Mindless Diversion

Stare at the image below and move your head forward while concentrating on the center dot.

- posted by Chris @ 7:28 PM 0 comments

 
Hellboy - Hell, Yeah


Hellboy looked interesting from the previews, but one thing led to another and I never ended up seeing it. Well I watched it on DVD tonight and I have to say it was a damn good film adaptation of a comic book. Ron Perlman has the character of Hellboy down pat. His cigar-chomping, jaded, dry-witted, monster fighter personification is spot-on. Hellboy 2 is already in production which should make for another cool comic book film franchise. Way to go Baby Boomers!

RATING 7 out of 10


- posted by Chris @ 9:09 PM 0 comments

 
Lance Finishes Tour de Force
Lance Armstrong has done it.  Not only has he become the only man in history to win six Tours de France, he has won them all in a row!  I think the American public is slowly being educated on what a phenomenal achievement winning just one Tour de France is...

I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the Lance that us diehard cycling fans have known about for years...

At just 16 years old, Lance turns pro as a triathlete...   his prowess in cycling leads him to move toward that sport exclusively. 
 

In 1993, he wins 10 major events and becomes the youngest World Champion in the road race in history.


In 1995, with Team Motorola, his first Tour de France appearance, the steals stage 18, but is not a threat to win the event. 
 

October 1996 Lance is diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoes surgery and chemotherapy.  It is doubtful he will ever race again.  Motorola drops his insurance and cancels his cycling contract.
 

With newly formed, US Postal Racing, Lance returns to racing in spring of 1998


In 1999, he makes his return to the Tour de France and after winning four stages, becomes only the second American to win the Tour. (Greg LeMond won it three times)
 

In 2000, Lance becomes a father for the first time, wins his second straight Tour de France and is crowned King of the Mountains. 
 

Despite being involved in a car crash on the drive to the Sydney Olympics, Lance recovers enough to win the bronze medal. 
 

2001 brings a third consecutive Tour title and the following November Lance is a father again, this time to twins.
 

2002 and Lance wins his fourth in a row, this time the US Postal team is without a doubt the strongest team in the race.
 

Armstrong triumphs again in 2003 to join Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain, as an all-time Tour de France great - winning five tours.  Armstrong and Indurain are the only two to win five in a row. 
 

The undisputed top rider of all time in the Tour de France, Armstrong wins his sixth straight today.



CONGRATULATIONS LANCE!!!


- posted by Chris @ 9:09 PM 0 comments

 
Wear Yellow - LiveSTRONG
Several people have asked me over the past few weeks, "What is that?" in reference to the yellow wristband I have been wearing.  The wristband is a symbol of the work being done by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. 

Pay attention in the media and you will start to see these band pop up all over the place.  So far, I have seen Derek Jeter (New York Yankees), Venus & Serena Williams (tennis), Cheryl Crow (singer), Jay Leno (Late Show host), Robin Williams (actor), and a host of others sporting the bands.

 
"Yellow wakes me up in the morning.
  Yellow gets me on the bike every day.
  Yellow has taught me the true meaning of sacrifice.
  Yellow makes me suffer. 
 YELLOW IS THE REASON I'M HERE."
                                                -- Lance Armstrong, seven-year cancer survivor. 
 
Now is your chance to do your part!  I am riding in the Ride for the Roses in October.  This ride by the Lance Armstrong Foundation raises funds for advocacy, education, public health and research.  Part of my requirement to be able to ride is to raise funds...

Please, please, please give to this cause that is near to my heart.

I am riding:
           To honor the memory of my father who died of cancer
           To support a foundation that does great work

Click this link to make your tax-deductible donation:
https://secure.laf.org/Donations/Donate_amount.cfm?sid=200150660

Make a donation and I will send you one of the cool yellow bands as a thank you.

- posted by Chris @ 8:07 PM 0 comments

 
EuroCute and The Butterfly Intense
 

Eurotrip was cute.  It was typical high school hi-jinx.  It was really no different than any of the other teen "gotta drink, gotta get laid, gotta make sure everyone hooks up before the film is over," story.  You find yourself rooting for the main character and the humour while mostly lame, is pretty funny in places.

