Tour de France

So, I just read that Lance thinks he's out of contention in Le Tour. I've been thinking, we have a lot in common-- me and Tour riders. First, we ride bikes. Second, we ride bikes a long distance. During the me time-- you know just pedaling along and thinking-- I did come up with some reasons why I wished I was in the tour:

- Post ride massages- Man, I'm in need of one of those.
- Team chefs- though it's hard to beat the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, WY.
- Drafting and chatting in the peloton
- Podium girls


Reason I am glad I am NOT riding in Le Tour:

- Racing - I would miss the scenery
- I wouldn't meet as many cool and friendly people that want to help me. In the tour they want to beat me.
- The pay sucks unless you are in contention for GC (General Classification) or can sneak a few stage wins.
- I'd miss my Bella Blue, my trusty Surly (and BOB the trailer too)

Stereotypes

I hate stereotypes. You know, those generalizations we make about certain groups based on bias, misinformation or just pure ignorance. Things like jocks are stupid, Asians are good at math (man, I blew that one), and all politicians are crooked (okay, there might be a lot of truth there).

Despite my hatred of stereoptyping, I am going to point out a few things that I have noticed while I've been on my bike. I know it is not fair to everyone who falls into these categories, but I cannot help but to generalize:

First, when I am riding, obnoxiousness has a direct correlation with the size and sound of your vehicle. The bigger and louder, the more likely you are going to try to pass close, yell obscenities or rediculousness (like "Go Lance") or just be plain rude. I've never encountered a bad experience with a Prius, Accord or Focus. It's always a loud and/or large truck. I am convinced the men who drive these trucks are very small, if you know what I mean. Why else would they hang these from the back?

Second, based on my observations on a bike, anyone who drinks Coors Light, Natural Light or anything that has "Bud" anywhere in the name will end up depositing said can or bottle along the roadway sometime. Rarely have a seen a "premium" beer can on the side of the road on one of my rides, much less a microbrew. I think I saw a Heineken once, but I hate Heineken. My guess is that the beer cans came from the large and loud trucks described above.

There it is. I'm a biased jerk. I apologize in advance if when I see your truck I tense up in fear of your 3 ton vehicle and duck my head to miss the can that you're gonna throw at me.

Clocked by the cops

On Saturday, I was riding my bike to watch Georgia Tech play Boston College. Just commuting to a restaurant a few miles from my house that had the game on. As I was was riding along, I passed a Police Department Patrol car parked on the side of 3rd Ave. When I passed, I heard, "Good job, 19!", out the window. I looked at my bike computer and I was going 19.4 mph. I wasn't hammering the pedals by any means, so without max effort, I was making pretty good time on a slight uphill.

So, while I wasn't speeding, I did feel fast. I mean, how many people get radared and called out by the police while on a bicycle?

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In other cycling news, it appears that Lance is returning to competitive cycling. Why can't athletes just stay retired? A few quick thoughts on this annoucement:

- Lance would not return if he could not compete to win. I promise, he's fit. He placed second in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, a brutal off road race that starts and ends in Leadville, CO, the highest incorporated city in the United States (elev 10,430ft).

Lance being led by eventual Leadville 100 winnner Dave Wiens

- Perhaps he will tarnish his legacy by competing and not winning. On the other hand, if he competes and wins, he might solidify his legacy more. Though he has never been caught, Lance cannot escape accusations of doping. With the emphasis on weeding out dopers, Lance racing what would be seen as a "cleaner" Tour might add legitimacy to his legacy. What would be really impressive is if he joined a team with its own comprehensive testing program such as Team Slipstream/Garmin-Chipotle or Team Columbia.

- He says he wants to bring more awareness to cancer. I hope he's sincere.

- Maybe he wants to win Sheryl Crow back.
- No matter what Lance does, I still am pulling for Christian Vande Velde and Garmin-Chipotle in next year's Le Tour.