Tour de Gap

The Tour de Gap is one of the few reasons I don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn. It's always a lot of fun and lets me shoot a sport that I only get to cover once maybe twice a year. Which is different from a lot of the sports I shoot. Because I can't have a "bad game" since I only get one shot, and then have to wait another year. Luckily, I get three plus hours to shoot the race which allows for plenty of shots, and multiple locations. This year's race had the same route as last year, so I was able to mentally recount some of the better (and worse) places to shoot from. So, while I got a few shots that looked a lot like last year's I was able to shoot of the others I thought I could work better again. I was happy with the results.

Tour de Gap

Even after nine years, there are some assignments I look forward to shooting every year. The Tour de Gap bike race is one of them. While the early morning start isn't something I enjoy, the early morning light makes for some nice shots at the starting line.

But, just shooting the start just wouldn't be right, the 70-mile race which attracts not only some really top-notch locals and amateur riders from across the state - even the occasional pro riders - lasts about three hours. Fortunately I get to drive the course in a car, bobbing ahead and shooting as the riders pass by, then back in the car and bobbing ahead again, over and over. The only problem is the race is not a closed course. It can make for some interesting moments on those little two-lane back roads. Luckily, they aren't heavily travelled.

That's plenty of time to get photos of the race and have fun and trying out all the lenses in my bag. Although, I gotta say, laying in tall grass with a wide angle lens in the middle of July during prime rattlesnake season isn't the best idea I've ever had, it made for a nice photo and luckily I didn't hear anything resembling a baby rattle during the couple minutes I was there... so that was a good thing.

And, when you are shooting the whole 70 miles of the race and get lucky enough to get the eventual race winner munching on a banana... well, that's just a bonus that justifies getting up early and going the extra (70 or so) miles.