RATING 6 out of 10

The Butterfly Effect was pretty cool.  First off, it was sci-fi so I was able to overlook a couple of the poor acting jobs.   I really dig stories that deal with time travel, changing the outcomes of the future etc... and this one had it all.   Overall, I liked it a lot.  Ashton Kutcher has turned into  a really good actor.  The character on That 70's Show and Punk'd is typical hollywood packaging.  Kutcher is the real deal.

RATING 8 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 5:05 PM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 15
Well, I have caught a little flack for having so much coverage of my Tour de 1/10th - I suppose for those who don't care about the Tour probably do not find it very interesting. As it is a huge part of my attempt to get back into "fighting form" however, I will still periodically post updates. This is more for myself to look back at as I plan on doing as Dave suggested and running this tour a couple times a year.



Lance Armstrong has done it again! Once again at the end of a torturous mountain stage, it was only Armstrong and Ivan Basso fighting it out at the top. Basso won the last time and this time around, it was all Lance. The big news though is that Jan Ullrich made a courageous breakaway effort and actually left the group with Armstrong for several miles. Team Postal however, did not panic and just kept their pace as they slowly reeled him in. This has to be more devastating to Ullrich's moral than if Armstrong had made a move and left him.

Stage 15
Valréas > Villard-de-Lans Tuesday, July 20th (112.2 miles)
1 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) in 67h 13' 43"
2 BASSO Ivan (ITA CSC) at 01' 25"
3 KLÖDEN Andréas (GER TMO) at 03' 22"
4 MANCEBO Francisco (ESP IBB) at 05' 39"
5 ULLRICH Jan (GER TMO) at 06' 54"
6 AZEVEDO José (POR USP) at 07' 34"
7 TOTSCHNIG Georg (AUT GST) at 08' 19"
8 VOECKLER Thomas (FRA BLB) at 09' 28"
9 CAUCCHIOLI Pietro (ITA ALB) at 10' 10"
10 LEIPHEIMER Levi (USA RAB) at 10' 58"


158 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 20h 13' 47"

NEWS!!
Chris Doelle has moved up from position 189 to 158 and has actually slowed the rate of time loss as the mountain stages take their toll on the Tour riders.

- posted by Chris @ 8:40 AM 0 comments

 
Add A/C Repairman to the List...
My A/C system has really been struggling lately as it seems to run day and night.  I have been doing things like fixing some weatherstripping, shutting off the computers more (I have ten running in my house day and night) and nothing seems to be enough to get the place cooled.  Brian and I investigated the attic and found several of the large air ducts were deteriorated to the point of having almost no insulation around them.  The uninsulated ducts were sweating like mad, losing valuable coolness and making stains on the ceiling from the condensation drops.
 
I bought some ducts and we set out to replace the really bad ones.   As you know, the summer time in Texas is NOT the time to be in the attic as regularly you hear of A/C repairmen dieing while working in attics this time of year.  We put on some light clothes (thanks Dave for the CoolMax shirt you gave me a year or so ago,) loaded up with water (I took my Camelbak) and headed up there.
 
Here we are all geared up and ready to face the heat...  dig those cool do-rags.
 

 
Instantly, it was about 120 degrees and we tried to work fast so we didn't pass out.
 
Here I am taking a swig from the Camelbak... already covered in sweat  
 

 
Here is Brian hard at work on the junction box... 
 

 
And me removing the old duct from the vent...
 

 
With the job finished four and a half hours later, we got the hell out of there and it was then that we realized what a toll the effort had on us.  We were both wobbly-legged and a little light headed.  I checked my weight before and after knowing that I would sweat a lot and found out I lost seven (7) pounds!  Not the diet I would recommend. 

After long showers, we both kicked back to relax a bit and fell asleep.  Brian slept from 4 in the afternoon to 8 am the next morning.  I got up at 7:30 to run the sports sim leagues and then crashed out as well.
 
We still have a lot of work to do because we noticed several other things that could use some attention while we were up there.  We plan on replacing a couple more of the ducts, but figure we better get our hydration back for a couple days before we chance it.


- posted by Chris @ 8:06 PM 0 comments

 
Katy Flatland Century
Well, Saturday I rode in the Katy Flatland Century. The last time I rode it, I did the metric century (62 miles,) but as it has been a couple years since I have logged really good miles, I thought I would just enter the 30 mile route. Here I am at the starting line. (There were about 3,000 riders at this years event.)


