CURRENT ALMOST-DAILY DIARY
ENTRIES BELOW-
(Almost live from France!)
07/31/05- HOW NOT
TO GET ROBBED BY CURRENCY-EXCHANGE BUSINESSES.
I've just put up a "practical" page detailing how the currency
exchange businesses work, and how to keep from getting taken
advantage of too badly on a trip overseas. Not related to bicycling
directly, but since your bike will take you places...
07/29/05- HOME!Well, at
least part of me is, but three pieces of luggage are still somewhere
between Chicago and Redwood City. Oh sure, I didn't trust my
brother's $1500 camera lens to checked baggage, but what was I
thinking about my cycling shoes & pedals???!!!In the meantime, it's 9am, which is time for, what, Dinner?
Sleep? Getting on another plane or bus
(not!)?
07/28/05-
ILLITERATE TOUR DE FRANCE RACERS, MOST
CERTAINLY NOT!Funny the things you catch when you
later look at photos you took. For example, at the top of the Col
d'Aubisque (July 19th), there was a guy passing out newspapers for the
racers to read. I guess their days are pretty full, so they need to
catch up on the daily news while out on the course.
OK, so maybe a few of them are illiterate, but not all, as you
can see from the rapt attention this guy is giving to the paper, not
to mention the discussion of the day's events actively going on
behind him. A perfect gentlemen's club on wheels, as it were.
Oh sure, somebody's going to tell you that spectators hand up
papers to the riders just before the summit, so they can stuff them
under their jerseys so as not to
freeze on the descents. Yeah right, like the world's most elite bike
racers are going to stash inky old newspapers under their jerseys
instead of putting on a
windbreaker?(Well, OK, maybe a few do stuff them under their
jerseys, but is that really what it looks like in the picture?) IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SHADES!To
wear, or not to wear, and if not, then where? We've put together a
photo essay showing the various ways riders wear their shades, as
well as where they stuff them when they're not. 12 photos &
commentary that will show you what the Tour de France is really all
about!And don't worry, most of the pictures aren't this
gross.
07/27/05-
FINAL BIG DAY IN LONDON, capped by attending one of
the BBC Prom Orchestra series where they played probably my favorite
piece of classical music, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Hearing it live, for the first time, was an incredible experience,
and the Royal Albert Hall is quite the place too. Wish I had two
more days to spend here, as there's quite a bit I haven't done &
seen (including, yes, I didn't even make it to the London Eye!).
Spent a whole lot of time at the Science Museum as well as London
Tower. Two great places, but they'll eat your time up in the same
way the Louvre does in Paris.
If things go as planned, I'll have power for my laptop on the
trip home so I'll have a chance to get the photos organized a bit.
There's only 1500 or so to go through...
07/25/05-
IN LONDON NOW,where I'll be staying a few days
before flying on home. Haven't been here before, so it's all new &
exciting, although a bit strange that they speak something
resembling English here. Actually, what's strange is that I feel
more at home in France than I do in a country where I speak the
native tongue. But I'm learning the basic stuff, like the fact that
you have to look in a different direction for cars because the drive
on the opposite side of the road (fortunately, they have these big
markings on the ground at crosswalks, telling you to either "LOOK
LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT"). And yes, I've already gotten both a
double-decker bus & "tube" ride under my belt. Doesn't seem like
there's any obvious tension on the streets, but the news is still
all about the bombings and not much of anything else. But you gotta
figure that the extreme security in place everywhere you look
probably makes it a bit difficult for someone to do something nasty
right now.
07/25/05- GENERAL RAMBLINGS ON THE '05 TDF.
It's going to take a while to go through my backlog of maybe
1300 photos I've taken, looking for something decent, something that
might not have meant much to me at the time it was taken, but the
outcome of the particular day's race might have subsequently given
it more meaning. And I'm still looking for something, anything, of
Chris Horner. I did get his back on the Col d'Aubisque, but that's
about it.
A couple stories not yet told- First, I learned that Jan
Ullrich made a surprise visit to the Lance/Discovery post-race party
in Paris, where he made some very kind remarks and generally
impressed the heck out of a crowd that might have seen him only as
an object for Lance to beat... again, and again, and again... and
not the "worthy competitor" that Lance inisists he is.
