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Paul McGaha
07-13-2015, 9:02 PM
I know nothing about cycling. I'm watching this a little though. I like looking at the French countryside and those little towns.

Some beautiful farms. Saw some nice looking cows (near the fence that runs along the road, seemed to be trying to watch the race).
Surprised to see what looked to be some John Deere farm equipment.

With the bikes in those big packs, the wrecks are something.

PHM

Bill McNiel
07-13-2015, 9:28 PM
Paul,
Yes, I watch every day, I did a little minor circuit road racing in Europe in 1972. It is truly heart stopping to stand along side the road when the Peloton passes, the noise from the cranks, tires and crowd combined with the lack of any space between riders highlights how dangerous this sport is. Those riders are not only in fantastic condition but have nerves of steel. And yes, the countryside is gorgeous! The team strategies drive me nuts.

Matt Day
07-13-2015, 10:19 PM
The doping used to drive me nuts, now I've just accepted that since everyone does it it's like a level playing field!

You could not get any better scenery for a sporting event. Looking forward to tomorrow's HC finish. Having two little kids (and no office where I can shut the door) doesn't allow me to watch each stage like I used to.

Patrick McCarthy
07-13-2015, 10:19 PM
Absolutely, every day but rest days! On those days I go thru withdrawal.

My dad claims I am "bicycle seat Irish" but I think he is referring to me being a PIA rather than any cycling skills . . . . . .

Kent A Bathurst
07-13-2015, 11:36 PM
Is this, like, one of those tours my parents took of all the European countries? I know they loved the one they took of France.

They seemed to really enjoy those - they were too old to organize and manage a trip on their own.

Cody Pierce
07-14-2015, 12:59 AM
I love watching it. I think there is a handle on the doping finally. Tejay, the 'Murican is becoming the man to beat maybe. His team, BMC, is running strong and they are all healthy.

The visuals are stunning as well. It's a wonderful tour and they've started racing a lot more outside of France too.

All considering, it's my favorite sporting event of the year.

Rick Moyer
07-14-2015, 5:40 AM
I just hope none of you who are "watching men ride bicycles on TV" were bashing golf on a previous thread.

Paul McGaha
07-14-2015, 6:17 AM
I just hope none of you who are "watching men ride bicycles on TV" were bashing golf on a previous thread.

Well, I'd have to admit, "Watching women ride bicycles on TV" would be better.

PHM

Rick Moyer
07-14-2015, 4:51 PM
Well, I'd have to admit, "Watching women ride bicycles on TV" would be better.

PHM

That's OK, Paul. You gave some good reasons for watching the Tour De France earlier.

Mike Henderson
07-14-2015, 5:09 PM
I just hope none of you who are "watching men ride bicycles on TV" were bashing golf on a previous thread.
I don't know about watching, but I can certainly say that riding at even 50% of what the tour riders do is quite an accomplishment. Doing 100+ miles on a bike, even at 20 MPH drafting, takes extraordinary conditioning. The tour guys go quite a bit faster than 20 MPH.

Mike

Kent A Bathurst
07-14-2015, 5:48 PM
I don't know about watching, but I can certainly say that riding at even 50% of what the tour riders do is quite an accomplishment. Doing 100+ miles on a bike, even at 20 MPH drafting, takes extraordinary conditioning. The tour guys go quite a bit faster than 20 MPH.

Mike

Vacationing on the Amalfi Coast. Day trip to Sorrento. Unwittingly drove into a blocked street. Could not reverse - the street behind us filled up. Everyone was getting out of their cars, and walking toward the sea, a half block away. "What the????..." So, I joined in.

Turns out I had unknowingly wandered into the streets surrounding the finish stretch of a stage of the Tour of Italy. All of a sudden, coming down from the adjacent hills, was a blur of virtual clones on bikes - extremely fit young men, all about 5'9", wiry, and going 40 MPH + [not kph], rubber-to rubber, and pedal-to-pedal, cranking like the devil was chasing them.............

Then they were gone in a flash, the cops pulled back the barriers, and the cars all drove off.

Total event was under 10 minutes. Felt like I had wandered into a Fellini movie..........

