Landis shocker...

I don't need to rehearse the news, but I do want to draw attention to a poorly written piece at ESPN.COM by Pat Forde. I wrote him an email correcting his assumption that Landis came out of nowhere to win the Tour. Ugh.

Sadly, whether Landis "doped", he's tainted. He'll always have a blemish on his record even if he doesn't lose the yellow. Very sad.

Maxwell Ellison you have a message waiting at the paging assistance location

keeps playing on the intercom here in Phoenix International Airport. I'm waiting for my 1 minute to midnight flight to Chi-town...I'll be on the same plane I took here from SFO. On the way in, there was a lightning storm over half the city - you could see the clouds and the strikes in the sky - but half the city was clear. Very strange effect. I'm exhausted. It's very quiet in here. No music playing. I don't even see anyone at the gate. I wish I could have just sat in the plane and waited until our next take-off. Oh well.

Trip to SF was awesome; see ontheroadiwthlolita.blogspot.com for some pictures and a recap. The Lolita project will be amazing, I know. I'm very happy with what I'm learning so far. I also think it will help me teach the novel more effectively to my students and really interest them in archival work/research.

Thank you, Miami University for giving me the opportunity to do this!!!

Congrats Floyd!

I'm so happy that Landis won. Now there's talk, which we've heard before, that Discovery wants to sign him. We'll see. I imagine they'd wait to see what he was like post-hip replacement.

I HAVE GOOSEBUMPS!

I just finished reading the final dispatches and tdfblog re LAndis' ride today. OH MY OH MY OH MY OH MY!!!!!!! He's 30 seconds out of yellow. He won today's stage. FOR ANYONE who EVER doubts this man, I've got two words for you... in the immortal words of DX: ____ ___

WOW!!!!!

LANDIS, YES!!!!!!!!!!

daryl hall and john oates

I am listening to H20, which is being played at the bar/restaurant in my hotel in san fran. Oh my gosh, I don't want to leave as long as they're playing H&O, because I LOVED this duo back in the 80s. "You're out of touch. I'm out of touch. But I'm out of my head when you're not around." How can you not love those lyrics?

So, I had a very unsatisfying, overpriced meal here, but at least the music is good, right?

Tomorrow I'm meeting the Trott for breakfast. Haven't seen him since August 1997. Wow. That's a long time. When he called, I didn't even recognize his voice on the phone. Then it's off to Mission Dolores. Check out ontheroadiwthlolita.blogspot.com

I need to do some tourist-type things while in this city, but I'm afraid my work schedule won't allow it.

One of the things I've heard about San Fran concerns the number of homeless people. There are a lot, but I don't feel overwhelmed as some people seem to be. Maybe they've just never been in a city with a sizable homeless population. I remember having a conversation - perhaps with Trott? about whether you give to homeless people who ask for money, etc.

Private eyes. They're watching you. They see your every move. (gotta get those hand claps in there)

Ok, it's about 8:20pm here, and I've been awake since 4am thanks to the time change, etc. I probably should call it an evening so, but oh no...as long as they're playing Hall and Oates, I'm staying! : )

While I was in the SFPL today they evacuated - it was a false fire alarm or something. I then went over to the farmer's market and had a nasty hotdog and a nastier bottle of water. I mean, the bottle looked like it had been rolled around in the dirt. How can anyone charge 2 bucks for that? I shouldn't have paid for it, but I had already said I wanted the water, so I felt obliged. I barely drank from it. Ugh.

Ok, I better end this post and get some real work done.

You're a rich girl and you've gone too far.

Landis bonks it...

Well, another day in the Alps, another shattered dream: Landis' dream of being in yellow come Paris. Of course, it's still possible that things may change, but eight minutes down at this point is pretty huge. I really wish I could have watched these stages live as I know Liggett's commentary would be exciting, but alas, I'm working in San Francisco. I hope everyone else is enjoying the Tour. I think this is precisely the sort of Tour that was expected without Basso, Ullrich, et al.

