Stage 8: End of an Era

If you haven't heard, read, or watched yet today, Lance Armstrong cracked in the Alps, and his hopes to win the Tour this year, or indeed, ever again were dashed.

Yes, it was bad luck because he crashed 3 times today, the worst of the 3 sending him skidding on the tarmac at 60 odd kilometers per hour. He bloodied his knee, his elbow, shredded the back of his jersey, and tore his shorts. The team worked hard to get him back up in the group, but at a certain point, after one more little crash, he began slipping backward. By the base of the last climb, he was too far back to recover.

Yes, Armstrong did have a shot at the prize this year. But through a series of bad breaks, we never got to see what he could do. It all came down to a couple of flat tires. Makes you realize what good luck he had in order to win the Tour 7 times.

Time to contemplate mortality, fate, and the passing away of things. We all age and we must adjust our goals as we travel inevitably forward through time. The old gives way to the new, and things are lost and gained at every moment. For Lance, it's over. An era in American cycling ended today.

Now we have to watch all those less-than-great Radioshack spots over and over as the Tour goes on, and feel the loss each time.

Lance has already said he'll stay on to support his teammate Levi Leipheimer, who now sits in 8th place on the GC, and looks ready to rumble. Contador didn't have that old pop in his legs today when Andy Schleck, the best young rider, zipped off the front to win the stage. And Australian Cadel Evans (known as "The Hobbit" in our house) also crashed early today, so as he put on the yellow jersey, he looked visibly pained, if mollified.

We're only in the Alps. We still have the flats to go, and then the Pyrenees, Bordeaux, the penultimate time trial stage, and finally, the victory stage into Paris, and the big sprint finish on the Champs Elysee. It's going to be a great race. And yes, I'm now watching the pre-show of the World Cup final, which should be very exciting, too.

But just for now, take some time to acknowledge what you have in this very moment. Enjoy it, appreciate it, because nothing lasts forever. And yes, what goes away leaves room for other great stuff. But it won't be quite the same stuff. So love it all while you've got it.

Go Lance. Ride'em, Cowboy, into the sunset.

Vive le Tour! A mardi!

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!

ATOC Shack Signatures

Yes, those are the signatures of Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer, and Johan Bruyneel of Team Radioshack!

And we could have gone and found Cav at the HTC Columbia car, but frankly we were too excited and plotzing like crazed teenage girl fans! So we simply forgot!

Willkommen in Elsass! No, Levi, No!

Welcome to Alsace!

I'm so very bummed that Levi Leipheimer is out of the Tour with a broken wrist! So unfair! We'll miss watching our favorite keychain rider! No, Levi! Say it ain't so! We love you, Man! Get better fast!

But today, there are some big big hills as they head into yet another French wine region, Alsace. Except, from time to time in history, this region has been part of Germany! One of the things I love about Europe is that at the borders of each country, they blend into each other, so near the French-Italian border, Italians speak with French-sounding "R"s. In Alsace France and Germany blend in their own way, and this region has its own character.

The grape varietals favored here are chiefly whites like Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Muscat Blanc a' Petit Grains, and Pinot Gris. AOC rules, aka the French's winemaking regulations, only allow the use of the Riesling and Gewurstraminer grapes, which are German varietals, in this region of Alsace. Although they've been making wine here for at least a thousand years, France only recognized this area as a distinct official AOC region in the 1960s! Go figure.

So let's try some crisp and delicious light Cave de Turckheim Gewurztraminer, and with it eat some baeckeoffe, a local pork and mutton stew that involves marinating and stewing the meat with veg in wine for 2 days, and then baking it between slices of potato! Now that's slow food! And it's comfort food, which I need because Levi is gone! At least Colmar looks like an effin fairy tale, for you fans of In Bruges. Look at the swans, dammit.

Return to Olympic Victory--Barcelona!

Today's stage bring's the boys to the Costa Brava and Barcelona, the Catalan capitol. Looks like it's raining and Garmin's David Millar is in the break.

It's still going to be too soon today to see what Lance can do in the mountains, but if he's not in form, there are Contador, Kloden, and Leipheimer to take over. Lance could just have it. His climbing got better and better during the Giro d'Italia. Lance was an Olympic cyclist at the Barcelona Olympics, so this area has to have good memories for him. A lot of the big cyclists live at least part of their year training in Spain. Why? The Pyrennees. Look for some big mountain stages there in the days to come.

How about a bit of fizz? Start a long evening of tapas bar hopping in Barcelona with a glass of Mata Reserva Barrica from Agusti Torelli. Oh, it'll cost ya, but since this is a virtual wine and food tour, enjoy! Here's to an already thrilling Tour de France!

Le Tour-Team Astana, Ladies and Gentlemen

Love this bombastic flash movie to announce and laud the Astana team. How could I not buy their t-shirt? Can't wait to see it all unfold on the roads of la France!

Next year, though, can Astana either become Team Mellow Johnny, or please it's time for a logo redesign. I'm just sayin, I don't need my team's logo to look quite so much like Anheiser Busch's, although I will probably consume some of that sort of product during le Tour, but only if it pair's well. Last time I was in France, it was all about Stella Artois and 1664 and Kronenbourg, but this year's tour doesn't go into Belgium, I don't think. Time to study up on the stages!

Here's the Astana Movie: http://www.astana-cyclingteam.com/