Tour de France For dummies(IncludesMe)

For three weeks, Saturday July 4th to Sunday July 26th 2009, the 96th Tour de France bike race will be made up of 21 stages, will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres (2300 miles) and eight million seconds. Only seconds seperate the first five riders of "The Tour." Unless you've been stranded at with no television or you have no interest in watching the Tour de Fance, you've undoubtedly seen some of it. I on the other hand, really enjoy watching it daily, wishing I could have done this somehow in my younger years. I actually get chills watching the finishes, the last few hundreds of yards, the pain and determination on the riders' faces, their strategy, their ability to pull from within themselves to either hold onto a lead or pass the leader with only seconds to spare; the never give up attitude. Yet I have limited knowledge with a plethora of questions: team and individual strategy, winning jersey colors, how does one guy who's 37 yr old manage to be ahead of so many riders much younger than him? What kind of gear ratios do they have? What do they drink as they ride? Water, flat Coca Cola, Gatorade? All have been known to be used. I can relate, on a smaller scale, of what it feels like to get up a long hill...like when I want to look up ahead and see how far I have to ride yet and not wanting to know, just concentrating on keeping my pedalling rhythm. Nothing like these pros, though! A Vegas rider posted a great explanation of the Tour on vegasbiking.com . (See complete explanation here if interested.) That said, here's a very brief synopsis of biking/Tour info.


Although it may look to you as just a mangled bunch of cyclists, there's a good reason they ride so close. Drafting; following closely cuts wind resistance and the ride is easier, saving energy. They all take turns at this, as those in front are pullers. (Keep in mind the different countries and the different languages spoken within that pack, called the pelathon, not to be confused with the break-away pack.) From personal experience, (not in the Tour, naturally) it's scary to ride within inches of another skinny tire, looking down at that hard, rough pavement below knowing another skinny tire is inches from your rear tire. Other interesting facts:
It’s not always advantageous for a team member to win the the stage.
It’s not always useful for the leading teams to finish first.
The riders with the best chance to win the Tour usually do not ride first in groups.
The riders who do the hardest work almost never win the Tour.
Rivals cooperate with each other to gain advantage over other rivals.
Not all riders ride to win any prizes in the Tour.
Injuries occur. The bone most frequently broke is the collar bone, next, arms and wrists. Knee and elbow damage is almost a sure bet in a spill. Since international bike racing had started in 1929, 27 riders have lost their lives do to a crash or later from complications resulting from these injuries. *The last time I rode 45 mph, was down hill in Little Cotton Wood Canyon above SLC. And that was almost disastrous when I left the pavement and into the gravel. I talked to myself, "Just keep it straight, Ron" and concentrated on holding the front wheel straight cutting across a curve and came out just inches from the guard rail. Below was a steep, boulder and tree lined embankment. As I came back onto the pavement I realized I had a flat rear tire. But, I hadn't crashed or gone over the guard rail, or both. Tour guys ride 45 mph and more...


Without boring you with details, suffice it to say, each team is made up of riders with specific assignments. Just as not all football players are the same, not all riders are the same. Not every rider enters the race expecting to win anything at all! Rider Characteristics and Specialties are varied and identified as: Sprinters, Climbers, Balanced Riders and Domestiques: Every team has domestiques. They are the team workhorses. These are the riders you see going back to get food and liquids to bring up to the team leaders.
Here’s something to think about: A rider can win the entire Tour de France, having never won a single stage. So as you watch, if nothing else, enjoy the scenery of European countries you have to spend lots a money to visit if you actually went in person. FYI, pro-cyclists' pay isn't all that great, ranging from $32,000 to $50,000 annual - minimum. You-know-who, no doubt makes much more.

This JUST in! News flash!

I rarely read newspaper editorial opinions, after all, they're just "opinions" and you what they say about opinions. . . . but one caught my eye this morning , my good eye - which is getting better - thanks for all the good wishes. From the Deseret News: "Could it be that the proverbial fountain of youth has been right under our noses all along?" The key to longevity and better health, according to researchers at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, is a low-calorie diet. (well, duh. Imagine that!) According to this editorial opinion, that's what two decades of study of 76 rhesus monkeys indicates. Such diets may slow aging in people, too. Slow aging in people? Now it has my attention! But why monkeys, why not real people and make it more believable?
Half of the monkeys in the study were placed on reduced-calorie diets, while the other half continued their normal diets. In brief: After 20 years of study, the monkeys on the restricted diets had fewer deaths and other medical problems associated with old age, to include less brain tissue shrinkage. (I can't help but flash to the Seinfeld show with George, swimming pools, cold water and shrinkage, but I've been around the Mrs. long enuff that it rubbed off ) Another bonus: The monkeys on normal diets looked visibly older than their dieting peers. (Gee, ad in smoking, drinking and drugs and I bet they'd gotten real scary looking ones!) I say anything to disguise our true ages is worthwhile - if I want the Denny's Senior discount I can always show them my driver's license. As it is, I look in the mirror and wonder why I feel younger than I look. The study went on to blah blah blah and question if monkeys have stress and blah blah blah. Something to contemplate when over-filling my paper plate with those yummy funeral potatoes, ambrosia salad, cinnamon rolls, chocolate-on-chocolate cake or tuna casserole! Gives Comfort food a new meaning to me. (at least Dairy Queen has milk in it!)