Is it wrong to wrong to be bummed that...

Team Discovery is back "in" things with Popo's victory today?
Now, I like Popo a great deal. but I was enjoying Discovery's struggles.

I noticed they lost two riders today. I suppose I could be cheered by that, but I'm not, because everyone deserves to finish in Paris who starts the Tour.

I really want to see Floyd win.

And then there were 5

Landis making tempo

And then there were 7

Live blogging here...last climb... Landis with the lead group. Menchov might take this stage.
Kloden might. Evans might. WHO KNOWS!

I do know that Big George is DONE DONE DONE.

The worst tour coverage ever...

So, last night I watched Al and Bob cover the stage - as I promised Mike. It was terrible. There were too many commercials. There was too much whining from Bob re T-Mobile's lack of effort. The team was at the front of the peloton for goshsakes. I need to look up Roll's record in the Tour.
Anyway, right now I have it on live because I don't want to subject myself to another tortured evening.

They were talking earlier about how disappointing Mayo was .... as if that is a new thing. Doesn't anyone remember previous years when Mayo would disappoint on the climbs? I remember him looking like he was going to abandon LAST year.

Prediction for today's stage?

It was no secret that LA often attacked on the first mountain stage. I wonder if "the man who would be king" will do the same as well.

I'm waiting to watch today's stage 10 - why oh why!

Well, I promised Mike I'd wait to watch the "enhanced" version of today's first mountain stage. I can't believe I suggested such a thing; I just hope Roll and Trautwig don't muck it up too much.

Stage 9 in Progress

Big discussion is Landis' revelation re hip replacement surgery after the Tour. Lots of folks still speculating as to why NOW.

I am watching the last hurrah of the sprinters - at least for a while. I wonder if Boonen will try to win the stage - or at least beat out Robbie M.

So far the Tour has been enjoyable to watch, but I'm really eager to see the mountain stages, which always inspires me to climb the little hills in this area. I think it would be pretty amazing for T-Mobile to take the yellow to Paris,which is what I think Kloden said T-Mobile could do. In fact, he seemed to suggest that MULTIPLE T-Mobile riders would have the jersey, but that the team as a whole would keep it until Paris. I'm still waiting for my T-Mobile jersey to arrive in the mail - thanks world cycling productions for the shipping delays. Ugh.

Yesterday I went for a decent ride - about 18 miles - but it was all flat, because my left knee and shoulder/neck are still giving me problems. I go to the sports doc next Monday, and he's a cyclist, so I'm hoping that will be an advantage. Anyone heard of Jon Sulentic?

Tour de France REST day

Well, we're into week 2 of the Tour. The TT on Saturday offered its share of surprises: T-Mobile takes the yellow; Landis has another mechanical problem; the Americans collectively disappoint.

It's been fun to watch so far - the absence of LA has been a good thing. Also, although I don't want to admit it, I think the withdrawals of Basso et al have been good for the race as well. If they stayed, that's all we'd hear about. I don't know whether the allegations are true against any of these riders, but they would be a distraction if they were involved in the race.

The commentary this year has been sporadic with Trautwig and Roll's "enhanced" evening experience again ranking amongst the worst sports commentating I've ever heard. Seconds of silence at key moments in the race? I don't get it. If you want to hear reasonably good commentary, you have to hear either the live call from Liggett and Sherwin or the repeat of their work. The evening commentary is terrible. Telling is the fact that they always shift to these guys for the final 20 KM or so. It's as though OLN is acknowledging, "hey we know Roll stinks, but we have to give him a job because he's married to the sister of the guy who owns this station."

How many disco boys in the top ten GC?

and more importantly, which one will emerge as team leader? or perhaps Bruyneel is planning to take the top 3 positions just because....

Also, with LA being part owner of the team, I wonder how much say he has in race strategy. Anyone? anyone?

Stage 4 Goes to ... Robbie McEwen

No shock here... it just seems like Robbie always pulls out the win at the end of these chaotic sprints. The CG rider who went down was NOT the Thunder God, who looked less than divine today unfortunately.

