Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Girl watches first cycling race

She wasn't sure what to expect but what she saw after getting to the racetrack was nothing like she had seen before. Cones and ribbons were everywhere marking the course and fans huddled in blankets crowded around to watch. A table with Boulevard beer was right next too the track with a stack of waffles and Nutella available for anyone to eat or drink. A Hawaiian food truck was parked to the south of the table selling warm chicken and rice. A voice echoed through the stadium warning racers of the last call for the next race and a gun went off a few minutes later signaling the start of the race.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw bicycles fly by as the men that rode them strategically paced themselves for the 10 lap race. She watched as they zigzagged over steep hills then jumped off and quickly carried their bikes up six stairs, hopped back on and continued peddling towards the next obstacle. As the cyclists made their way around the stands, people yelled words of encouragement and motivation but the racers didn't seem to notice.

The announcer began to announce the first, second and third place winners of first the junior's then the women's race from earlier in the night. The winners claimed their medals and stood on the pedestals for any pictures being taken then. The medalists were congratulated by everyone around on a good race then made small talk for a while.

She wrapped the blanket around her and watched the cycling community interact and bond over a shared hobby/profession. They talked about where they've raced this year, how many races they have left, what new bikes they bought and what techniques worked for them as opposed to what techniques didn't. After, many people talked about the weather and caught up on old gossip.

Less cyclists rounded the corner and she realized the race was ending. She stretched her cold, stiff legs as she tried to walk to gain feeling back into them and soon after another race began. She talked to the one cyclist she knew for a short conversation then left the track to warm her car up. She thought as she walked. There were no big crashes, no sizzling rivalries that she noticed; just people doing something they love not for recognition or money but because they like to cycle.

12 comments:

  1. Good story. The first paragraph made me hungry!

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  2. Your story provided great imagery! It was very descriptive and allowed the reader to really capture the moment.

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  3. Was that here at Washburn? That would be interesting to watch. Great job with the story.

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  4. Good use of descriptive language. The story flowed very well.

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  5. This story reminds me of just about every cycling event I've ever been to. Good job of capturing the moment and the feeling of camaraderie.

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  6. Nice story, Megan! I agree that you provided great details that made it easy to picture what was happening. I did notice a few small spelling and comma placement errors. For example, in the third sentence, it should be "to" instead of "too." :)

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  7. You really captured the moment well and used your words! Good job.

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  8. You describe a lot of details in the story. I can image that scene when I read your story. The headline is fine, but not outstanding. Overall, nice job!

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  9. I really like your story. You made it easy for the reader to picture what was happening. You add great detail to your story. Nice job.

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  10. I like how your story made it so easy for someone to picture everything that was going on. It had so much detail that it made me feel like I was right there in the story. I also really like the words that you chose to use. When you're explaining things in such detail it can be hard to think of good words and hard to use different words all the time but I think you did a great job at that. I like the headline but I agree with others in saying that its not perfect and could use a little adjusting. Good job though!

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  11. You did a good job writing this story very vivid and descriptive. Nice job.

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  12. Yes, it made me hungry too. I've actually never been to the racetrack, so thanks for the insight! I could totally picture the whole thing. I love cyclists. Why have I never done this.
    Also nice headline, I think we are all getting better.

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