Le Tour du France

Quite by chance, channel surfing, I ran across the first day of the
this bicycle race on the OLM channel. Then I did some searching the web about

Lee K...

This year's race is unusually wide open. With Lance Armstrong's retirement
after winning the last seven in a row, the top riders like Ulrich, Basso,
Beloki, and Mancebo were expected to dominate. BUT, they've all been
scratched on suspicion of doping. Lance's former teammate George Hincappe
is the favorite of his hometown fans in Greenville, SC, where my daughter
lives, and has as good a chance as anyone. I followed the last few Tours
pretty closely, but have very little interest in this one.

Rita...

Why little interest? I would think with the field more open to a
winner you would find it more rather than less interesting?

Rumpelstiltskin...

I heard that David Beckham, after this year's loss to
Argentina, is quitting professional football. I have a cousin
who will be broken-hearted. I mentioned to her one time
that my friend Paul, who was living in London at the time, had
mentioned that Beckham had an "all about me!" book, and
my cousin cut me short saying that she refused to listen to
anything bad about Beckham.

Rumpelstiltskin...

P.S. There was a player I took a bit of interest in while I was
watching the England/Argentina game. (I noticed that England
was represented by the English, not the British, flag.) The guy
I liked was named "Joe Cole", which is easy to remember
because it's so close to "Joe Cool". I liked him better in the
game than at his website, though, and I just thought after
posting the above that was maybe because during the game
I saw him in silhouette and on his website he was full-facial.
Full facial, he looks a bit Roid-like, like Ahnold, but he looked
more attractive to me from the side.

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom: it is the
argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves" -- Wm. Pitt the Younger

ths event and about the strategies used in these races by the variouis
teams, etc. etc. Got hooked and now plan to follow the race for the
next 21 or whatever number of days. Obviously there is a lot more to
it than just being a fast or strong rider. Teamwork is important.

Jake...

The best parts are the mountain climbs, where Armstrong excelled.
There team work is very important, one avoids getting boxed
in or lured into using up one's energy at the wrong time.

The climbs are towards the end and even if a rider is 5 minutes
behind in the total, he can catch up and pass the leaders in
a couple of days.

One often does not see the sad parts of a rider finally
failing and having to drop out during the race and get
picked up. The Voiture Balai or 'Broom wagon' is used to
sweep up riders who quit the race. If you have to quit
do it at the end of the day when you cross the finish
line, even in a hour behind. Or not start the day
if you don't think you can make it.

Rita...

This race has been likened to running a marathon 21 days
in a row. Since I have known quite a few people who have
finished marathons and the kind of effort they had to put into
training, it seems this kind of bike racing is a full time
job -- and requires all the elaborate support systems that
are provided. I wondered why the cars and motorcycles
were so close to the riding pack -- then I read that the coaches
are constantly transmitting instructions to their teams and
some riders serve as helpers to deliver food and water.

I read that this race goes back to 1910 -- it must have
changed dramatically over the years. Participants now get
great boosts from bike technology and understanding of
what and when to eat to boost perfromance.

Like many other sports, it has become quite complex.

OLN just began reporting day 2 -- I'll stay tuned:)

Perhaps I should have known all this, but I don't follow sports as a
rule -- however, this one simply amazes me because riders are able
to climb the Alps on their bikes. I can't wait until the race gets to
that part. I had questions and found answers to most -- such as
how do they pee and how do they get water and eat.

I read the frame on the bikes used by these racers weighs
only 2 pounds, with peripheral gear removed.

I am always pleased when I run across a new topic or interest
to explore. This channel also showed part of a World Cup yacht
race and that was pretty interesting as well -- all those men pulling
on ropes in the hull of the boats looked like scurryng ants as they
responded to the directions of the person orchestrating the
yacht's course.

Gary James...

If you have ever seen a guy pedal a bicyle 100 feet down a street,
you have pretty much seen it. It doesn't get any better. Why would
anyone want to keep watching ?

Old & in the way.......

Gary these world class guys and gals don't just pedal down the street. They
do it faster and longer than all of the rest of the human race. They are the
best of the best and we watch because of their prodigious feats of
athleticism and of the superior will they demonstrate under all conditions.

It is the same with most all sports and even, I suppose, why we read
literature and look at art. The expressions of the best that we can do.

Politics however, fails this test.............

Rita...

If it was that simple, no one would. But it takes massive endurance
and teamwork and strategy. I was always bored to tears watching
golf tournaments but watching these racers makes me ponder what
limits there are to what a human body can be trained to do.

Two of my sons participated in bike rides across the state of Iowa
when we lived there and so did one of my best woman friends. Not
racing, but riding for a week and tackling some steep hills in hot
humid weather. The people in the towns they rode through turned
out to provide food and drinks and place to spend the night. This
annual ride became a noted state event.

My friend was a teacher with summers off. She had suffered for years
from a nasty type of colitiis, but then she bought a bike and got
hooked. She began riding with a group of people who eventually
thought up the cross Iowa event. And her medical troubles went away.
She got me finally to buy a good bike and took me on some easy rides
15 miles or so out of town. And just when I was getting into it, my
youngest son helped himself to my bike and left it someplace where it
got stolen. I didn't buy another, sadly.

Now 30 years later that same son bought me my trike in reparation for
his earlier sin and I am happily pedaling along the sidewalks of San
Diego:)