Cody Pierce
07-14-2015, 5:56 PM
I just hope none of you who are "watching men ride bicycles on TV" were bashing golf on a previous thread.

Show me a golf event that loses 5% of the participants due to serious injury in the first 3 days. Say what you will about dudes in spandex, they are tough fellas no doubt.

Mike Henderson
07-14-2015, 6:46 PM
Show me a golf event that loses 5% of the participants due to serious injury in the first 3 days. Say what you will about dudes in spandex, they are tough fellas no doubt.
Not only tough, but extremely fit. And fearless. Try going down a curvy mountain road on a bike at about 50 to 60 MPH. As an ex-bike rider, I'm in awe of what they do. 40 MPH downhill used to scare the heck out of me. You can't help but think about what would happen if you lay the bike down. The result is known as "road rash" - that is, if you don't kill yourself.

Mike

Kent A Bathurst
07-14-2015, 7:33 PM
Not only tough, but extremely fit. And fearless. Try going down a curvy mountain road on a bike at about 50 to 60 MPH. As an ex-bike rider, I'm in awe of what they do. 40 MPH downhill used to scare the heck out of me. You can't help but think about what would happen if you lay the bike down. The result is known as "road rash" - that is, if you don't kill yourself.

Mike

Worse than that - what was it, Stage 3? Someone in the middle of the peloton goes down, and there are a number of riders than can't avoid the ensuing carnage. Not just you hitting the road - there are 20 guys about to run over you.....and then they hit the road..........

Like the NASCAR thing last week, except it was 25mph, not 180.............

Matt Day
07-14-2015, 7:40 PM
I love watching it. I think there is a handle on the doping finally..

You probably thought Lance Armstrong was clean too!

Kent A Bathurst
07-14-2015, 7:41 PM
I just hope none of you who are "watching men ride bicycles on TV" were bashing golf on a previous thread.

Followed Fuzzy around Augusta for a while, some years back. '87, when Mize chipped in from downtown, in OT, to put the dagger in Norman's back - one of many Norman has to this day..

Fuzzy was my kind of "athlete". Got to his ball, scoped it out, addressed it, one last drag then tossed his smoke to the side, hit the shot, picked up the cigarette, and continued on down range. Always smiling, laughing, hitting tremendous shots, and smoking a cigarette. Have to assume that on "non-tour" events, his caddy had a "beverage" in the bag for him. Great golfer, not a care in the world.

Why would anyone bash golfing?

Mike Henderson
07-14-2015, 10:13 PM
Worse than that - what was it, Stage 3? Someone in the middle of the peloton goes down, and there are a number of riders than can't avoid the ensuing carnage. Not just you hitting the road - there are 20 guys about to run over you.....and then they hit the road..........

Like the NASCAR thing last week, except it was 25mph, not 180.............
Yep, that happens in club rides, also. Someone runs off the asphalt (with a drop to the dirt) and they go down. Anyone following goes down, just like in the Tour de France. Just not going as fast. Still causes injuries and damage to bikes.

In club rides, if you're not really up to the level of the ride, you hang tight to the wheel in front of you which gives you no space to move if someone goes down. Also, you're just concentrating on that wheel in front of you because you're so tight - you don't see a crash until you're in it.

But it was good times. Good people, lots of hard exercise, good camaraderie. We often would stop at a restaurant (with outdoor seating) and have breakfast at some point in the ride. Had to be outside because the riders had been sweating for maybe two hours and were sopping wet - and stinky.

Mike

Kevin Barnett
07-14-2015, 10:31 PM
Not only tough, but extremely fit. And fearless. Try going down a curvy mountain road on a bike at about 50 to 60 MPH. As an ex-bike rider, I'm in awe of what they do. 40 MPH downhill used to scare the heck out of me. You can't help but think about what would happen if you lay the bike down. The result is known as "road rash" - that is, if you don't kill yourself.

Mike
My top speed is 63 mph on a hill in the Midwest. Not really terrifying. I'm sure these gents are going faster.

