It's not about the bike

...but it was about almost every other mode of transportation yesterday during our quest to watch the Olympic men's road cycling race.

Kelsey, Val, and I left the CUC at 6 am to take the subway across the city to the Beijing North train station. We had gotten tickets the day before to ride the brand-new S2 train to Yangqing, a town about two hours (by fast train) north of Beijing. The train was brand new and we splurged for first-class seats-- 23 RMB, or about five dollars. Big spenders, I know. As we rode along, we saw the beautiful mountains and scenery of China as well as followed the race course for quite some time (between naps, of course).

You need to know that the train station at Yangqing is not close to where we needed to be to see the race, either at Badaling or further south at Juyonguan Pass. The pass is where the race ends, so of course we wanted to be as close to that as we could.

We arrived at the station with no real plan of what was to happen next. We talked to some volunteers at a booth, where one of the girls introduced us to a lady who said she'd take for 150 yuan. We agreed, even though it was kind of sketchy. But welcome to our lives in China. We were doing okay until the guy (maybe the lady's husband? She was crammed in the backseat with Val and Kelsey-- so funny) drove along a backstreet and stopped at some building. He came out in a few minutes with his Olympic volunteer/Yanjing beer shirt on. Ok, I guessed, now we were ready to go?

Taking that 'cab' was the best decision we could have made. It was impossible to get closer to the Badaling and the loop that the men would do seven laps on before finishing without taking back roads through the country because the main highway was closed for the race. We sang along to his fun CDs -- he played the three English tracks over and over again-- and cruised along the mountains and through tunnels until we got to Juyonguan Pass. I really wanted to say that we'd give the driver the 150 only if he included the CD, but I did get my point across that the music was 'good' (hao) using Val's phrase book-- you won't believe the section that I found the adjective in, though!

We made our way to security to see if we could get up to the finish line but apparently you need tickets (which every bit of info we had seen said you didn't) so we just walked up the course until we got to this point where you could see the riders coming in and getting onto the loop. Basically, an amazing location because we'd get to see some of the best riders in the world go by eight times!

We arrived a little before the actual race was starting in Beijing, at 11, so we took the time to paint ourselves red, white and blue and hang out with our fellow cycling fans. We met and talked with so many people from all over the world; it was fantastic! I talked with a man from Johannesburg, South Africa who was living in Beijing for a few years and had just done the Great Wall Marathon in May. Also, there was a family from the US whose son is a 16-year-old road cycling champion. Then there was a lady and her daughter from Belgium whose other daughter, Lieselot Decroix, was competing in the women's road race the next day (they wouldn't even be allowed to watch her finish at the top of the hill... sad). There were also a couple of Dutch guys who knew a lot about cycling and could name every rider they saw. It just enhanced the experience that much more to be surrounded by such people. We were so lucky!

Watching the race was amazing, and we saw all of our US guys as they zoomed by on their bikes. Check out my photos to see lots of video and photos from the day. It was awesome to be able to see so much of a 245 km race. I also got interviewed by ESPN; I'm not sure if the footage will run on TV or Internet, but it was definitely sweet to represent our country's fans at the race! Even though the Americans didn't take home the medals, we were proud of them.

We left at about 5:30, and headed down the road to the nearest town with a bus stop. On the way, we met a couple who had been at the race and were headed back to Beijing. The man was from the US, and his wife was from Taiwan. They were so sweet and were really fun to talk to. Eventually, a van stopped and asked if we needed a ride. For ten yuan, sure, we're game. So we got into the 'party bus' which already had five people inside. I sat on the floor. We were dropped off at the bus station, and rode the 919 into Beijing. From there, we took a cab to the Duck & Goose, a sports bar, where we ate some good pub food and actually met a guy who had done his undergraduate work at Ball State University (it's a small world after all), then arrived home around 10 pm.

It was a long day, but by far one of my favorite in Beijing... and the Olympics have only just begun!