As most of you probably know Lance is in Dublin at the moment following the Tour of Ireland and where the Livestrong Global Cancer summit is currently taking place.
He organised an impromptu ride in the Phoenix Park from his twitter yesterday “Good morning Dublin. Who wants to ride this afternoon? I do. 5:30 pm @ the roundabout of Fountain Rd and Chesterfield Ave. See you there…”
Over 1000 eager faces showed up to ride alongside him. He didn’t disappoint. There were no bodyguards covering his flanks, no official’s ushering him in the opposite direction, just Lance leading a peleton of 999 others around a 4km loop.
I got to ride right beside him for a minute or two. It was sweet! I can’t think of many other sports (apart from Tri of course) where you would get the opportunity to hang with the best in the world. I gave my phone to a big guy to take a pic… unfortunately as I maneuvered my way into position he got enveloped and spat out the back. I’ll choose my photographer more carefully next time but, although I don’t have a photo, I will always have the memory of the experience.
Having pulled out of the Tour of Ireland 2 days prior I doubt Lance was up for such a strenuous excursion… although I would have loved it!
He did about 10 4km laps within the Phoenix Park… catering for the masses. Their was every type of bike and rider there from tricycle’s to top end Cervelo’s, from 10 year old kids to 70 year old grandad’s.
Apparently on realising it was a lap course a little girl looked up at her dad and asked
“Daddy, does the man know we’re cycling in circles”
It helps that Lance has 2 million Followers on Twitter. Actually it’s been an interesting experiment in Social Networks marketing and promotion. Lance has cut back on official Press Conferences and scrums at big events and races or so I read, and now just releases info directly from his Twitter account - that reaches 2 million people directly!
