How to Celebrate When You Have a Chip On Your Shoulder

Australia, as a continent, is remarkably remote…a 9 hour non-stop flight from Hong Kong or 19 hours from Los Angeles.  Back in the US, we rarely hear news of Australia.  Did you know, for instance, that a tropical cyclone ravaged Australia’s north coast earlier this week?  Or that in the 1960s the Prime Minister went for a swim just south of Melbourne never to be seen again?

As a result of all this, Australians tend to have a chip on their collective shoulder about being ignored by the rest of the world.  So when the world does pay some attention, they get worked up over it.

In three weeks, the debut race of the 2014 cycling season takes place in Australia…The Tour Down Under.  In the Barossa Valley,  promotion for the event is in full swing.

Bicycle racing is a popular sport in Australia, but nowhere near as popular as Australian-Rules Football or cricket, even tennis or swimming.  The country has produced its fair share of  top-drawer bike racers…think Cadel Evans, the winner of the 2011 Tour de France.

Stage 1 of the Tour Down Under will run a three lap circuit through the vineyards of the Barossa.  

Carol and Roger decided to ride the stage…with a few detours to wineries along the way.

The Tour Down Under is known as a “sprinters’” race.  The course is tailored to give the advantage to the best Aussie riders…none of whom are great hill climbers.  Imagine our surprise when, about 4 km into the route, we saw this… 

(That’s Carol about half way up the hill).

Then, on the third lap of the course, the race detours and goes up Mengler’s Hill.  Can you guess where on the ride profile that is?

Carol had the good sense to not climb Mengler's Hill, but to stop at a winery for a tasting - we were in the premier wine producing area of the country after all.  Roger…because he’s a guy…was determined to prove he could climb any hill a professional cyclist 40 years his junior could.  

There were four categorized climbs with inclines of 11%, 13%, 14% and 13%.  At least he didn’t have a heart attack.

Scene from 2013 Tour Down Under

The race is a big enough event that’s it’s televised on cable around the world.  The organizers and local merchants want the TV views to see them at their best.  

There are five of these sculptures around the course…promoting wineries and resorts.…all in places the TV cameras are likely to shoot the peleton passing by  There are advertisements painted on the road that the TV camera in the helicopter are bound to shoot.

And then, at the local pub, just 100 meters from our B&B, there’s this…  

Please note, the sign encourages locals to show up at the pub at 10:00am to start drinking, when the race doesn’t start for another hour and won’t reach this location for about half an hour after that.  By the second lap, the crowd should be enthusiastically lubricated.  By the third, the organizers hope there’ll still be enough people still standing to provide a good crowd shot.