 
By the time I reached the cutoff point where the routes diverged, I was feeling really good so I went ahead at rode the 50 mile route.  I ended up doing really well and despite the fact that I reached speeds in excess of 23 mph regularly, I felt great when I finished.  Overall, it was again an excellent ride and the support staff did a fine job as usual.

- posted by Chris @ 6:02 PM 0 comments

 
Third Time is the Charm for Harry Potter
 

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban was a return to the fun that was the first of the Harry Potter series.  (For the record, I thought the second one was pretty lame.)    It was really well written, well acted and interesting enough to keep you awake for the entire time. In fact, this was probably the best of the three. Sure, Harry, Ron and Hermione are getting a bit old, but once you get past that, it is a fun romp.

RATING 7 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 1:14 PM 0 comments

 
Added pics to blog dated 07-12-04 Austin, Fredericksburg trip

- posted by Chris @ 12:31 AM 0 comments

 
Cold Creek Yawner
 

Cold Creek Manor was a movie that kept promising a payoff for watching but never delivered.  I am not just talking about a big finish - although the ending was a huge letdown.  I am talking about mystery, intrigue, using your imagination...  all of those things that make a thriller... well... thrilling.  Nothing else to say... it looked like maybe it was based on a good story, but it never made it to the screen.  Without reading the original I cannot tell if it was a bad adaptation or just a poor job of directing.  Either way, this is a rental for a night when you are bored and there is nothing on but MAD TV or COPS.  I take that back...  COPS is better.

RATING 6 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 11:26 PM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 9


This is it - the last of the flat stages before we hit the mountains. Expect many more riders to abandon as the pure sprinters are pretty much finished in this year's tour.

Stage 9
Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat > Guéret Tuesday, July 13th (99.7 miles)
1 VOECKLER Thomas (FRA BLB) in 36h 36' 31"
2 O'GRADY Stuart (AUS COF) at 02' 53"
3 CASAR Sandy (FRA FDJ) at 04' 06"
4 BACKSTEDT Magnus (SWE ALB) at 06' 27"
5 PIIL Jakob (DEN CSC) at 07' 09"
6 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) at 09' 35"
7 HINCAPIE George (USA USP) at 09' 45"
8 AZEVEDO José (POR USP) at 09' 57"
9 GUTIERREZ José Enrique (ESP PHO) at 10' 02"
10 ZABEL Erik (GER TMO) at 10' 06"


172 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 16h 53' 21"

NEWS!!
Chris Doelle is holding his own in the tour as he continues to slide back from the leaders, but moves up in the GC as several more riders abandon the tour.
- posted by Chris @ 11:55 AM 0 comments

 
A weekend of overrated & commercial with some hidden fun!


Friday night Pennie and I headed out of town after she got off work and drove to Austin. Austin - home of 6th street, the live music capital of the US, the seat of Texas government, the Congress avenue bats, heck, even the UT tower shooter. Austin - the most overrated Texas destination spot!

Early on Saturday morning, we headed up to Cedar Park to ride the Hill Country Flyer - a train the tours the scenic hill country. I have been wanting to take a train ride for quite some time. Okay, that is off the to-do list - NEXT. It was okay, but we were expecting more 'touring' and less riding alongside the highway. We saw more of the hill country Sunday on the drive to Fredericksburg. (And it didn't cost us $30 for the priveledge of seeing it without air conditioning.)

Nice day for a train ride...

 
The conductor after turning the train around at the stopover...


After the train ride, we headed back to downtown Austin where we were staying and geared up to go touring the city on bicycle. THIS was fun stuff. We rode through a park right on the river and up to 6th street. Touring the street via bicycle is the way to go - it is a fun ride with losts of small hills and cool brick sidewalks that made lots of cool noises while we rode. We toured 6th street and after deciding we had seen everything worth seeing, headed back toward the river. On the way, Pennie spotted a little park area near the Radison and we walked down in the secluded and nicely shaded area to kick back a while... very cool.


(copyright Pennie) 

While she was in Hard Rock, I was playing around trying to get an artistic shot of myself...

We reached the river after the cool respite and discovered a network of hike/bike trails that are seemingly endless along both sides of the river. We rode down one side, over a very cool bike/hike bridge and back down the other side. Under the Congress avenue bridge, we could hear the hundreds of thousands of bats squeeking in the crevices.
 
Here we found hundreds of turtles under a bridge... 
 
