TdF - Stage 7

Started with learning Garmin-Sharp ended up losing 3 including Ryder. Argh.

Ahhh, first mountain stage...

Gutsy effort by Cancellara if you ask me. Felt a bit emotional watching him cross the finish line.

I remember Chris Froome from some previous racing - that was something! And I didn't realize until he was on the podium that he'd also get the Polka Dot Jersey.

Cadel/Wiggins, nicely matched. I have to say that in my Prologue post, I didn't give Wiggins a vote for GC winner, but I hadn't seen him race this year - he is looking impressive - and sounds like he's having quite the year.

TdF - Stage 6

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Ryder down!!

That was some chaos.

My roadtrip is off. Still some travel - T.O./NYC.

Gotta post sooner - forget about the stage if I don't do it right away.

TdF - Stage 5

Have to say, I was somewhat distracted watching this stage. Leaving shortly for a road trip, Chicago/New York.

Thought we might get to it w/o a crash.

That was quiet a finish! I thought it was over, Urtasun (sp?) had it, then, wham! they went by him like he was pedalling a stationary bike (kind of like standing still, but for cycling ;)

J'aime le tour. Not sure that's the correct use of French. Seriously, other than all this doping crap, it's all amazing - the scenery, the strategy, the combo of team/individual goals, the commentators!, the old buildings, the crowds (sometimes), the lion you get for having the yellow jersey (I want one!!)

TdF - Stage 4

It's all becoming a blur - hard to work and live life during the week and keep up with so much footage!

Crazy crash near the end. Some of the interviews lately are pretty funny. Don't really like when wives/girlfriends of pro athletes make big statements regarding team sports. I wouldn't want to be the husband/boyfriend who has to sit in the lockerroom/peloton and get ribbed. Anyhoo.

Rode bike for 99 mins. Says I did 29.22km and 440 calories. Total km on the machine (it's a combo bike/elliptical) 2606. Can't remember when I bought it.

Beautiful scenery.

TdF - Stage 3

Holy Crashes!!

Think I had a small protein/fruit smoothie pre-race. Bike 35 mins.

TdF - Stage 2

Had company to watch the stage so no riding.

Nice sprint!

TdF - Stage 1

That was an exciting last 20k or so! Kudos to Spartacus for going for it.

I sat on the couch for most of the stage. I know I can't do the length, they're on the bike half the day, I'd still be there. I ended up riding just as they were about to catch the breakaway and cooled down as they did results. Ended up only about 20 minutes. Pretty lame. Pre-race meal - similar - 2 pieces of Squirrely (apparently it's a TM) toast with cream cheese and organic peanut butter, half a can of "natural" rootbeer. No water til after.

Glad to see Hesjedal come in close to the winner. Saw him riding at the back at one point, worried who got caught in those crashes.

I should really have put more thought into this and planned appropriate foods. Could've done Belgian waffles for the Prologue and Stage 1.

Tour De France 2012 - Prologue

Are you serious??? I haven't posted in 2012?? Wow. Anyway, on to the tour...

Got a few chills watching the intro package to the Tour. I was sad awhile back when I heard Andy Schleck wouldn't be riding. I just finished watching this year's Giro, very exciting to see Canadian Ryder Hesjedal stand on top of the podium! A historic moment for Canadian cycling.

My pre-prologue meal: Water. Two pieces of squirrely bread with organic peanut butter and cream cheese. Followed by a very small float of high quality vanilla ice cream and "natural" root beer. Rode the 6.4k distance on the stationary bike. My timing system isn't quite to the level of the pros, but 13:30 or so (according to the readout, looked like I was going in the 30-31km/h range most of the time - nearly the 55km/h record eh ;). I won't be able to continue to ride the same distance as the riders, obviously. Plus, I have to go away (business, some pleasure) during the Tour.

Glad to see Fabian Cancellara take the win. Yay Spartacus!

When the 3plus hours of t.v. coverage concluded, I wondered how I could wait for the next stage. Very exciting. A few notes - how about the slimmed down Cavendish? Cadel's warmup makes me feel like a workout loser. Holy timetrials! Congrats George Hincapie on a record start. Liege - beautiful! Nice to see Alejandro Valverde (see previous blogs) - too bad you can't hear how I say his name when you read the words - he was one of the first names I recall when I originally got into watching the pros, fond memories. Don't know who I'd pick to win it all - love to see Ryder do it but not sure if this is his year - can't wait to see him win one though - whether this year or another. If I had to choose between the G.C. favorites that come to mind, I figure Cadel might be able to do it (again). Seems like a nightmare with Radioshack Nissan Trek but I wonder... Too bad no Johan Bruyneel.

