Random notes.
Jul. 24th, 2005 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelleFirst things first: we may never see another athlete like Lance Armstrong again. I'm glad I was here this time. As the niece of one cancer survivor, and daughter of two more, I'll always hold this man in the highest regard. This article says it best-- and, incidentally, explains whence cometh that slight edge of defiance in his farewell speech.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12213974.htm
Alexandre Vinokourov, who at the moment is nominally with T-Mobile (he's a free agent now, and may switch to another team-- perhaps even Discovery), doesn't wear the pink jersey the rest of the team wears. His is a sort of seafoam green and yellow. I finally learned it's because he's the champion of Khazakstan, his homeland.
Lance wants to take up kite-surfing now he's no longer a competitive cyclist. Before he entered the sport, in his teens, he was a triathlete.
In his Tours, he's ridden 21,112 miles. That's only a few short of the circumference of the earth. One more tour, man, he woulda been home again.
One day, I want to be on the Champs Elysee, screaming my guts out as the peloton whizzes by.
Now I get to find out what OTHER races there are out there. Next year, I want to know who's who going into the race.
Also next year, G-d dammit, I WILL see the Wachovia Classic, either on the Wall in Manayunk or on the finish line on the Parkway. Relatedly, I now know why it's called the Classic: a Classic race is a one-day event. The Tour is, more or less I think, 18 Classics in a row, with a few time trials and two rest days thrown in. Thus winning a stage is considered winning a race.
The peloton used to all learn French, so they could communicate. Now there are just too many languages out there, so they sort of make do with their own kind of sign language.
It's taken ten years-- since the death of Fabio Casartelli-- but the rules for helmets have gradually gotten more and more strict, until this year, when helmets are mandatory at all times. Even up to last year, riders could remove their helmets on some climbs. No more. Wear a helmet or get fined. Personally, after all the horrendous crashes I've seen this year, I'm fine with that. I also like the, "Wear your helmet, dear, like Lance Armstrong does!" angle.
One of my company's associate banks is Rabobank. I was geekishly jazzed when I saw this. I think I looked up Credit Lyonnais one day-- they're there, too. geeeeeekgeekgeek.
I have a TON to learn about cycling aerodynamics.
Nothing about my body will ever be aerodynamic. Having said that, I'm thinking I wouldn't turn down a bike if it fell across me. Doubt I'll ever get that motivated, though.
Bob Roll is a human Chocolate Lab. The dog, not the candy workshop.
Gendarmes in Paris really do still wear those little blue pillbox hats.
I have absolutely GOT to travel more.
After the blistering, red-lined time-trial Lance turned in yesterday, finally winning a stage and "doing honour to the yellow jersey," as he put it, all his little boy Luke cared about when the stage was over was showing his just-returned-covered-in-glory Dad the neat bag of candy he'd gotten from a promo bus.
If Levi Leimpheimer isn't bitter about today, that's okay, I'll be bitter for him. This is if, of course, he didn't know Tour officials were reinstating the one sprint that Vonokourov won, and which bumped Levi out of the top 5.
Learning one new thing, getting into one new topic, should be compulsory at least once every six months.
Team Discovery had new jerseys today. The right sleeve has a big-ass maillot-jaune-yellow streak down it. Rock on, boys.
My new quote? Paul Sherwin, speaking about Michael Rasmussen's plummet from 3rd to 7th: "That's going to be a tough sandwich for him to eat." I also loved his, "They're going to have to reach deep into their suitcase of courage." How the hell do you beat that?
When city planners decided to make Philly's Benjamin Franklin Parkway our version of the Champs Elysee, they weren't joking. I didn't realise our Family Court building and Free Library had almost exact counterparts in Paris. One of them is a famous hotel at which Lance will stay tonight. Must be nice. Just past the Art Museum here is a replica of the statue of Joan d'Arc that the peloton passed eight times.
Americans in general just do NOT get the Tour.
Bob Roll is perfectly capable of properly pronouncing French names. He actually chooses to say "Tour day Fraynce." Has something to do with snotty waiters, I think he said.