(copyright Pennie) 

We were pretty beat when we returned to the hotel so we chilled there a bit to wait for the bats. We were told to show up about a half hour before sunset to get the best view of them. Let's just say that the bats were a total disappointment. Apparently, it was too windy and there were not enough mosquitos around for them bother coming out. We sat there for a couple hours and left underwhelmed.

It was very late by the time we gave up on the bats and most of the restaurants were closed so we had a hard time finding something open. Let me just say for the record right now - Austin has TERRIBLE highways. I get the impression that it is a small town that has outgrown its infrastucture and is struggle to piece together a working transportation system. (If you have ever played Sim City, you know exactly how this happens.) Their freeways were nice - it was a little odd that almost all of the freeways are set waaaaay up on columns, looming way above the roofs of all the businesses. The problem was they did not have exits. Really - you could drive for miles without an exit. If you saw a place ahead that you wanted to go to, it was tough luck, because by the time you found an exit, you were on another freeway and the side roads did not connect very well. It is the WORST city I have ever been in for driving. (And I have been in a ton)

We got to bed pretty darn late after finally finding our way to a restaurant and were up bright and early Sunday to head to Fredericksburg. Dave has been giving FBurg props for years as him and Laura like to go there. We figured, what they heck and headed there. On the way there we saw some great scenery... I am consistently amazed at the diverse land features across Texas - the hill country is indeed some of the most beatiful stuff in the state.

We stopped off at the LBJ State Park and found one of those rare gems that made the trip extraordinary. They have in the park and working farm circa 1800-something. Volunteer couples stay at the farm and work it as it was worked back then. We met a very cool guy named Walt who is a full-time RVer. He and his wife are volunteering at the park for a few months in exchange for a free campsite. We talked at length about what it takes to RV full time as we hope to be doing it in a couple years. He was a really nice person and we were able to glean a ton of useful information.

Here I am gleaning....
 
(copyright Pennie) 
  
Saying goodbye and thanking him for his help.  I hope to hear more from him.  
 
(copyright Pennie) 
  
We took some great shots of this excellent farm. 
 
  
 


(copyright Pennie)
 
 
(copyright Pennie)

After the park, we swung by Wildseed Farms - it was an awesome setup. We are talking acres and acres of flowers, a nice little gift and seed shop and a large commercial nursery. It was a lot of fun and we were able to check out a lot of cool plants. We then rolled into Frederickburg proper and were immediately smacked in the face with the commercialism of the area. Right away, I knew this was not my kind of area. There is nothing quant about the area - it is a strip of commerce, crowds, and drinking... not my idea of a good time. We had lunch at Wheeler's on the strip and inquired about how to find the herb farm.

Butterflies having a buffet on the one of the many display plants at Wildseed Farms.
 
(copyright Pennie)

The herb farm was excellent. I was expecting a much bigger place as we had the flower place for comparison, but it was pretty darn cool too. They had English lavender and as I have been trying to find some ever since mine died back about five years ago, I went ahead a bought a couple seedlings. As with every stop, we took a ton of pictures.
 
One of the cool things at the herb farm was this plaque...  looks like a motto I can promote!


We left the herb farm and headed to Enchanted Rock... a huge dome of granite rising out of the valley about 20 miles north of Frederickburg. It was extremely cool. Okay, it wasn't cool - actually, it was 90-something degrees and 4 in the afteroon when we decided to make the climb. You have to go there to understand just how big this thing is and just what a journey it is to hike to the top.   
 
Here Pennie is about 1/4 of the way up and you can see the building we started at if you look up and to the left of her fist.  The little red roof is a pagoda which marks the starting point of the climb.
 

Here I am a few yards ahead...  we are talking over 400 feet of this type of climbing.

(copyright Pennie)   
 
At the top, it clouded up, cooled down and we got this great shot before heading back down.  There is a depression in the rock at the top that must have collected enough dust and rainwater for this tiny ecosystem to grow. The camera is sitting on the rock in front of this nice circle of wild grasses.  Everything else as far as you can see up top is just bald rock. 

(copyright Pennie) 

See what I mean?

(copyright Pennie) 

- posted by Chris @ 7:38 PM 0 comments

 
King Arthur Rocks - Guinevere Blows!


