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I couldn't ride to work today (I had to take some stuff in for a potluck) so I went out for a longer ride this afternoon. Everything went well. If you want to check out my route, shoot over here: my bike route for July 3, 2006
The stats are on the bike stats page.
If you have Google Earth, you can view the 2006 TDF cource via a Google Earth Route.
There are tougher days than this, I think; however, take a look at this climb. The quote from Dirty Harry comes to mind:
"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"
Well, what do you think? (For a larger view, click the image).
I was reading the 2006 Tour de France race manual and came across this interesting bit:
Supplies at feeding stations are handed out by the staff accompanying the teams. This distribution takes place only in areas clearly marked with offi cial banners and signs, except in cases where other provisions have been clearly indicated beforehand. Stations will be set up on only one side of the roadway, the rules specifying on the right side only.
Cyndi had asked me about this earlier and I didn't know the answer. I guess now I do….. You only get a bag of goodies if you are on the right side of the road.
This is a preview of the 2006 TDF Stage #2. For more information about tomorrow's stage, here is the offical TDF page about stage 2.
Here is a graphic showing the profile of the stage:
I just got done watching Stage 1 of the 2006 TDF. Here are the top 5 riders overall (the GC competition for the yellow jersey):
| Pos. | N° | Name Surname | Team | Nat. | Gaps |
| 1 | 003 | HINCAPIE George | DSC | USA | |
| 2 | 118 | HUSHOVD Thor | C.A | NOR | 00' 02" |
| 3 | 018 | ZABRISKIE David | CSC | USA | 00' 06" |
| 4 | 044 | LANG Sebastian | GST | GER | 00' 06" |
| 5 | 091 | VALVERDE Alejandro | CEI | ESP | 00' 06" |
The only surprise was Hushovd's wreck at the end of the stage. It looked bad on the video, but I don't know exactly what happened.
Expect more tomorrow evening after I watch the tape when I get home from work.
We had church this morning so I taped OLN's coverage of the 2006 TDF stage 1. We have visitation at 3 so it will this evening before I get to post much about today's TDF stage.
For more information about today's stage, here is the offical TDF page about stage 1.
Here is a graphic showing the profile of the stage:
What you will notice is 1 cat 4 climb. Bob Roll (on OLN) just said that was probably a highway overpass! These guys are hillarious!
Oh, I just heard that Floyd Landers (the guy who showed up late yesterday) showed up late because of a tire flat. Since it was a time trial, they don't use quick releases. It took a special wrench and 1 min to change. Because of that, he lost about 8 sec.
I can only dream about riding this fast on my bike:
Shortly after the turn, I'm in a full sprint to keep in touch with the group and I hear the police siren behind me –
Brip brip, …….. Followed by the Megahorn…….. "Cyclists, pull over at the next crossroads, pull over"
…
We all got written citations of warning for, umm,
running stop signs…. no, no, — going 35 in a 25 ………… yea that's it……….35 in a 25. HAH. All in a days ride.
Check out the full story at http://love2ridezzzzz.blogspot.com/2006/07/day-i-shoulda-been-dropped.html
The Tour de France prologue is over. Thor Hushovd won with George Hincapie right behind (< 1 sec). I didn't get to watch all of it, but it was a fairly straightforward way. Something < 6 miles (probably 6km). Everyone did it in about 8 min or so. The only surprise was someone (I forget his name and don't want to look for it) showing up late at the starting gate. That rider would have probably won (or been close) had he been there on time. From what it looks like, the clock starts at your assigned time regardless of whether you are there or not.
I went for a bike ride this morning. I wanted to get in at least 30 miles, but I ended up with 42! When you look at the route, it looks funny, but that was because of how I rode. I went from the house to a friends. From there, we rode back by Cyndi and I’s place on the way to the office. From there, we went back to his place. From there, I took the “long” way home.
Here is a link to an interactive map of my July 1, 2006 bike route.
I don’t know how long the pedometer site keeps maps, so here is a graphic of it too:
I had some people ask…those blue things at the bottom are the estimated elevation of my route. So, you can see the hills I went up and down.
You can also view the stats of the ride on my June 2006 bike stats page.
[Update 2013-01-06 09:39:13] Added Image to Flickr and added to post.
I added a new link to the links section of the site. The link takes you to a page talking about your rights to photograph in public. It is well worth the read.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-29-camera-laws_x.htm
[Update 06-02-2008 22:55:51] A news crew was harassed while talking to the guy who makes the policies for Union Station. Link here. Also a link to my story about being harassed while in Union Station taking tourist pictures.
[Update 05-18-2009 08:59:38] The NYPD has recently issued an Operations Order to members of the force. More information can be found here.