Mel Fulks
07-14-2015, 11:30 PM
Well, I have a story similar to Kent's. Several years ago I decided to to attend commemoration of Civil War Battle of First Bull Run. Walked into bus station and asked for Bull Run ticket,paid, boarded bus. Slept most of trip. Got off the bus and suddenly I see a bunch of bulls running toward me.....yep,you guessed it ...it was the other bull run. The one in Pamplona.
I'm pretty fast so I made it ok, but ruined a nice pair of wing tips. Don't think they should have both bull runs in July,just too confusing.

Malcolm Schweizer
07-14-2015, 11:38 PM
I am not watching (see Kent B's comment a few posts up- not into watching dudes on TV playing any sport, especially where tight-fitting pants are involved) but I did hike throughout France on two separate occasions. The first was Paris to Cannes. Oh the food!!!

The second was hiking over the Pyrenees. Let me tell you- it takes kahunas to bicycle up the Pyrenees. I know, because I did it on foot, and it nearly killed me. I started the Camino de Santiago in the South of France and hiked through the southern border to Spain and across Spain. The French part was by far the hardest, but the food was by far the best. :-) One of the greatest memories in my life was when we FINALLY made it to the top of the Pyrenees and I said, "Okay, where's the albergue?" and Amy said, "Um... we've still got to go back down before we stop." It is a moment I often reflect on when I am faced with something difficult and have to keep on going. I remember looking down this enormous steep mountain and at the very bottom is this tiny dot that was the place we would bed down that night.

Kent A Bathurst
07-15-2015, 2:34 AM
You probably thought Lance Armstrong was clean too!

Lance? Absolutely. 100 % scrubbed clean.

Stage 10, first into the serious hills, and Froome shows up with Warp 6 -- smokes the field by 2-1/2 minutes +. That's no indicator of drugs.

And - they made up all the stuff about Charlie Hustle betting on baseball games.

And Area 51 has the sound stage where Armstrong landed. Not Lance - the other one. Neil.

You guys gotta get out more - connect with reality. Watch 1984 again. Not the one with Willie Hernandez, the one with John Hurt.

Larry Edgerton
07-15-2015, 7:34 AM
I don't watch any more but used to, kinda lost interest when my knees got so bad I couldn't ride. I spent a minimum 5K a year in spandex every year for about 30 years. I have nothing but respect for those guys as athletes. I was maintaining about a 27mph average in my peak years and had legs like iron, and those guys would blow me away. I usually rode alone, being as I live in the middle of nowhere in a place where spandex was not cool.

My last bike was a work of art. It was a Colnago Master Lite, signed by Ernesto, with full Campy Record Ergo and Ti Speedplays. Couldn't bring myself to sell it when my knees went, so I gave it to a young guy that could never afford such frivolties. He is still riding it, I pass him once in a while, and its still putting a smile on his face.

Larry

Rod Sheridan
07-15-2015, 9:06 AM
Hi Paul, I've been watching intermittently.

You're correct about the great scenery...............Regards, Rod.

Mike Cutler
07-15-2015, 10:10 AM
I don't watch any more but used to, kinda lost interest when my knees got so bad I couldn't ride. I spent a minimum 5K a year in spandex every year for about 30 years. I have nothing but respect for those guys as athletes. I was maintaining about a 27mph average in my peak years and had legs like iron, and those guys would blow me away. I usually rode alone, being as I live in the middle of nowhere in a place where spandex was not cool.

My last bike was a work of art. It was a Colnago Master Lite, signed by Ernesto, with full Campy Record Ergo and Ti Speedplays. Couldn't bring myself to sell it when my knees went, so I gave it to a young guy that could never afford such frivolties. He is still riding it, I pass him once in a while, and its still putting a smile on his face.

Larry

Larry

That Colnago was a beautiful bike. I always liked them but they favored the smaller riders more than the "big guys" like me.
I "retired' about 10 years ago when my lower back just said "enough is enough" . I used to not be able to feel my left leg below the knee at the end of races.
I couldn't bring myself to sell my bikes, so they hang from the water pipes in the basement. There's a Cervelo P3, Two Seven Ti's, and a Corima Puma down there. I got enough Campy' gruppo's down there to start a small bike club.:eek:
Maybe I'll ride again some day.;)

Paul McGaha
07-20-2015, 10:40 PM
I'm glad the guy that had the bad wreck today is ok. I was thinking he was going to be seriously hurt. A tough dude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58sysTxxFlQ