Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2021/08/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Douglas, My observation was not so much about cycling per se - I can understand the attractions, but the intensity of the fan, who has a mere 30 seconds of gratification for his/her troubles. You would definitely have a wee bit more time with your heroes! Incidentally, I would not go to see the photographers unless I have the opportunity to spend time interacting with them, I have got spoiled in that respect - in which case I might even go and meet a professional cyclist! Cheers Jayanand On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 2:16 AM Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote: > Definitely you are missing something, Jayanand, but I think interest in > cycling is fostered by actually doing it, or having some connection to > it through either a family hero or a local or national hero. I had > little interest in it until I (a reasonable runner at the time) was > persuaded in 1983 to do a charity triathlon for the Irish Cancer Society > which involved a swim in the west of Ireland, a cycle across Ireland to > Dublin and then the Dublin City Marathon. It seemed a reasonable > undertaking, as I had swum competitively, run competitively, and sure > hadn't I cycled a fair bit as a kid, so no real problem then? > > I soon found out that running, no matter how quick I was normally, was a > totally different issue after a hard cycle: my legs were like jelly > after getting off the bike, and the only solution is like most things - > practice and better equipment (think photography). Bikes are as > addictive as cameras (and probably heroin, but I haven't tried it) so > you now know what I mean. There is nothing as seductive as a nice piece > of equipment in your hands - or between your legs. I'm a fan of cycling > ever since, and have several bikes. > > So going out in the baking heat to watch your heroes is perfectly > logical to me, just like I'd go out to see Martin Parr, Steve McCurry, > Salgado, etc if they were doing a shoot in Dublin. I might even cycle. > > Douglas > > > On 22/08/2021 03:43, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG wrote: > > Nice. I was watching this yesterday on cable (yes, we get it, live), > while > > waiting for a PL football game to start, and I was wondering why people > > spend a few hours baking in the sun to see their heroes flash by. The > whole > > spectacle seems to be over in 30 seconds. I admit I do not understand > much > > about these long distance, week/month long cycling races, so am I missing > > something? > > > > Cheers > > Jayanand > > > > On Sat, Aug 21, 2021 at 6:36 PM Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> > wrote: > > > >> The Vuelta a Espa?a bicycle race started last weekend. After a series of > >> relatively flat stages, yesterday things got serious. Stage 7 contained > six > >> mountain passes over 152 km, finishing in the mountains near Tibi, one > of > >> my cycling destinations. So I took the afternoon off to go and see the > >> race. I planned to cycle to Tibi and catch the Vuelta at the top of the > >> penultimate mountain pass of the stage. But the climb to Tibi is very > >> tough, and inland temperatures were going to hit 40C during the > afternoon. > >> Driving was not an option (you go to see a bicycle race on a bicycle, or > >> else you stay home and watch on TV). So instead, I cycled to Jijona, > about > >> 24 km away, and found a great spot with shade, shared with a nice local > >> family. It was on a steep uphill, so the speed of the cyclists would be > >> moderate (all relatively speaking, of course), and at that point the > >> cyclists would have 120-125 km and four passes in their legs, so I knew > the > >> peleton would be nicely spread out, and it would take 20-30 minutes for > >> everyone to pass. And so it was. > >> > >> What I like about cycling from a spectator?s point of view is that in no > >> other professional sport can you get so close to the competitors. I > could > >> have touched the cyclists if I had wanted to. But I settled for photos, > and > >> a small gallery of 29 images is now uploaded. Some of the images are not > >> technically perfect but I included them anyway because they show the > effort > >> and suffering of the cyclists. Where I could identify the cyclists, I > have > >> done so in the captions. It?s all here: > >> > >> https://www.greatpix.eu/La-Vuelta-in-Jijona/ < > >> https://www.greatpix.eu/La-Vuelta-in-Jijona/> > >> > >> As always, comments and critique are welcome and appreciated. > >> > >> Nathan > >> > >> Nathan Wajsman > >> > >> Alicante, Spain > >> http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/> > >> http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu > >> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws < > >> http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ > < > >> http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/> > >> > >> Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator < > >> http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator> > >> > >> YNWA > >> > >> "I?m not arguing, I?m just explaining why I?m right" > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Leica Users Group. > >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information