I wonder how much I'd have to shell out to get a tiny outline of a corset somewhere on some team's jerseys?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/12213974.htm
Alexandre Vinokourov, who at the moment is nominally with T-Mobile (he's a free agent now, and may switch to another team-- perhaps even Discovery), doesn't wear the pink jersey the rest of the team wears. His is a sort of seafoam green and yellow. I finally learned it's because he's the champion of Khazakstan, his homeland.
Lance wants to take up kite-surfing now he's no longer a competitive cyclist. Before he entered the sport, in his teens, he was a triathlete.
In his Tours, he's ridden 21,112 miles. That's only a few short of the circumference of the earth. One more tour, man, he woulda been home again.
One day, I want to be on the Champs Elysee, screaming my guts out as the peloton whizzes by.
Now I get to find out what OTHER races there are out there. Next year, I want to know who's who going into the race.
Also next year, G-d dammit, I WILL see the Wachovia Classic, either on the Wall in Manayunk or on the finish line on the Parkway. Relatedly, I now know why it's called the Classic: a Classic race is a one-day event. The Tour is, more or less I think, 18 Classics in a row, with a few time trials and two rest days thrown in. Thus winning a stage is considered winning a race.
The peloton used to all learn French, so they could communicate. Now there are just too many languages out there, so they sort of make do with their own kind of sign language.
It's taken ten years-- since the death of Fabio Casartelli-- but the rules for helmets have gradually gotten more and more strict, until this year, when helmets are mandatory at all times. Even up to last year, riders could remove their helmets on some climbs. No more. Wear a helmet or get fined. Personally, after all the horrendous crashes I've seen this year, I'm fine with that. I also like the, "Wear your helmet, dear, like Lance Armstrong does!" angle.
One of my company's associate banks is Rabobank. I was geekishly jazzed when I saw this. I think I looked up Credit Lyonnais one day-- they're there, too. geeeeeekgeekgeek.
I have a TON to learn about cycling aerodynamics.
Nothing about my body will ever be aerodynamic. Having said that, I'm thinking I wouldn't turn down a bike if it fell across me. Doubt I'll ever get that motivated, though.
Bob Roll is a human Chocolate Lab. The dog, not the candy workshop.
Gendarmes in Paris really do still wear those little blue pillbox hats.
I have absolutely GOT to travel more.
After the blistering, red-lined time-trial Lance turned in yesterday, finally winning a stage and "doing honour to the yellow jersey," as he put it, all his little boy Luke cared about when the stage was over was showing his just-returned-covered-in-glory Dad the neat bag of candy he'd gotten from a promo bus.
If Levi Leimpheimer isn't bitter about today, that's okay, I'll be bitter for him. This is if, of course, he didn't know Tour officials were reinstating the one sprint that Vonokourov won, and which bumped Levi out of the top 5.
Learning one new thing, getting into one new topic, should be compulsory at least once every six months.
Team Discovery had new jerseys today. The right sleeve has a big-ass maillot-jaune-yellow streak down it. Rock on, boys.
My new quote? Paul Sherwin, speaking about Michael Rasmussen's plummet from 3rd to 7th: "That's going to be a tough sandwich for him to eat." I also loved his, "They're going to have to reach deep into their suitcase of courage." How the hell do you beat that?
When city planners decided to make Philly's Benjamin Franklin Parkway our version of the Champs Elysee, they weren't joking. I didn't realise our Family Court building and Free Library had almost exact counterparts in Paris. One of them is a famous hotel at which Lance will stay tonight. Must be nice. Just past the Art Museum here is a replica of the statue of Joan d'Arc that the peloton passed eight times.
Americans in general just do NOT get the Tour.
Bob Roll is perfectly capable of properly pronouncing French names. He actually chooses to say "Tour day Fraynce." Has something to do with snotty waiters, I think he said.
I wonder how much I'd have to shell out to get a tiny outline of a corset somewhere on some team's jerseys?