When I discovered that I was never going to race in the Tour de France, let alone in Europe, I thought I could be a team mechanic for one of the pro teams. The manager of the shop I worked at in Hawai'i went to school at Barnett's Bicycle Institute. He was very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of bicycle repair and he taught me a lot.
So I thought I would follow in his footsteps and go to Barnett's and get my certificate in bicycle repair.
Then I met a girl.
Anyway, I found this on line today, it's from that massive crash today on Stage 3. It's really quite cool.
I felt that little spark again of wanting to sit in a follow vehicle and swap wheels and bikes, spend my evenings washing and rebuilding the team machines. Making adjustment on the fly.
A different kind of touring from the one I ended up doing for many years.
Kudos to those unsung hero's the team mechanics. They are the backstage crew for the moving circus that is professional bicycle racing.
See you on the road.
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