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| This is the Sultans little toy |
On our final day Gail and I checked out of our hotel and caught the 10:30am shuttle to the Mutrah Corniche. They have done a beautiful job on the corniche with the walkway and the landscaping. Before I could start our shopping adventure we needed some nourishment. We grabbed a table at on of the many outdoor eateries along the water and enjoyed a view of the Sultans yacht while we ate.
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| Shopping in the Oman Souk |
Then it was time to enter the labyrinth of shops. There were two cruise ships in port that day so the place was an absolute zoo. The main entrance passage was almost impassible. We weaved through the crush and found a less busy area where we could get serious about our mission.
The shop owners are aggressive, but mostly polite, and expect you to beat them down on the price. I got a miniature antique bronze Arabian coffee pot that is pretty cool and Gail swung a good deal on some surprises for folks at home. I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there!
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| Fortress on the hill |
After our shopping trip we walked down the corniche toward the finish line. The race web site doesn't do a great job of explaining the route so I asked someone with a team jersey on where the end was. Turns out it was just around the corner about 1km away, just out of sight. So we had a lovely walk, and of course go there early. After awhile traffic stopped on the busy road and we knew they were close. I asked another team member is they were doing a couple laps and was delighted to learn that they would be doing six back and forth laps of the highway!
Gail and I parked ourselves right in the median of highway, which was about 20 feet wide and alternates between grass and flowers. Soon the team members started getting the water bottles ready for the riders and we braced ourselves for the arrival of the peloton. To my delight, a three man breakaway was steaming up the road at us, and I realized that Christian Vande Velde and another Garmin rider were in the break. It was fun to start my timer each time they came through to see what the gap was. It started at 1:20, but as we all know, they wouldn't survive.
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| You can't get any closer than this! |
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| Team Radioshack took the top team award |
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| They did six laps through this area |
On the final lap the breakaway got swept up and we positioned ourselves for a great view of the sprint finish. It was a downhill, down wind finish, so we knew it was going to be fast! As the group rounded the bend about 750 meters away you could see the final lead outs for the sprinters with their heads down, just burying themselves to launch their guys. On the right side of the group I spotted Garmin and saw Tyler Farrar pop out from behind his lead out with about 250 meters to go. He was in the lead, but had to go too far on his own. The other sprinters got to draft a few more meters behind their leadout and had a little more gas in the tank for the last 50 meters. Tyler hung on to take third which is a good finish to go along with a fourth on stage 3.
Alas, our Tour of Oman experience was over. We stuck around for the awards assembly, then headed back to the Crowne Plaza for some eats, then off to the airport for the flight home.
What a great long weekend!
