We Are the Worlds

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Welcome to Richmond!  

Without so much as a second thought, that’s what I found myself shouting from my open car window the other day.  I had spotted a half dozen cyclists from the Wiggle-Honda team*, clad in their racing uniforms and helmets idling at an intersection, looking a bit confused as to whether their next turn was left or right. They smiled and waved for a moment, then went back to pointing in both directions like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

I surprised myself at how excited I was to spot such elite cyclists navigating our city.  I don’t know why. We’ve been expecting thousands of the world’s best athletes here in Richmond for more than three years. To prepare for them, the city has polished its rough spots, mowed the grass, repaved roads and even erected what is a pretty cool “RICHMOND” sign at the I-94/64 interchange.  There are flags of all nations adorning the streets, bicycle-themed artwork and events.  Heck, there’s even a special beer on tap at Strangeways to mark the occasion.  

I for one am caught up in the anticipation that comes with serving as the world stage for such an international event. Our office is fortunate enough to sit astride the course over a couple days, and I suspect I’ll be hanging out the window waving a flag or down on the sidewalk yelling encouragement to the cyclists and they pass by at speeds I won’t be able to comprehend.  While we’ll be inconvenienced by street closings and detours, by large crowds and unexpected nuisances, all of those things are such trivial matters that I hope Richmonders won’t waste their breath with complaint. 

This is the first UCI world championships in the United States in almost 30 years, and I’m proud to see Richmond showcasing our history and culture and aesthetic beauty for the world to see.  I hope all of RVA will join our small company in a collective sense of pride in all that has been accomplished.  Let’s embrace this moment and greet our guests with the hospitality with which we are known.

Welcome to Richmond!

(*I Googled them later.  They are a female team of Brits based in Belgium.) 

Josh Dare

Josh’s career in communications spans more than four decades. In addition to providing strategic counsel and crisis communications direction to clients, he is the resident Writer-In-Chief, regularly writing op-eds and bylines on behalf of clients that have been published in The Washington Post, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Huffington Post, among others.

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