And about my ride in the team car- I think it's ok to
say this... during the 7/21 stage, one of the most-interesting
things was getting to hear the banter back & forth between Johan
Bruyneel (team Director Sportif), Dirk (assistant Director Sportif)
and the guys on the team. Most always it was a one-way thing, with
Johan telling the guys what they should be doing, what they need to
look out for, how far to the next climb, etc. But at one point, as
Vino kept attacking, causing everyone to have to keep chasing him
down, Johan literally yelled over the team radio "Could someone tell
that ****ing Vino to stop screwing around???!!!" The gist of it was
that one of two teams weren't going to let him get away, so why
bother keep trying, running everyone's legs into the ground on a
very hot day that was much hillier than anyone seemed to expect?
Paris airport bathroom scam- At some bathrooms in France,
you'll have an attendant at the door, with a plate for money. The
normal rate for such things is typically posted at .40 euro or so
(about 50 cents), but in this bathroom, at the Orly Paris airport,
no such advisories were posted, just an attendant with a plate full
of change. No problem, I dig out my .40 euro, but not before
noticing a lot of 2 euro coins in the plate. What's with that? 2
euros for a bathroom is unheard of (I know, for most of us, having
to pay to pee is unheard of period!). Well, it's a pretty slick
scam, truth be told, because I noticed after I put my coins in, they
were quickly removed... but the larger ones left in place. This I
saw repeated on my way out as well. No signs, nothing to indicate
how much to put in the plate other than what others had apparently
done, or a knowledge of what's customary. The typical new tourist
has no idea of what's customer, and thus goes ahead and puts 2 euro
in the plate, since that's what it looks like everyone else has
done.
LANCE GOES OUT ON TOP,
winning his 7th Tour de France in a row by managing to stay upright
on a day that began with pretty dismal weather for a bike race. Rain
& cobblestones don't mix, and in fact the fear of unavoidable
crashes in the final kilometers actually caused the organizers to
invoke a rule that said the first three places were decided before
the race even got to the nastily-paved Champ Elysees finishing
stretch.
Lance has made it very clear that this is the end of his
professional road racing career; his plan all along was to leave at
the top of his game, on a winning note. Would he have continued
another year had he not won this one? Or, is it even possible for
someone as competitive as Lance to stay away even now? Only time
will tell, but I'm betting that we haven't seen the last of him. And
when he re-emerges, perhaps I'll have a better handle on how to use
fancy camera lenses that cost nearly as much as a high-end bike!
07/25/05-IMAGES
FROM THE 'TDF What's the first thing Bobby
Julich did after crossing the finish line in Paris? He threw his
daughter so high up into the air she just about didn't come down,
and she was one happy camper to have her Daddy back.
On the right we find Bernhard Eisel snagged by a passer-by for a
photo while he was riding back to his hotel after finishing the Tour
de France. Most likely the woman had no idea who he was, but just
thought it cool to get a photo with a real live guy who rode the TDF.
Saturday,
July 23rd from the Tour de France-LANCE
GOES OUT ON TOP,showing in the final time trial that
he is, in fact, the best there is at the Tour de France. His margin
of victory in the stage was relatively small (23 seconds over Jan
Ullrich), but was nevertheless important, as there are many who feel
that you've won something less than a complete victory if you're the
overall winner without winning a stage.
It was another long day for me, as I left the group I was with in
Paris and took the TGV south to St Etienne, where the time trial
took place. Even had to get quite resourceful on the routing, since
they'd sold out of Paris-St Etienne-Paris seats, but by returning to
the airport (CDG) terminal, no problem with tickets, even at the
last moment.
As I was heading back to Paris with my wife, I mentioned to her
that, in a couple days, we'd be in a foreign country (England)...
which was notable because I just don't see France as being foreign.
A bit different, yes, but the incredibly-friendly reception I've had
from the locals belies the fears many have that the French don't
like Americans. And huge numbers of French are out there in the big
towns & little villages, cheering an American who's on his way to a
7th consecutive victory at the Tour de France.
Tomorrow, the finale on the Champs Elysees. A formality really, as
the only thing still being competed for now is the Green Jersey
(best sprinter), as well as the glory of simply winning that final
stage. It won't be Lance; he'll be safely surrounded by his team,
keeping him out of the fray (and out of trouble). Hopefully I'll get
some decent shots of the final circuits this year. Until tomorrow-
--Mike--
07/22/05- A
TRAVEL DAY FOR ME AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE, as if that
hasn't been the case for most of them! If we look at 7/21, I
probably spent 10 hours in cars & busses, although the 5 I spent in
the team car have to be considered a bit higher quality!
