San Francisco Grand Prix

Picture the San Francisco Bay laid out below you, salty wind whistling through your helmet, the cry of seagulls filling your ears as they circle above head. Hundreds of people restlessly surround you, dressed in that familiar get up- biking jersey, helmet, a pair of Look Road Cleats. It’s a modern day cycling army similar to that of the Spartans in 300, and you have positioned yourself at the forefront of the charge, riding in cat one. Although the sky is grey, you’re thankful for the cool fog as you anticipate the 108.1 miles of hills that await you. And then, before you’ve done much more than mount your Kuota Kharma Carbon Fiber road bike, the race is on! Well done, you’ve just begun the T-Mobile San Francisco Grand Prix.

It’s been four years since I’ve been in San Francisco for this international circuit, but the atmosphere is incredible. While most city commuters will lay on their horn if they have to slow down to 40 mph to let someone into their lane, not a trace of complaint is present when the city shuts down miles of its streets to accommodate the race. Spectators line the course shouting encouragement, even to those cyclists they have never met; and especially to those cyclists who seem to need that extra push as they climb their umpteenth hill. Many spectators are simply tourists with the original intent to cross the Golden Gate or take the ferry over to Alcatraz. Perhaps they wished to eat fresh crab on Pier 39 or see Lombard St., the curviest street in the world. But the energy emanating from hundreds of spandex clad, calf-enhanced cyclists is just too much. It is a sight not to be missed. And for those who get impatient sitting on the sidewalk, an event not to let pass by!