Although I respect McEwen's riding ability, I don't enjoy watching him. Not sure why this is so. I would have appreciated seeing Zabel win the final sprint - for ole time's sake.

The stage as a whole was relatively calm, but Mayo AGAIN experienced mechanical problems and had to take the bike of a teammate. What is wrong with this guy's bikes? does EE give their riders cheap bikes? Really, it's ridiculous.

Anyone worried about David Millar, who sits quietly back? Neither am I.

The Disco boys had a guy in the breakaway for most of the day, and they now have several GC contenders. Which one will be the "leader"? I still think it will be the Big Hink, but who knows...

Also, when will Landis make a move? Am I going to have to wait until the next TT? Apparently so... should be a showdown if Rogers remains #2. He'll look to take the yellow, and given his TT record, he could do it with a stage win.

If you bet on Valverde to win the Tour

you lost your money today. There were several key cyclists whose Tour ended today: Valverde, Fast Freddie, and Erik Dekker. Very sad to see these guys go down; I really was hoping Valverde would be a serious GC threat. Now an American win looks more likely. Can't rule out Cadel Evans.

Also, I was wondering if Phonak was going to attack today; it's probably too early to do so, but Landis was at the front. Then again, given how many problems occurred in the peloton, it was a wise move.

I was really happy to see Kessler pick up the win - but I admit I feared he'd have a repeat of yesterday's experience when he was caught with less than 100km to go.

Oh, did anyone notice the reference to there being TWO captains for Gerosteiner? Totsching AND Leipenheimer? What's that about??????

If you bet on Valverde to win the Tour

you lost your money today. There were several key cyclists whose Tour ended today: Valverde, Fast Freddie, and Erik Dekker. Very sad to see these guys go down; I really was hoping Valverde would be a serious GC threat. Now an American win looks more likely. Can't rule out Cadel Evans.

Also, I was wondering if Phonak was going to attack today; it's probably too early to do so, but Landis was at the front. Then again, given how many problems occurred in the peloton, it was a wise move.

I was really happy to see Kessler pick up the win - but I admit I feared he'd have a repeat of yesterday's experience when he was caught with less than 100km to go.

Oh, did anyone notice the reference to there being TWO captains for Gerosteiner? Totsching AND Leipenheimer? What's that about??????

Thor will ride again

Good news from the Tour; Thor required some stitches but will be back tomorrow to hopefully grab the yellow again.

The Great God THOR Hushovd wears yellow and I ride 30 miles

In today's Prologue, Thor Hushovd posted a great time to win by .73 seconds over Gorgeous George. I am happy to see Thor in yellow, and I think he may try to keep the jersey for a few days. I'd love to see him win a sprint finish tomorrow against Robbie, Tom, et al.

I suppose I am getting over my initial shock about the rider suspensions and trying to see the Tour this year as being even more exciting, but it's very difficult to do that. I think the loss of Vino is tremendous given he's such an attacking rider. He would shake things up. I can't forget the way he blasted home on the final stage last year to knock Levi out of the top 5.

Again, Bob "Jelly" Roll is ridiculous as a commentator. If I have to hear him say "Tour de France" one more time, I will scream.

Today M and I joined the every other Saturday group here for a ride - we took some roads I have never been on and seemed to do a lot of climbing, stopping, and waiting for dropped riders. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I'm sure we'll do it again. I just love cycling. I think I'm getting better at climbing; I just need to focus on my form more. Now, I don't really have climbing FORM yet, but I'm working on it. M and I purchased a couple of cycling books today because M had a tire blow out and we want to be better prepared next time to do the maintenance. With a lot of help, it took 20 mins; had we been along, it would have taken an hr.

OH, TERRIBLE day for Floyd Landis ... he MISSED the start of his TT. So, he was about 10 seconds off the lead with 8 of those coming from him being late out of the start house. Someone said he had a flat. Sounds like a prankster to me. Who gets a flat right before the Prologue?