"And that's the way it is, Saturday, July 18, 2009." in memory of Walter Cronkite

http://www.BanTVCommercials.com/Iwish

I wish there was a web site like this we could all go to and vote out commercials that we are subjected to way too often. I get the feeling these ad-execs don't think much of our IQ's. I don't know what's worse: a packet of cash with two objects that are suppose to be eye balls,

the irate, vocabulary-spitting, raging & ranting, Roll-over minute mom,

or this self pitying caveman, (to include his nerd bowling buddies).

But, the little lizard is almost entertaining.... almost too entertaining, as seen by the cat below.

I know my past record of folks I've blogged about... (RIP Billy Mays and Michael Jackson - sorry 'bout that) one can only hope these ridiculous commercials disappear, somehow. Good kitty.

Give us all Super Bowl quality ads, you know, the ones we actually laugh at and are entertaining.

(did you click on the web site at the top of this blog?... See, there is a demand of it!)

Thurzdayz thotz

What's UP? Waaasssup? This two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word. 'UP.' It's easy to understand ... sort of...
UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special. And a drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP, when it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so. . . is time to shut UP? If it were UP to me, and it is, is my time is UP? I hope not, as time is UP also applies to "passing on" which is a whole different ball game, but without a ball...... sounds like we're all living in Whoville. And then there's throw-UP or UP chuck (sorry, I know you were thinking it) not to be confused with Seven/UP.

'Buick'doesn't rhyme with 'Quick'? What's UP with this?? this end up/I'm all shook UP/I'm fed UP. Put UP with it!! etc-etc

Here's lookin' at you..

A subconjunctival hemorrhage, say that three times, fast. I can hardly say it once, but it's what I have. Nope, no explanation for it's cause. No high blood pressure, didn't lift anything heavier than Sandler (threw him over my shoulder and carried him up stairs with him laughing and kicking as I got home last night)The Internet Doctor says; seek medical advice if pain accompanies it. I did because it did. Still does, albeit more like how it feels when you've poked a finger in your eye. I've had them before without even knowing it until some one asks, "Ewwww, what happened to your eye?" If Carol can blog about wrong shoes & her lips and Alli can blog about her eyes, so can I.

(I came to work today; had to check on return email using my "covert account" as I received two bids for work from unlicensed pool service/handymen I found on craigslist. Surpriiiiiiissssssssseeee!)

Tour de France

Not sure I should blog about this (given the history of my past blogs of Michael Jackson and Billy Mays) so I won't mention any names. But, you-know-who is doing well so far. Also, not sure of the significance of the two, what appears to be, "hairy" wheels, on this Tour logo I found, but I can relate to the band aid...albeit, minor scrapes. I remember my downhill mountain biking at Park City, Utah. I had better luck at my next experience doing cross country in Brian Head.

I enjoy watching the Tour, never grow tired of it, and marvel at these riders' abilities, skills, strengths, endurance, attitude, teamwork and seemingly fearless hard-charging spirit.

Bing! light bulb just came on ... hairy wheels; manly sport :)

Makes me wonder how a women-only-tour would be; they certainly look better in tight shorts than men do. Maybe the announcers would concentrate more on their 'outfits' and some of the scenery. I know I won't travel to these countries, so this is also my chance to see parts of them. Now when I ride, I ride was if I were a 25 yr pro cyclist....... in my mind, anyway.

Let's hope this works

$250 deductible, $49.95 plus tax for "The Club" and no truck for six days. As I write this, the thought occurred to me the entire job of replacing the ignition switch on the steering column and a piece of door weather stripping (that was torn during the entry) probably didn't all add up to $250. But then, there's the towing bill that I know wouldn't be cheap. Oh well.
I still hate thieves. $65,000 reward for information leading to the prosecution & conviction of those responsible for the attempt theft of my old truck....