I was pretty spent after the race as it was a fairly intense 75 minutes. The rain had let up and was done for the day. Most of the American delegation hung out at the finish line cheering on the rest of the competition whom I'd like to think was, at that point, pretty stoked to have anyone cheering for them, given the weather.
At this point, we hadn't been given any indication that there wouldn't be any amateur awards and since Amy had won the female division, we packed up our gear and rode over to where the elite awards ceremony was to take place.
We didn't have to wait long to witness history. The American National Anthem was played for Renee's win in the elite women's race. I have to believe that this was either the first time or certainly one of the very few times that song has been played on Cuban soil. Certainly since the revolution. I don't get goose bumps often, but man, I sure did then.
All the Americans who'd remained at the conclusion of the awards ceremony gathered for a group picture with the president of USAT, Barry Siff, and the president of the ITU, Marisol Casado.
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| Making History |
Now that the festivities and competitions were over, for us anyway, we could get on with being tourists (even though, legally, American tourism is not allowed in Cuba). Some of the group decided to take a cab back to their hotels, but a group of about eight of us decided to ride back - in our Team USA gear. It must have been quite a sight for the Cubans seeing us ride through the streets. We got horn blasts and thumbs ups from bus drivers and stares from pedestrians. One driver sped on ahead of us, stopped in the middle of the three-lane road we were on and took pictures before we rode by.
With all the rain, the ride back was very wet and very dirty. We tried to capture just how dirty our legs were but the photo doesn't quite do it justice.
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| Dirty Legs |
We agreed to meet on a time for dinner and broke up to go get cleaned. I didn't even bother trying to ride back to my hotel this time, instead opting for a cab.
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