But today it was a trip to the airport in Toulouse for the short
flight north to Paris, so we'll be in position for the finale on
Sunday. But... what about the final individual time trial on
Saturday?
Glad you asked! The group I'm going with isn't going to be seeing
it, but I'm still trying to secure train tickets for myself and my
wife. It's just too good an opportunity for lots of photos and maybe
making use of that 70-200 zoom lens my brother loaned me.
But in the meantime, we'll show you a photo that, once and for
all, demonstrates that water bottle handoffs aren't used to pull the
cyclists along when they're tired. If they did, then you'd see
the cyclist grabbing the bottle from the front, and the guy handing
it off pushing it from behind. And you'd most likely see bulging
muscles supporting the push. Now, I ask you, is anything like that
in this photo? Didn't think so!
07/21/05- LOOK AT THE FIRST PICTURE AND
SEE IF YOU CAN GUESS WHERE I WAS TODAY! Pretty hard
to get that picture from anywhere than the team car, and if I took
the photo (which I did), that means that I was...
Yes, that's Dirk, assistant manager for
Team Discovery, handing off a bottle during the July 21 stage of the
Tour de France, from Albi to Mendes.
When you gotta go...
Graham Watson, cycling photographer
extraordinaire, showing battle scars from a crash a few days
earlier.
Oops! Even the greatest bike handlers
sometimes goof a bottle hand-off, as you can see here (sorry for the
antenna in the way).
Sometimes even the enemy deserves a
break, in this case Matt White of Cofidis, whom we're handing off a
can of Coke to.
On the right we have the obligatory picture of Lance, taken
before the star of the race. Talk about a mob!
On the left we have camera envy, and
above and to the right we have, well, er, this is France after all!
07/20/05- ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE WITHOUT
INTERNET CONNECTIVITY. Seems to be a plague for me!
Just moved into a new hotel in Toulouse, and am unable (in the
middle of the night, which is, of course, when I update things) to
get a wireless account. Will have to get one tomorrow in the lobby,
and in a day or two, will catch up with things.
07/19/05 5pm- Is
this the final podium in the photo on the right?
Could be! Everybody's here, most notably Armstrong, Ullrich & Basso.
Not easily seen are Vinokourov, Leipheimer, Rasmussen & Heras.
Everyone marking everyone else on the last kilometer of the Col
d'Aubisque in the July 19th stage of the Tour de France. Well,
almost everybody, as Kloden, Ullrich's equivalent of Lance's
Hincapie, is just a short distance behind... being marked by, who
else, Hincapie.
In what could have been the final chance to see someone make a big
move, the air is so thick with defensive maneuvering that, frankly,
it was something of a disappointment. Was it worth the effort,
climbing the Col d'Aubisque many hours ahead of time, with a
backpack carrying 12 pounds of camera gear, ready to try and get the
shot?Yes... and no. If
I'd had more familiarity with it, sure. But realistically, I'm not a
photographer, I'm a story-teller who uses photographs to enhance the
story. For me, simpler is probably better.
I should mention that the ride up was probably easier than the ride
down, since you're trying to pick your way through many
thousands of people walking back down the hill, along with more cars
than you'd think trying to make their way up it. One thing I've
learned- the only think I like less than rear-view mirrors on cars
are rear-view mirrors on moving cars! Makes threading
your way through the mess a whole lot dicier. Another thing I've
learned is that, even with cleat covers, recessed-cleat cycling
shoes just aren't meant to be standing in for several hours.
I'd like to get more photos up (I've already taken over 500!)
but it's going to be a few days before things stabilize and I can
get a semi-normal amount of sleep.
07/19/05 7am-
IS A 5AM WAKE-UP CALL BETTER OR WORSE WHEN
YOU'RE STILL NOT SURE WHAT DAY IT IS?I haven't
figured that one out yet, but I long ago decided that watching the
sun come up was a bad thing, and nothing so far has changed my mind
on that one! But why did we have to get up at 5am? Because the bus
was leaving for Laruns at 5:30am, due to concerns that an
earlier-than-usual road closure would otherwise prevent us from
getting to the race. This also changed the plans for riding;
originally, we were to be dropped off some distance from the climb
(the Col d'Aubisque), but now we were going to start at Laruns, the
very base of the climb. No warm-up, no rest for the wicked! Making matters more interesting was that not only wouldn't I be
on my own bike, but I'd be carrying along 12 pounds of camera gear
in a backpack. Yuck! Surprisingly, it didn't seem to have all that
much effect though, as I found the climb up the Col d'Aubisque to be
a lot easier than I expected.