Must also say that I continue to love Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen (and Bob Roll and Liam McHugh are good too) - I really liked Bob when he was the guest co-commentator on a Giro stage). 40 years for Phil!!! So grateful to the person who introduced me to watching the Pro riders. So grateful! Even got to see most of the Tour of California this year too. And so much more in HD now, awesome!

Vive Le Tour!!!

Tour de France - Prologue

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may recall an earlier series of posts around Le Tour. Last year I didn't watch, and this year I had planned to, then heard about Lance Armstrong returning, then got really busy and promptly practically forgot most of that until right as the Tour was starting. So I turn on my DVR today to watch the broadcast of the start of the race. Don't mock me (or go ahead, I don't care anymore) but even watching the beginning of the broadcast with the voice over laying out the scene got me super pumped. And finding out that Lance Armstrong is back again after a huge layoff (by finding out I mean seeing him actually there, ready to start, as just because he announced he would however many months ago wouldn't mean he would, any number of injuries or whatever could've changed that) adds some more intrigue. It was cool to also see a lot of familiar names (I only cycling event I watch is Le Tour and even then it's a recent thing although I did watch DVD's of many of the late 90's/earlier 2000's races). I didn't mean to watch the whole stage in one sitting, but I did, although I managed not to watch the next broadcast right afterwards. P.S. DVR's rock!

DVD Delight

You would never know it from this blog, but I'm a hockey fan. Today I found myself pommerdoodling (see http://interchangeableparts.wordpress.com/ for a definition of this word - or just go there because IPB fucking rocks) over an interview with Trevor Linden. A little background...I once really dug Trevor Linden. Not that I really stopped, but you know how these things go. But this interview was so awesome. First of all, he's very well-spoken. Second of all, he made jokes about Le Tour, doping, cycling, and spandex (apparently Trevor rode in the Alps and did some mountain bike race in Europe in the off-season). Awesome. I think I was going to list some more reasons, but whatever.

Moving away from hockey...and back to Tour related business....today when I got to work I found that the two DVD sets (1999 and 2000 Tours) that I'd ordered had arrived. I've only just started disc 1 of the first set, but felt compelled to write about the little I've seen so far. It begins with that dude (what is his name, that commentator - ah! Phil Liggett - no idea on the spelling, sorry dude - I think Paul Sherwen - same caveat - is also featured) talking about Lance Armstrong (spelled that right, woohoo!) being on top of the world and then it crumbling as he finds out he has cancer in an advanced stage, tumours as big as golf balls in his lungs, and is told by his docs that he has a 20-50% chance to live. Phil goes on to say that actually his doctors didn't think he would live. Then there's a short interview with Lance and then the intro to the prologue starts. It shows some scenery, crowds, etc. and the credits are coming up over top. What made me chortle is that they show a little girl in a stroller in this intro, and she is totally picking her nose. It could be that it's late, I'm tired, I haven't eaten enough...but that just cracked me up. Hello???? Editors???? Proof 'watchers'???

P.S. For those of you who saw the title and thought something along the lines of, "sweet! finally the porn stuff is starting" - ha ha, fooled you again, suckers! (Just kidding...you know...)

Another Tour de France Doping Incident

Yes, that's right, there's another in a long line of incidents.
Who is it this time, you think, as you mentally scroll through a list of names.

It's me. Yes, me. You read it here first.

You see I'm experiencing TdF withdrawal. And why does one experience withdrawal? Because one has developed a dependency. Ergo, I've been doping and it involves Le Tour.

For example, I look at my desktop of the Col du Galibier and I pine for Le Tour. I think of settling down to watch footage (wheelage?) and I experience a twittering of expectation. And this expectation of excitement is then doused by the cold, hard reality that I have no Tour to watch. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that I may still have the final leg of this year's Tour DVR'd. But still.

Now I'm depressed. I guess it's true. Dope is for dopes.

