But what about tomorrow?

We're wrapping up our coverage tonight.

Be done in another five hours or so, if all goes well. Then, tomorrow, we spend the morning getting our gear squared away and, in the afternoon, we're headed for the Great Wall for a quick visit.

These were my 12th Olympics and in many ways they were the same as most of the others. Wonderful performances by the athletes, super writing and photography and technical work by my colleagues and an event that always amazes me in its scale.

In other ways they were different.

For the first several days, until they apparently caved into media mentions, the Chinese government seemed intent on taking the joy out of these games. They didn't have any central gathering places and didn't allow the people of Beijing to mingle much with the people in for the games. Afraid of what might happen, I think.

Oh, with great fanfare they announced protest zones for any cause. But they required a permit and, wouldn't you know it, none of the permit requests were granted. Paperwork problems, the government said. To really rub it in, they even arrested some of the people who came in to apply, saying they had "wrong thoughts."

Some small, if brief, things did happen. After the upteen-millionth mention in the media (everywhere except NBC, I think) of how joyless and sterile the games were becoming, they began busing in thousands and thousands of people each day to the Olympic Green. That's called imported joy, I think.

But, you know, in a way it worked. They didn't have any tickets to events but they came and picniced and people-watched and made a million pictures of the amazing venues. Obviously with great pride.

I know those people were all hand-picked by their neighborhood party operatives but still, once they were here, they were part of the mix and kind of broke free. In the photo above, a gorgeous water-and-light show outside the Bird's Nest, which sat empty the first week, was a magnet for Chinese families and young people to just be themselves for a bit.

That was neat to see.

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No telling what will happen when the international community leaves town this week.

I guess this is China's chance to make a change for the better. I only wish I really thought they'd take advantage of it.

The factories will reopen, the cars will again crowd the roads, the pollution will be worse than ever and human rights won't have to be handled with kid gloves since there are few around to notice or say anything. They should have things pretty well buttoned up again by mid-September is my guess.

You have to wonder, though, if all of these young volunteers who were exposed to conversations (and man they loved to talk) with Westerners might ask some questions of their government down the road. Hope so.

Time to wrap up.

With luck, I'll be on the AP team covering the Vancouver winter games in 2010. Til then, thanks for reading and thanks for all of your nice e-mails with questions and comments. This is a project that's a lot of fun for me. Glad you enjoyed it, too.

brian

Doing that tourist thing

A panoramic view of one of the many courtyards in the Forbidden City. To enlarge these photos, just double-click on them.

We had a quiet morning here, and I don't have much time left, so a couple of my colleagues and I headed off to do the tourist thing. You know, a little shopping and some sightseeing.

The shopping part of the trip wore the others out but I pressed on to the Forbidden City, a huge walled complex at one end of Tiananmen Square. You probably know it because Mao's giant portrait hangs over one of its gates.

The scale of the place is amazing. Inside, there are huge courtyards and a dozen or more buildings that would be imposing if they were standing on their own, let alone as part of a complex. There are museums scattered about and Mao's preserved body is also here.

It dates back several centuries and is must-see for people visiting Beijing, Chinese and outsiders alike. I enjoyed wandering around, poking my head into places and just soaking up the sights. When I was here in October on a planning trip, my only free afternoon it was drizzling and I made a quick trip to Tiananmen, across from the Mao portrait, but didn't tough it out to see the Forbidden City. Glad I had the chance to see it this time.

brian

In the photo at left, I was struck by the hip, modern look of the young woman set against the ancient courtyard and buildings. Many of the women carry parasols to protect themselves from the sun. The photo at left is of the gate facing Tiananmen with Mao keeping an eye on things. In the photo below, a youngster poses for her parents in front of one of the huge doors that were made to seal off parts of the complex hundreds of years ago. The kid is all dressed up because it is a big deal for a family to visit.

Ahead of our time

PHOTO: BMX racers in the men's final today. (AP)

We were ahead of our time, I guess.

When I was growing up in Richmond, Ind., we all spent a good amount of time trying to make our bikes go faster. You know, graphite in the bearings, extra oil on the chain, that kind of stuff.

There were no toe clips or skinny tires in those days and the bike frames weighed a ton.

Today's BMX final made me wonder what might have happened. BMX is a new event at the Olympics this year and basically involves young men and women peddling their brains out while negotiating a short hilly course with a couple of banked turns thrown in for good measure. They all wear wildly painted helmets and sharp racing outfits and look like little NASCAR drivers on two wheels.

We had an early version of BMX in Richmond. Bigger than Opie's Mayberry, but smaller than nearby Dayton, Richmond was a town of neighborhoods built on the rolling hills of the Whitewater River valley.

One of the guys in my neighborhood was so into racing our bikes that he actually created the South Richmond Bicycle Racing Association to govern our sport. We had rules and even a newsletter, which came out once I think, and was hand lettered on notebook paper. We raced down Billy Lingle's driveway (he lived on a big hill), through Do-Do Dare's backyard (nicknamed do-do because he rarely made it to the bathroom on time) and over the stone bridge that wasn't used anymore because it used to be part of the Lingle's driveway before they subdivided their farmland.

There were usually four or five of us racing and at least a couple of us would usually finish. The others would get themselves or their bikes patched up after spills and take part in the next race. It was a great way to pass a summer.

Now, these kids have agents and endorsements and high-tech bikes and gear. I think they've kind of taken the fun out of it.

brian