Cameraman Phil and I are leaving the media compound
The day started with us boarding the media team shuttle to the media compound where the video team made some last minute tweaks to the communication and video feed equipment on my bike. Then Phil, the cameraman riding with me, and I headed out on the course for some practice runs. We were Moto 1. Moto 2 was driven by Scott with Daryl onboard as the cameraman.
The men's triathlon elite class started their race by diving into the Hamilton Harbor at 11am for their swimming leg. At that time, both of the moto teams positioned ourselves on the course ready to pick up the competitors when they transitioned from their swimming leg to their biking leg.
Yesterday we were advised to stay behind the leaders but before the race started, Moto 1 (Phil and I) was given the approval to get in front of the leaders when it was safe to do so, which we did.
It's a real dance to ride the motorcycle while:
- Constantly switching from looking forward to keep a safe direction and not run over spectators running across the course, and checking my rear view mirrors to monitor the distance from the race leaders behind us
- Listening to Phil and race command in my helmet audio giving me helpful hints about how to adjust my speed and position to get the best video feed.
- Smoothly steer, accelerate, shift gears and slow down so the video does not appear jerky - which was a challenge when we were in front of the runners moving at 6-7 mph with Phil moving around, standing up and leaning over to get the best shots. Phil is very experienced and did a great job communicating with me before he made big movements which helped a lot.
My speeds ranged from 6-60 mph. At times I had to blast around the leaders to get in front of them using my very loud airhorn to warn the spectators. Those were my most anxious times, praying that no kids or adults would step out in front of us from the spectator-lined road course.
The highlight of the day was the women's event that featured the fan favorite Flora Duffy. The women's race was the final event of the day starting at 2pm. I am happy to say that Flora won her race.
Riding with Flora was one of the most exhilarating and exciting things I have ever done. The crowds were very large and boisterous, cheering on their hometown hero. During the biking leg Flora and a woman from the Netherlands were neck-and-neck. But after they transitioned to running Flora took off and never looked back, she had a huge lead at the finish line.
After the race I removed the video mounting hardware and then Sooz and I rode the bike back to the City maintenance facility where I loaded and strapped down the bike in the shipping container. It was a lot of fun talking with the workers who had helped me unload the bike a week previously. The event was broadcast live and the guys had watched it and enjoyed watching me live on TV.
We took a cab back to our hotel, cleaned up, had a nice dinner at the hotel and passed out until 5am when we took a cab to the airport for our flight home through Miami.
It was a fantastic experience for both Sooz and me.
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