Brian and I caught King Arthur tonight and it was an interesting irony of a film. The scene that was set from the beginning was that this film was to be a historically accurate portrayal of the real man that became a legend as the leader of the Knights of the Round Table. The filmmakers took great pains to build the history and play up the impression that this was in large part a documentary. This was all fine and dandy until we meet Guinevere. Not only is she the same tired "I am a strong woman who makes my own decisions and bosses men around," popular lead female character, but her transformation from starving waif to super-queen-of-the-wild-mega-warrior is just ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love seeing Keira Knightley in anything... but Guinevere in this getup?



Clive Owen was great. I have been a huge fan of his since he starred in the first BMW Films series back in 2001. I can't wait for his upcoming Sin City (an adaptation of the comic book of the same name... go Baby Boomers!)and I have heard he is slated to be the next Bond - excellent!

Ioan Gruffudd did a fine job as Lancelot. This is the first thing I have seen him in since the excellent Horatio Hornblower series on A&E. (If you have not seen them, do yourself a favor and get the DVDs from your local library - very good stuff!

RATING 8 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 12:58 AM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 5


Stuart O'Grady led the most successful breakaway of this years tour as they came in 15 minutes ahead of the peloton. Thomas Voeckler moves into the yellow jersey.

Stage 5
Amiens > Chartres Thursday, July 8th (124.6 miles)
1 VOECKLER Thomas (FRA BLB) in 20h 03' 49"
2 O'GRADY Stuart (AUS COF) at 03' 13"
3 CASAR Sandy (FRA FDJ) at 04' 06"
4 BACKSTEDT Magnus (SWE ALB) at 06' 06"
5 PIIL Jakob (DEN CSC) at 06' 58"
6 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) at 09' 35"
7 HINCAPIE George (USA USP) at 09' 45"
8 LANDIS Floyd (USA USP) at 09' 51"
9 AZEVEDO José (POR USP) at 09' 57"
10 RUBIERA José Luis (ESP USP) at 09' 59"


182 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 9h 53' 59"

NEWS!!
Chris Doelle once again moves up in the GC thanks to the misfortune of others. The wind was rough today and once again hampered Doelle's speed.
Bradley McGee of the FDJeux team has withdrawn from the tour.

Team Standings
1 TEAM CSC CSC in 58h 05' 51"
2 ALESSIO - BIANCHI ALB at 02' 04"
3 BRIOCHES LA BOULANGERE BLB at 03' 16"
4 FDJEUX.COM FDJ at 06' 12"
5 US POSTAL - BERRY FLOOR USP at 10' 41"
6 PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS PHO at 11' 54"
7 COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE COF at 12' 01"
8 T-MOBILE TEAM TMO at 12' 25"
9 ILLES BALEARS - B. SANTANDER IBB at 12' 35"
10 RABOBANK RAB at 12' 55"
- posted by Chris @ 4:18 PM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 4


Team Postal once again wins the team time trial and Lance Armstrong once again wears the yellow jersey. The cobblestones and rain made it a bit treacherous, but once again the cycling gods were smiling on Lance.

Stage 4 - Team Time Trial
Cambrai > Arras Wednesday, July 7th (40.1 miles)
1 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) in 14h 54' 53"
2 HINCAPIE George (USA USP) at 00' 10"
3 LANDIS Floyd (USA USP) at 00' 16"
4 AZEVEDO José (POR USP) at 00' 22"
5 RUBIERA José Luis (ESP USP) at 00' 24"
6 GUTIERREZ José Enrique (ESP PHO) at 00' 27"
7 EKIMOV Viatceslav (RUS USP) at 00' 30"
8 HAMILTON Tyler (USA PHO) at 00' 36"
9 GONZALEZ Santos (ESP PHO) at 00' 37"
10 GRABSCH Bert (GER PHO) at 00' 41"

184 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 7h 01' 55"

NEWS!!
Chris Doelle was again hampered by rain and heavy wind, but manages to not lose too much time today, in moves up one more position.
- posted by Chris @ 10:30 AM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 3


Robbie McEwen just one day after winning a stage takes over the yellow jersey with a third place finish. The big news was a major split that developed in the peloton after a massive pileup. The net result of the split was that Iban Mayo and Christoph Moreau, both considered contenders for the overall win, lost roughly 4 minutes to the peloton.

