Two Wheel Talk

I got a call at work yesterday morning from Tammy. "Are you watching the tour?" she asked. The excitement in her voice told me everything I didn't want to know just yet about the day's stage. I quickly replied, "Don't say anymore...I don't want you to give it away" but I was too late. It was the team time trial and Astana, Lance's team, was rocking through the course and it appeared that lance would be in the Maillot Jaune (leader's jersey) by the end of the day. We made plans to record the race and watch it together later in the evening.

I love that she enjoys following the Tour de France with me. Sometimes I think she's more excited about it than I am. I have to smile when I come home and turn on the TV to find that it's been tuned to Versus where the race is broadcast.

Lance literally came up a fraction of a second too slow to claim the yellow jersey and although I think he'd like to have it I also think there's a part of him that would rather not have to defend it this early in the race.

Do I think he'll win? Not really but his presence is certainly making the race more entertaining and interesting to follow. My guess is the smart money is on Alberto Contador, Lance's teammate, for the overall win. A quick check shows that that's what the oddsmakers are also saying.

The Tour hits the mountains on Friday and that's when the real action will begin. It's also where any soft spots in Lance's ability to recover from a hard day of riding will appear.

I spent yesterday afternoon on my bike. I'd intended to ride 50-60 miles but once I got out there I couldn't think of a good enough reason to bring it home so soon. Light wind days are a rare thing lately and yesterday had them at around 5 mph. It's tough not to take advantage of those conditions.

Coming out of Fairbault I headed northwest on Hwy 21. It had been nearly ten years since I'd been on this stretch of road. It was newly surfaced and I imagined that this is what roads in heaven will be like except for the rumble strip along the side. All we cyclists really want is an 18" wide strip of pavement to the right of the white line to do our thing. This road had that but somebody ruined it. Why? Were people really having a difficult time staying awake on this winding stretch of road that they needed a rumble strip to politely wake them when they began to nod off? Excuse me while I ride with traffic being careful not to get too close to all those bumps on the other side of the stripe.

I managed over 85 miles.

It's been over a week since I've been on my Rollerblades and already I can tell that my knees are feeling better. The knee pain was maybe a good thing though as it's got me working on a pedal stroke where I'm not mashing the pedals so much as is my and most people's natural tendency. My new stroke incorporates more of my glutes which minimizes the forces on my knees. It's just going to take some work before it becomes automatic.

Charlie loves beer. That goofy dog got a lick off the top of my beer bottle the other night and instantly fell in love with the stuff. Toby likes coffee and Charlie likes beer. I'm sure if Allie has a drink of choice; she just loves to lick.

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