Happy Fourth, and Stage 2 Michegas

So yesterday, we biked from Silver Lake to Playa del Rey, taking a spin through Venice. So much to see. Beautiful tanned bodies, bikinis, dogs, bright colors, summer straw fedoras and hipster shades. A feast for the eyes. Great fun with friends at their wonderland in Playa del Rey, and then back up along the bike lane on Venice Blvd., flying up the incline to come briefly to rest for a view of the Hollywood Bowl fireworks show at Arden and Beverly. Fantastic show, free, and better with a touch of biking adrenalin courtesy of some Independence Day drunkards behind the wheel.

And today, we walked from our house down to Chinatown for some classic Chinese-American cuisine at Hop Louie, then on to check out the Grand Central Market, then a drink on the rooftop bar of the Standard poolside--the views better than the bartending, but whatever, and finally, an L.A. Metro ride up to Sunset and Vermont and hoofing it along Hollywood and Sunset through Sunset Junction to the Thirsty Crow for some fantastic cocktails. What a place! Their Aviation has Maraschino cherry liqueur and creme de violette!

And now for the Tour. Too many crashes again today on a classics course, which riled up the riders enough to make them soft-pedal through the arrivee, aka, the finish line. Levi Leipheimer wondering aloud if the intention today on the part of the race organizers was to see the riders bleed. These guys are tough. If they are saying stuff like that, it's because today's course was beyond carnage. Not nice. Bummer of a day again, but dramatic. Cobbles tomorrow. Should be even more brutal. Today, most of Garmin, one of my favorite teams, crashed and Vandevelde's hopes might be completely dashed, again, this year. Poor Christian. Such a neat guy. Wondering if both Schleck brothers are really OK. Wonderful to watch them both pull themselves back up into the race. Such a gentleman's sport, again. Race organizers should be kinder to the riders. The Tour is tough enough. I mean, it's 3 weeks of riding at top speed. Come on!

And yes, someday I'd love to bike through the Ardennes in Belgium and finish a long ride in Spa, where an old Roman baths has been made into a modern resort. A hot soak, cool pool, and then a massage. Lovely place with great food, I understand. And that hearty delicious Belgian beer. And chocolate. Belgian chocolate. Mmmmmm.

Vive le Tour!

A demain!