Vive Le Tour! Part 5

Ha ha. I tricked you all. You thought I was off Le Tour but I was just hanging back in the peloton, grimacing as though I was having a rough day, while secretly plotting my big move. (Boy, we'll all be glad when the Tour is over for another year won't we).

17. The names. Like the guy I picked to win. Alejandro Valverde. AL-LEH-HAN-DRO VAL-VAIR-DEY! That's a great name. He even sounds like a winner. Although a guy I know said he sounds like a latin lover. I don't really know much about this Valverde guy, but I love his name. Yeah, this picking winners by name thing explains my great success in wagering on the ponies. But come on...Alejandro Valverde. Is it possible to be in love with a name? Is it possible that was a rhetorical question? Rhetoric. Another cool word. WTF. I think somebody slipped something into my food or drink. Anyway, there are some other cool Tour rider names but I'm gonna have to leave those out because I've decided #17 has to be about VALVERDE. Alejandro.... ah....

18. I miss Robbie McEwen. Yeah, I didn't even know this guy a week and a half ago and now I'm sad he's gone. Here's to you Robbie.

19. The team names. The announcers kind of ruined Cofidis for me. In my mind it sounded really cool but when they say it it just kind of sounds flat. However, Phil (I think) saying Liquigas is pretty funny. It always sounds to me like he's saying Leaky Gas. "The leaky gas team is...." Oh dear. And this really has nothing to do with team names but when the commentators say things like, "ohh, looks like so and so is in a *spot of bother*..." that cracks me up. Here's this guy competing in this crazy ass sporting event and they're going 'oh dear, he's in a spot of bother isn't he? shall we have a nice cuppa then?' Snort.

20. The descents. Holy fuck. Excuse my language but holy fuck. I need some stronger swearing for this. But I'm now remembering some of these Alp descents and I'm having difficulty speaking (you know, speaking through the keyboard). These professional cyclists are crazy ass mutherfuckas. Do you know how fucking fast they go downhill? Very fucking fast, that's how fast. And sometimes they screw up their line and crash. Some of those mountain descents - you go over the side, wow, it's a long way down. A long, long, long, long, long, long long, long way. I can't remember the name of the climb (the Col de something ;) ) but my stomach plummeted just watching them hit the top as the road completely fell away. Wow. Awesome descents. I was scared to death just watching.

Vive Le Tour! Part 4

Wow, these Tour posts are starting to rival the number of stages of the Tour de France.

13. Like taking a trip without leaving the house. I've enjoyed seeing the scenery of the various areas. The aerial shots can be quite spectacular and the broadcasts give some history and so forth.

14. The combination of team and individual in this sport. Each rider is part of a team but there is also a lot of individual stuff that goes on. I suppose you could say the same is true of any other team sport, except that sometimes a group of individuals from different teams will work together. Basically the strategy determines what will happen, so two riders might help one another at one point and do the opposite at another.

15. The different jerseys. By this I mean not only is there the famous "maillot jaune" for the race leader (which can switch backs each day) but also a polka dot king of the mountains jersey (polka dots though??!) and a green jersey and a white jersey for best virgin. (Ok, that last part wasn't *totally* true).

16. Sprints. The sprints at the finish are something to behold. Sometimes parts of the stages can get pretty boring, but near the end it's a crazy mass of bikes and bodies. This can't be captured in words, you need to see it.

Vive Le Tour! Part 3

9. This sporting event has it all. I've talked about the toughness, the speed, etc., but it also includes eating! Eating is so important, in fact, that on the route map they show the t.v. viewers they include the location of the feed stations. Here people stand with feedbags that the cyclist must grab while zipping by. (And they also must try not to end a sentence with a preposition, all at the same time!) And these cyclists throw stuff into the crowd when they're done with it (e.g. water bottles). I'm just picturing the gleeful dreamlike state I would be in for 2 weeks after the following transpires (screen goes wavy, back in time music)....