Stage 3
Waterloo > Wasquehal Tuesday, July 6th (130.5 miles)
1 MC EWEN Robbie (AUS LOT) in 13h 42' 34"
2 CANCELLARA Fabian (SUI FAS) at 00' 01"
3 VOIGT Jens (GER CSC) at 00' 09"
4 NAZON Jean-Patrick (FRA A2R) at 00' 12"
5 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) at 00' 16"
6 HONDO Danilo (GER GST) at 00' 22"
7 ZABEL Erik (GER TMO) at 00' 23"
8 GUTIERREZ José Enrique (ESP PHO) at 00' 23"
9 LEIPHEIMER Levi (USA RAB) at 00' 24"
10 PEREIRO SIO Oscar (ESP PHO) at 00' 25"


185 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 6h 29' 54"

NEWS!!
Iban Mayo's chances to win the tour this year seem to have slipped away.
Chris Doelle slid off the pace even more as strong wind and rain made it a rough day of riding, but moves up two more places as more riders drop out.
- posted by Chris @ 3:29 PM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 2


Thor Hushovd became the first Norwegian to ever pull on the yellow jersey as he took advantage of a couple intermediate sprint bonuses as well as the 2nd place bonus for the stage to take the lead. Thor Hushovd broke the frame on his bike and aided by his teammates rejoined the peloton a few minutes later and recovered in time to make the sprint for second

Stage 2
Charleroi > Namur Monday, July 5th (122.4 miles)
1 HUSHOVD Thor (NOR C.A) in 9h 05' 42"
2 CANCELLARA Fabian (SUI FAS) at 00' 08"
3 MC EWEN Robbie (AUS LOT) at 00' 17"
4 ARMSTRONG Lance (USA USP) at 00' 18"
5 VOIGT Jens (GER CSC) at 00' 23"
6 GUTIERREZ José Ivan (ESP IBB) at 00' 24"
7 PEREIRO SIO Oscar (ESP PHO) at 00' 27"
8 MOREAU Christophe (FRA C.A) at 00' 28"
9 JULICH Bobby (USA CSC) at 00' 28"
10 HINCAPIE George (USA USP) at 00' 28"

187 DOELLE Christopher (USA T@I) at 2h 56' 36"

NEWS!!
Robbie McEwen took the stage win in a bunch sprint at the finish.
Mario Cippolini moved up from 38th to 10th position.
Chris Doelle moved up two places in the GC (General Classification) after two riders dropped out of the tour because of injuries caused by crashes.
- posted by Chris @ 8:54 AM 0 comments

 
Al Trautwig Sucks!
OLN has continued to screw with a great formula. I have been watching the Tour de France since the early 80's. In those early days, it was one half hour of coverage on ESPN about 1AM on a Sunday night that recapped each week of racing. It wasn't much, but for those few of use who were diehard cycling fans, it was GOLD! It featured Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen doing the commentary with side pieces by Sam Posey. These guys were GODS! They brought this unique sport to light and feed the one or two crazed fans in America.

Fast forward to 1999. OLN secured exclusive rights to the Tour coverage in America and did a damn fine job. It wasn't live then, but it was same day coverage and it was Phil and Paul back on my television. Talk about a comforting sound... these guys brought the tour to life in a way that no weekly wrapup ever could. We are talking daily coverage up to an hour a day!! I was in Nirvana. CBS held on to the rights to show the only Sunday coverage and it sucked horribly. It was an hour long show with about 3 minutes of racing. The rest was human interest and mindless garbage.

Last year as viewership EXPLODED thanks to Lance, OLN started to tweak things and for my money, started to screw things up. They added Bob Roll and Kirsten Gum last season. Bob and Kirsten stayed in the studio and did the most retarded pieces I have ever seen. Bob is dorky and because he is an ex-rider (he actually rode in the Tour) I can put up with him... but Kirsten Gum is a joke. She is a hot blonde - true... but she knows absolutely ZILCH about cycling. Evertime she tried to make a point about a cyclist it was like fingernails on a chalkboard as it was obvious she knew nothing about the sport, the riders, the tactics, the history or the tour.

This year, they added Al Trautwig. Sure, he is a famous and heralded sportscaster, but despite covering Greg LeMond one season for CBS, he too is a novice in the world of cycling.

The formula now is to have Phil and Paul do the live coverage in the morning and then when they replay it with what they call 'expanded coverage,' Trautwig and Roll act like the video version of Cycling for Dummies as they try to explain the ins and outs of this extremely complex team sport.

