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)

Summer Sports

It's July. Midsummer and hot. I've been without football since February. I hurt. Fortunately, July offers lots of good sports drama and is my favorite non-football month. Consider:

- Tour de France: I still love this race. Nearly a month of cycling. These guys are crazy. If Lance wins, he wins. Astana is a loaded team, with Armstrong, Andreas Kloden, Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer all having been podium contendors in recent history. The question remains: who will be the leader of this team, who will sacrifice position to help their teammate win. That will be interesting to watch unravel.

I'm still pulling for Team Garmin and Christian Vande Velde even though he has a tough route considering the injuries sustained in a crash at the Giro d'Italia. The dude is riding after breaking 5 vertebrae. Makes my excuse of being tired seem lame. Here's a nice article in NY Times written by Vande Velde. I wouldn't mind seeing a good race from Team Columbia that features British sprinter Mark Cavendish and longtime American Mr Reliable George Hincapie.

- British Open, or The Open Championships, is also this month. My favorite golf major. This year, it will be played at Turnberry, where in 1986 Greg Norman finally won his first Open Championship.

These two events alone will get me to August and the beginning of football season. Bring on Scotland and the Champs Elysees.

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.