Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The "I PISS EXCELLENCE" Yellow Jersey IMAX Ride

Ride Start

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, I did 3 Midnight Ridazz rides in one day as well as riding between each one and eventually riding home. It could have been 4 rides, but I couldn't get awake early enough for the unusually early Pier Pressure ride. The first ride of the day for me was The "I PISS EXCELLENCE" Yellow Jersey IMAX Ride, to go see the Tour de France documentary "Wired to Win". The pissing excellence is in reference to the drug testing between stages, and we wore yellow, color of victory in the Tour.

High-Wire Bicycle

While waiting for the film to start, we wondered the California Science Center at the USC campus. At the top of the building is a high wire bicycle with heavy weight to counter balance the rider. Most people who tried it went tepidly across and back, but Cole, from our group, rode it hard and tilted it all over the place. Was awesome to see, and next I'm at the Science Center, I'd like to try it out as well.


The documentary was fascinating on two main levels for me. One is that the documentary focuses mostly on the adaptation of the brain to extreme physical conditions, with the Tour De France as a case study. The other level is just the awe of seeing these super humans of endurance riding on some of the most beautiful roads in the world, on the epic screen size and resolution of IMAX. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in psychology, physiology, and or the sport of cycling. A word of caution though, it's guaranteed to make you feel slower the next time you get on your bike.

Link to Flickr Set:
The "I PISS EXCELLENCE" Yellow Jersey IMAX Ride


Also, in testament to the small world we live in, at the Wolf Pack race later that day, we ran into the projectionist who was showing the IMAX movie, and he recognized our yellow jerseys & shirts.

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