Maybe I am just being elitist. Sure, it was great being the ONLY person I knew who followed cycling. Sure, it was cool to be one of the few Americans who knew Claudio Chiapucci and Laurent Fignon. Sure, it felt satisfying to be the only one in a group who knew a domestique from an echelon or a peloton from a repechage.

Regardless, Al Trautwig, Kirsten Gum, and Bob Roll may have "Americanized" the special evening coverage - but I will take the old-world style and poetry of Phil Liggett's emotional call during the finish sprint any day over "McTour Coverage."
- posted by Chris @ 8:43 PM 0 comments

 
Tour de 1/10th - Stage 1


Jaan Kirsipuu won the sprint at the finish to take Stage 1 at 4h 40' 29" - My time although much faster than the prologue was still waaay behind. I came in at 6h 40' 20"... this means I dropped almost a full two hours off the lead. This could get ugly fast at this pace.

Stage 2
Charleroi > Namur Monday, July 5th (122.4 miles)
1 CANCELLARA Fabian SUI in 4h 47' 11"
2 HUSHOVD Thor NOR at 00' 04"
3 ARMSTRONG Lance USA at 00' 10"
4 VOIGT Jens GER at 00' 15"
5 GUTIERREZ José Ivan ESP at 00' 16"
6 PEREIRO SIO Oscar ESP at 00' 19"
7 MOREAU Christophe FRA at 00' 20"
8 JULICH Bobby USA at 00' 20"
9 HINCAPIE George USA at 00' 20"
10 GUTIERREZ José Enrique ESP at 00' 22"

189 DOELLE Christopher USA at 2h 02' 57"

NEWS!! The posties kept Lance Armstrong right where he wanted to be as he finished in the peloton and ends the day down 10 seconds to Fabian Cancellara (who will NOT be a factor in the final standings.)
Jens Voigt made three valiant breakaway attempts and each time was reeled in by the peloton.
Tyler Hamilton had a minor equipment problem and had to switch bikes, but thanks to good timing on the swap he finished with the pack.
Bradley McGee made a run at one of the sprint points, but then seemed to bonk as the peloton not only captured him but dropped him off the back. He was laboring and will need to recover fast if he is to figure in this year's Tour.

- posted by Chris @ 4:39 PM 0 comments

 
Pharmaceutical Companies are EVIL!
There should be a class action suit by the American people against the pharmaceutical companies. We have an entire generation that has spent the last decade seeing an advertisement every 5 minutes extolling the virtues of some drug or another. You wonder why there is a drug epidemic amongst our youth? All they hear from the time they can understand English until the are old enough to make bad choices is that drugs solve your problems, drugs make you feel better, drugs are the answer.

I am mad as hell at these EVIL BASTARDS! Yeah, and the "anti-drug" is supposed to be speaking to your kids... how can a parent win this battle when a kid hears them say 'drugs are bad' once a year and the tube spits out "DRUGS ARE GREAT" a hundred thousand times a year?

They make television stations put adult language and situations on after 9PM at night for the sake of our childrem. What about banning drug ads from television or at least banning them until late at night as a start.

Contact your congressman NOW!! Tell them that you are sick of our children being sold to the drug companies. Tell them you want drug ads banned on television. Tell them their job depends on it! CLICK HERE to contact them.
- posted by Chris @ 1:43 AM 0 comments

 
Prologue - Tour de 1/10th


Well, here we are. The Prologue. This small time trial is the equivalent of the introductions of the players at a basketball game. The riders take off one a time in reverse order of their ranking from last year on a 3.79 mile course. It also serves to establish an initial order and ranking for the official start of the racing tomorrow at Stage 1.

In my most recent 'comeback' to cycling, I have only recently made the switch from mountain bike (which is easier on the back) to the road bike, and had not yet once tried riding for speed. I cranked it up to just over 20mph (which is waay off racing speeds, but hey - its a start.) As the season progresses and my fitness level continues to increase, this will be more of a training speed than a time trial speed.

