Tour Time

Back in a former life I used to ride my bike a lot. Originally it was a Mongoose BMX and trials bike (back whenMongoose wasn't simply another subsidiary of Brunswick). Then it was mountain biking. Lots and lots and lots of mountain biking. And the roadie thing too.

I'm fat now (well, overweight) and don't have the time to ride that I would like but still appreciate the beauty of the sport.

And, what greater exhibition of this fine sport is there than the Tour de France (perhaps the only nice thing I will ever say about the Frog Pond). 21 days through the french countryside, it is the ultimate test of human endurance and conditioning (regardless of the permformance enhancing drugs usedd by the top riders).

Over at the Dummocrats, BVBigBro has his annual preview up.

Yeah I know what you're saying, Lance Armstrong has retired, who cares? Well Armstrong's retirement promises to bring about the most hotly contested Tour in years, and the racing should be far superior to what you've gotten used to during most of the Armstrong era. There are an unprecedented number of riders who have essentially planned their whole seasons around this one race. Simply put, this is the strongest field that has contested a Tour for the past 20 years

Don't miss it. Time permitting, I will try to live blog some of the more interesting days, but I really recommend heading over to Dumocrats for the indepth analysis I know you want.