Appearance of the cycling stars

All I can think about is the amount of food in my stomach! We just finished celebrating Andrea's 23rd birthday with an indoor picnic of pizza, cream cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, cereal (yes, with real milk) and all sorts of other American comfort foods. But I promise, though food is a favorite blog topic, our lives here do not revolve around food.

We hung around the Velodrome today from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (or should I say 17:30, as China uses military time) waiting to interview athletes. However, most athletes were practicing for the first time on the track and wanted to avoid distractions, like talking to journalists. I wasn't able to interview any athletes, but I did see some of my favorite cyclists and Team USA members training!! Rebecca Romero (GBR), Theo Bos (NED), Chris Hoy (GBR), Sarah Hammer (USA) and Jennie Reed (USA) worked out at the Velodrome. 

Theo Bos

Chris Hoy

Sarah Hammer

Jennie Reed

Gaping mouths and dreamy eyes greeted many of the popular cyclists, especially Theo Bos. One 30-something-year-old Japanese reporter admitted with a giggle that she wanted to interview Bos "because he's cute!" Gaping mouths greeted other cyclists for very different reasons, too. One German athlete sported quads bigger than my waist. He could barely walk. I was just plain scared of and for him.

Oh, I almost forgot, the torch relay reached the Velodrome and I got to pose with the torch!