Tour de 1/10th Standings after Prologue:
Prologue - Individual Time Trial
Liège Saturday, July 3rd (3.79 miles)
1-CANCELLARA Fabian (SUI, FAS) 00:06:50.940
2-ARMSTRONG Lance (USA, USP) 00:06:52.580 at 01"
3-GUTIERREZ José Ivan (ESP, IBB) 00:06:58.410 at 07"
4-MC GEE Bradley (AUS, FDJ) 00:06:59.900 at 08"
5-HUSHOVD Thor (NOR, C.A) 00:07:00.980 at 10"
6-PEREIRO SIO Oscar (ESP, PHO) 00:07:01.390 at 10"
7-VOIGT Jens (GER, CSC) 00:07:01.420 at 10"
8-MOREAU Christophe (FRA, C.A) 00:07:02.450 at 11"
9-JULICH Bobby (USA, CSC) 00:07:02.840 at 11"
10-HINCAPIE George (USA, USP) 00:07:02.890 at 11"
...
189-DOELLE Chris (USA, T@I) 00:09:58 at 03'08"

News!
Lance Armstrong turns in the best performance by one of the big names as he blows away Jan Ullrich and Tyler Hamilton
Fabian Cancellara wins his first yellow jersey in his first start in the Tour.
David Millar was kicked out of the Tour just days before the race after admitting to using the banned drug, EPO.
Matthew White crashed while warming up, two hours before the start, and it out of the Tour with a broken collarbone.
Chris Doelle comes in last place after a disappointing Prologue stage.
- posted by Chris @ 11:34 AM 0 comments

 
House Finch Spotted!


Kudos to Pennie for the identification of this winged beauty. I showed her some pics I took of the scarlet-topped critters and she did the Sherlock Holmes thing in coming up with the ID. The house finches (I have seen as many as four at one time) hang out on the spent blooms of the sunflowers picking the seeds out.



Even more amazing that the cool fact of a new guest, is that according to this zone map, we are really out of their regular area (just on the fringe.) I am thinking that while hanging out at some interstate bird truckstop, they heard about this really cool backyard and decided to swing by to snack on some sunflowers.
- posted by Chris @ 10:21 AM 0 comments

 
Movie time


I watched Spartan tonight while doing the sports sims. It was actually a pretty good film. It started out a little cheesy, but the story developed rather well and kept you interested. Val Kilmer did a really good job as a secret service agent. Derek Luke who I liked so much as Antwone Fisher (and the upcoming Friday Night Lights!) did a good job as the young agent. I was a little disappointed in William H. Macy - it is probably not his fault as the role may have been just that weak, but I was left with the feeling he was coasting on this performance.

RATING 7 out of 10

I also watched American Splendor earlier and while it was interesting due to it being a true story, it was a bit too dismal for me. I really like Paul Giamatti, but the person he portrayed, Harvey Pekar is such a dour character that it made it hard to relate to.

RATING 6 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 1:32 AM 0 comments

 
Movies, movies, movies


Okay, where to start. I guess the obvious start is Spider-Man 2. Dave and I went to see this sequel opening day and I have to say, I was NOT disappointed. Sure, I am a sucker for a comic book hero film, sure, I am a big fan of spidey anyway - but this is one of the best sequels ever. Tobey Maquire gets better as an actor each time out of the shoot. It was a tough accomplishment, but the graphics are even better than the first one, the drama is spot-on, the comedy is great as ever and the bottom line is that you really care about this character.

RATING 10 out of 10

On another subject, did you know there were American Jews in German concentration camps during WWII? No, not Americans abroad in Germany that got caught up in the mess... American G.I.s held as prisoners of war. The Germans took great pains to separate Jewish Americans from the rest of the P.O.W.s and put them in concentration camps. The film Berga is the story of more than 300 American G.I.s captured at the Battle of the Bulge. Director Charles Guggenheim, who is Jewish, was himself a member of the unit that was captured, but an illness he contracted before the unit left for the front lines caused him to be left behind, and he was not with them when the Nazis captured them.

RATING 8 out of 10

I completed the audiobook "I,Robot" by Isaac Asimov. Asimov has always been one of my favorite sci-fi authors but the more I read of him now (it has been about ten years since I read one of his,) the more I find his writing to be a bit juvenile. I decided to check out this book because of the upcoming movie of the same name. It looks like the movie will not follow the book too closely as the previews seem to have a lot more action and conflict. The story was interesting, but not nearly as good as The Robots of Dawn series. I can only hope they turn that story into a film. Lije Baley and Daneel Olivaw are the main characters in this, the BEST books about robots EVER!!!
- posted by Chris @ 10:33 PM 0 comments