Le Tour

[Quo Fan]

Sitting here, watching Le tour de France. Stage 2 is the team time trials. For those who don't know, a stage bike race is a multi-day event where each rider has a cumulative time, based on when they crossed the finish line with whatever group of riders they arrived with. Even though it may take a group of riders 20 or more seconds to cross the finish line, the entire group gets the same time as the first rider in the group. The team time trial time is determined by the 5th rider crossing the finish line. They start out with 9 riders, and if a rider is too slow, he gets dropped, or left behind. If they drop too many, then when the 5th man crosses is the team time.

Today's distance is a mere 23k, or around 14 miles. Not a far distance for any of these riders, considering that other stages exceed 100 miles with the exception of the mountain stages.

I'm also a cyclist, though I'll never race, and I'll never be even half as fast as the pros. The current fastest team just finished the 23k in 25minutes. They were reaching speeds in excess of 40 mph on their bicycles, on a flat road.

[oldwolf]

Love watching cycling. Been following Le Tour since the mid 80s. Wish I could go and take pictures of it one of these days.

I'll never be as fast as those guys but I ride a road and mtn bike.

[Woody]

Cadel Evans is coming third at the moment. He is the Ausies hope and pride. he nealy won last year and is being tipped to go well again this year.

My bum hurts after a ten km ride. Stuff a thousand k.

Cheers,

John W

[Krusty79]

Yeah, my bum gets sore after a couple of hours in the saddle. How do those guys sit in a saddle for 5, 6 hours a day, every day? I ride mountain bikes, but I respect those Tour de France riders. How can you not? Those mountain climbs are brutal. The speeds they reach on those descents are insane! All they have is a few square centimeters of rubber holding them on the ground.

It's too bad it's such a dirty sport. I guess you have to be on something to complete those grueling stages every day. I'm sure Lance was on something too, since he was regularly beating those guys who got caught cheating.

[Woody]

News flash.

Cadel Evans 1 second behind leader.

Cheers,

John W

[Quo Fan]

Originally Posted by Krusty79

Yeah, my bum gets sore after a couple of hours in the saddle. How do those guys sit in a saddle for 5, 6 hours a day, every day? I ride mountain bikes, but I respect those Tour de France riders. How can you not? Those mountain climbs are brutal. The speeds they reach on those descents are insane! All they have is a few square centimeters of rubber holding them on the ground.

It's too bad it's such a dirty sport. I guess you have to be on something to complete those grueling stages every day. I'm sure Lance was on something too, since he was regularly beating those guys who got caught cheating.

I'm primarily a mountain biker, but as of late I've been spending most of my riding time on my road bike. I must admit, cycling shorts are a big plus when riding, and you definitely get what you pay for. I have a pair of Louis Garneau bibs and they saved my butt when I rode my first century last year.

Then again, when you spend most of your waking hours on a bicycle, you get used to your saddle. I have a Brooks B17 for my road bike, but I haven't installed it yet. I've heard it takes 1000 miles to "break in" (form to your butt). I should install it and then suffer to break it in.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by Quo Fan

I have a Brooks B17 for my road bike, but I haven't installed it yet. I've heard it takes 1000 miles to "break in" (form to your butt). I should install it and then suffer to break it in.

I feel sorry for your butt hehe. The break in period is one of the reason why I haven't splurged on a Brooks saddle.

[mad editor]

I just like watching them bike through France.

[Woody]

Cadel Evans wins Stage 4.

Cheers,

John W

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by Woody

Cadel Evans wins Stage 4.

Cheers,

John W

I thought that was funny Contador thought he won and started celebrating. I started rooting against Contador because he got caught cheating (I know they all probably cheat), but mainly because when he was battling Andy Schlek for the lead last year and Schlek had chain problems, he didn't wait for Schlek to recover, which is common etiquette, but he used that opportunity to leave Schlek in the dust.