Monday, September 23, 2013

The Tour of Britain ... and Singapore

The Grand Prix in Singapore is run at night but I didn't know that so I was up this morning looking for the start on BBC.  I was figuring the time differential between Singapore and Edinburgh meant it would be televised at five or six in the morning but I couldn't find any sign of it.  Later in the afternoon I found why there was no race to see.

It turned out that the BBC would broadcast in the afternoon the highlights of the race which I then discovered was run on Saturday night.  Unfortunately, the broadcast was at the same time as the broadcast of live coverage of the final stage of the Tour of Britain which is a bicycle race much like Le Tour de France.

I didn't want to miss the coverage of either event so I ended up flipping back and forth between both and that almost worked but the Tour was finishing just as the Grand Prix was about to start.  The last two or three kilometers of a bicycle race are very exciting so I missed the start of the Grand Prix but it was so worth it.  The last two or three kilometers are good but the last few hundred meters are thrilling.

The Tour of Britain races all over the country but the last stage takes place entirely within downtown London.  Rather than going cross-country, they race over an 8.8 kilometer course and do ten laps around it.  The entire circuit was lined with people watching and it seemed they were all hoping Mark Cavendish, an Englishman, would win it.  Watching his final sprint to the finish was an amazing thing as his legs started pumping like a locomotive and the crowd got its wish:  he won it.  (You may remember he won Le Tour de France as well.)

There's no need for much of a report on the Grand Prix of Singapore as it has nothing to do with England except for expert coverage by Suzi Perry who is not only hot but is very well-versed in Formula 1.  From the actual race coverage, it's worth mentioning that a night race on the streets of Singapore is a beautiful thing to behold.

They even shoot off fireworks over the bay at the end of the race.  It's an obvious call that Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel would win but I like following Mark Weber, an Australian, particularly since it is his last season.  It was looking good for Weber but his car broke and ended up in flames.  He wasn't injured but it was a damn shame to see him break down at the end of the race when he had a good shot at third place.

As to which was the most exciting to see, I'm surprised to say it was the Tour of Britain.  This wasn't the only stage I've seen and the end of a stage is quite exciting for any of them but for the last stage most of all.  It's beautiful to watch this race as well because it tours around British countryside.  I've written previously on how much I enjoyed riding around the backroads here as they're much prettier than the motorways and the Tour of Britain was racing over the same roads.

In the background to all this was the saving grace of this flat.  My situation is pretty grim but my cuz put me up in a beautiful flat and I'm very grateful for that.  Ordinarily I hardly ever watch television but there's one in the flat and it has given a fascinating reveal of how things are in Scotland and England.

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