But why 12 pounds of camera gear? Originally I was going to
bring my new camera, a Canon RebelXT, with its pretty lightweight
17-85 lens. But my brother suggested that I ought to borrow his
70-200mm L-series (expensive) and very hefty lens. So while everyone
else's idea of a good bike-ride camera (including my own) is a small
pocketable digicam, I was going to negate two years of losing weight
in one fell swoop. Turns out I probably shouldn't have, as I've got
no experience with big zoom lenses, and didn't place myself very
well for photos. Actually, I was placed fine until things got more
crowded! I should have moved, but after three hours in one place you
become sorta rooted.
07/18/05-
I'M HERE, SO I MADE IT! But sleep remains a distant
memory, for at least one more day. Tomorrow morning (Tuesday), we
head out to Laruns, at the base of the Col d'Aubisque, to catch the
riders on that out-of-category (which means STEEP!) climb. I'd
planned to be using a handlebar bag to carry the bigger digital
camera, but the bike I've got here has 31.8 bars, which my handlebar
bag won't fit. Yuck. Means a backpack, up a nasty hill, on a hot
day. More on this later Tuesday evening, if I survive the 5:30am
time to get onto the bus!!!
07/17/05-
THE LONGEST DAY. It starts
the night before, as you're up until 1am trying to make sure you've
got everything packed for the trip (right now, the only thing I'm
thinking might have gotten left behind is my bike computer), and, of
course, you don't sleep terribly well when you know you've got to
get up before 6am to catch a flight out of town. At 8:12am you're on
a mid-sized bird flying to Chicago; at 3:50 (California time; they
think it's something like 5:50 in Chicago) you're on a bigger bird
flying from Chicago to Paris, but not before spending 3+ rather
frustrating hours in Chicago's O'Hare airport, discovering the myth
of widespread wireless access. I caught a quick newsflash of this
morning's stage, showing George Hincapie winning, but don't know
much of anything about how it went down!!!
It would be nice if I could have slept much on the plane, but we're
a bit over two hours away from Paris and my clock (still set to
California time) says it's 9:45pm. So yeah, I'm tired, but more the
exhausted-but-can't-sleep sort of thing. Which will do me wonders
when we land, at midnight (although in France they'll think it's
9am), and hang around the airport for four hours before my next
flight (which I'll stubbornly insist is at 4am, of course!), finally
arriving in Biarritz around 6am. A couple hours there and I'll be
checking out the bike I'll be using for tomorrow-morning's stage
watching, heading up the backside (the steep side) of the Col
d'Aubisque. By the time I get to sleep my day, which started in
California at 5:45am, will have extended to what the French believe
is around 11pm, but which I know is really 2pm the following day.
So, if this is what I do for fun, perhaps you can see why climbing
King's Mtn twice a week doesn't seem quite so insane?
Chain Reaction sells bicycles & accessories
from Trek, Gary Fisher, BikeFriday,Shimano, Pearl Izumi, Continental, Descente,
Sidi, Giro, Blackburn, Speedplay, Oakley, Saris, NiteRider, Bontrager,
Torelli, Look, DeFeet, Rock N Roll, Hammer, Cytomax,
Powerbar, Fox, Clif
Bar, CamelBak, Chris King, Profile Design, Craft, X-Lab and many more!
07/28/05-
ILLITERATE TOUR DE FRANCE RACERS, MOST
CERTAINLY NOT! Funny the things you catch when you
later look at photos you took. For example, at the top of the Col
d'Aubisque (July 19th), there was a guy passing out newspapers for the
racers to read. I guess their days are pretty full, so they need to
catch up on the daily news while out on the course.
Is
this the final podium in the photo on the right?
Could be! Everybody's here, most notably Armstrong, Ullrich & Basso.
Not easily seen are Vinokourov, Leipheimer, Rasmussen & Heras.
Everyone marking everyone else on the last kilometer of the Col
d'Aubisque in the July 19th stage of the Tour de France. Well,
almost everybody, as Kloden, Ullrich's equivalent of Lance's
Hincapie, is just a short distance behind... being marked by, who
else, Hincapie.
Select & join email lists