TdF cyclist: "Zut! Triple ZUT! Zeye deed not order ze tuna! I vanted ze egg! Ze egg dammit!"
In utter disgust he hucks his tuna sandwich into the crowd. It goes sailing at speeds like that of a baseball pitch but for one GB it is spinning end over end in slow motion. Fascinated, she stares, nay, she gapes, open mouthed, eyes as big as saucers, no - as big as dinner plates! as the sandwich comes ever closer. In the last instance, time returns to normal speed and WHAP! the sandwich smacks her smartly in the forehead, leaving a red mark and a light tuna residue. She picks it up, holds it in her hands, delirious. And for the next 2 weeks she walks around in this state. Except she doesn't hold the sandwich for the whole 2 weeks, that would be gross. Instead she has it coated protectively, like Han Solo frozen in carbonite, and it sits proudly in her sports shrine in a place of special honour from then on. (Fucking prepositions).
And imagine the story she will tell, no party, no social gathering will ever pass without "hey, you know what happened to me once...."

10. Did I mention the scenery yet? I can't remember. This blog moves as fast as a moderately fast stage. But anyway, in one shot in an early stage, they showed this castle. With a moat. I think I'm in love. I am in love. This is my dream to have a place like this. (I am a rock...I am an issssssssland....). A moat! That's too f'ing cool. If there had been a fire-breathing dragon I probably would have collapsed in utter glee. Perhaps if I could afford the castle I would have enough to get me a fire breathing dragon. Or at least one that could get a few flames out every once in awhile.

11. The changing route. Yes, I was that naive re: the tour that I didn't realize it wasn't the same all the time. Oops. But now that I do know, I find this pretty cool. In one way it would be cool to have the exact same route, but it's also kind of neat to shake things up, keep it fresh (like my carbonite tuna sandwich).

12. No weather cancellations. Sweet. See the entry about tough. These athletes don't mess around. Rain delays are for pussies. (That sounded wrong somehow). I hear at one of the shortly upcoming alps stages (maybe they've even started it, I'm a little behind on my watching) there was snow the other day.

Vive Le Tour! Part 2

5. Robbie McEwen's finish line victory move. They had a little segment on where he got the idea from but at any rate, I was somewhat amused. He does these arm motions like he's running really fast.

6. The involvement of the spectators. They get in the way sometimes which I find funny - can you imagine a pitcher trying to throw a ball around a spectator? A hockey player getting his stick ripped from his hands by a spectator? And for a sport in which the athletes speed by you in moments, it's pretty cool that fans line the roads like that.

7. The toughness. This is a biggie. Nothing against soccer, but when you watch the best in the world writhing around on the field and then getting up as though nothing has happened...
The Tour is like hockey - these guys have these crazy crashes and get all beat up and still continue on unless they are absolutely unable to. Not to mention just the normal pain of riding that far for that long, day after day. Impressive.

8. As one of the commentators puts it (Phil Leggett??) 'we don't want to see crashes but they sure make for good t.v.'. Sure, I don't wish these guys to have terrible crashes and have to withdraw or get seriously injured, but WOW, those crashes are something else. Refer back to point # 7 - these guys are TOUGH.

There is so much more to come...we haven't even gotten into the mountains yet (more dumb TdF "humour").

Vive Le Tour! Part 1

So I read some of Lance Armstrong's books and he made the Tour de France sound pretty exciting (even though his books don't even focus much on that). So last year (?) (& 2 years ago?) I watched some and was a bit disappointed that it didn't come across quite the same as Lance's descriptions. But there was something there that seemed to have potential so I had thought I'd have to tune in the next year and *really* follow it. So when I saw the ad for the upcoming Tour, I made a note and have been PVRing the broadcasts. There are moments I find rather dull, but I've also kind of fallen for it. Here's a few reasons why...


1. The beauty of the peloton. Especially the aerial shots. Rainbow of colours.


2. How difficult a sporting event it is. I think this year it's about 2,200 miles, including riding over MOUNTAINS.


3. The multinational aspects. For example, teams consists of riders from various countries rather than other sports where particular countries compete against one another. Today I learned that the prizes are in euros (due to the European Union) but the fines are in Swiss Francs (because the governing body is in Switzerland which apparently uses it's own currency still). I just find that funny/cool/interesting. (You know, this post was a lot funnier/cooler/more interesting in my head).


4. The speed involved. On bikes going 40+k/25+mph. Wow. It makes me think of when you watch world class marthoners. They are holding a pace that is the equivalent to my sprint pace, but over 26.2 miles! WTF!?! That's messed up.


Well that's the prologue complete. Look for more stages to follow... (that's some TdF humour)