bold (politely of course) and then discovered it was us... that was good for a laugh. As were my parking attempts looking for level ground between the trees and trying not to wreck the bikes on the back. Eventually we got Babe in place and it was really very level so I guess it was worth the effort.

It rained overnight so everything was damp and glistening. Andrea and I went for a walk in the Gorge... it's simply stunning. Rather than trying to describe it, here are a couple of photos.

There were a few options for events to do with the rest of the day, we opted to just go explore the area on our bikes for a few hours... the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York is beautiful with no shortage of good climbs (and descents of course) plus lots of great gorges and waterfalls.

We also wandered around the campsites taking photos of the various campers and the things that get added to make more room, more comfort, or more fun. This photo is just an orderly little grouping, including a bold colour combination :-)

Dinner on Saturday was a pot-luck and there was lots of great food (including for us vegetarians). Then a raffle with lots of great prizes. I was hoping to win the headlight relay upgrade from BusDepot or the SewFine curtain set but wasn't that lucky. I did win some custom decals from Hippy Motors that will go on Babe soon. After dinner is was relaxing by a campfire and listening to Doug Alcock playing guitar and singing.

And all too soon it was Sunday morning... a time of walking around say goodbyes, packing up, getting ready to head home. But first!

A carabus to the Watkins Glen International track and then three laps of a happy bunch of campers! I was really lucky that the guys at the start / finish were really friendly and invited me up on their platform inside the barriers so I could get some great shots.

I'll wrap up this entry with a couple of photos, you'll find lots online at my site (KraikerPhoto.com) and they are all free to download.

Getting Caught up: The GPC Quebec Gallery is Online

I've gone through the 2,150 photos I took at this race and picked a few I think are worth sharing. Here's a gallery that I hope you'll enjoy... try the slideshow option and let me know what you think.
Next up will be the Montreal race... it was an amazing race, so stay tuned!

http://kraikerphoto.com/Grand_Prix_Cycliste_de_Quebec_g269.html

Care to write the caption for this photo?

As I was leaving the press center I happened upon one of those moments photographers love. No-one else around taking photos, lots of happy people at the end of a long day, everyone relaxed.

So here's a shot I captured with my iPhone, I had my loaded backpacked with all my camera and computer gear and I couldn't run to get ahead of them. Still, this is an exclusive image you'll only find here...

It made my day just that much better, thanks Philippe.

Now it's time for me to pack up and relocate to Montreal for tomorrow's race.

What wonderful images Quebec City provides!

So, I wonder... where to start! I have posted a few shots of the city, totally unrelated to the race. I have a whole bunch of shots that I doubt will ever be posted anywhere unless I put them up... so, I hope that has you wondering, and that the shots are indeed interesting. Each one has a story, let me start with an obvious one plus an exclusive one and see how much time I have over the next few days to fill in the gaps...

Obvious, not used here: A photo op with Ryder and Philippe before the race which I won't post here. I saw it, and saw lots of other media folks recognize the moment (I expect that shot will show up on pedalmag.com and other sites soon). Love it!
Obvious, yes: a "barb-wire tat". He wore it proudly here in Quebec. I think only a couple of folks looked closely (I know Cor Vos was one who did). Wow...

Exclusive: I think I have a few, so I'll start with Matteo Trentin... you'll find his name showing up at the races here and I expect he'll be someone to follow for the next decade. I learned about this young star from a couple of friends in Belgium (Jan & Ine) Andrea and I met on the Thomas Cook Sport trips, they have hosted him at their home. As of Aug. 1st he's found his way to the Quick Step pro team and here he is in Quebec City winning the Most Combative trophy. Wonderful!

Stay tuned for more... I look for the unexpected, and I think I have some to share.

Johnny

Matteo

Just a pretty picture

I thought I'd share this image, might make a nice desktop background...

Quebec City 2011

The Second Edition of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec

A week has gone by since I last posted here, guess I've been a little busy! I did stop in at Jackie's place on my way here. Got there a little before 11pm on Tuesday, just in time to say goodnight to her and then make myself comfortable in Babe for the night. It helped a lot having a place to park there, a long drive first and being able to arrive at the press conferences the next day feeling relaxed was really good. (so, like, thanks, eh :)

I'm "camped" in Quebec city at the Delta hotel that is the basecamp for most journalists covering this event. Last year was amazing, the buzz and excitement this race generated was huge. It's tiny compared to what I'm seeing this year though. The Sprint Challenge today was packed where the action was happening, I'm not sure if the beautiful weather was the reason or if the event has become that much more popular. Either way, a lot of people had fun and got to see some great cycling.

While I got to cover a great opening event (and some interesting press conferences) what I really enjoyed was a little time wandering the streets of old Quebec. It's a beautiful city, it has more of a European flair than any other city in North America, and there were bikes all over the place! So while I had a little time I went for a stroll and took a few photos. This is the beginning of a gallery I'll put up for these races, consider it a sneak preview... more to come.

Another "30 years ago" moment

I've written earlier about starting at IBM 30 years ago, retiring after 30 years, my father's 30 year watch from Leitz... today marks one of the inspirations for my 30 years.

Happy 30th birthday, Steff!