triple Sunday

It's a triple activity Sunday for me. Usually I have nothing on my calendar on a Sunday.

I have watched the Tour de France for many, many years. I like it for strategy, but I belong to the couch peloton. It has to be 15-20 years, as it was a whole 12 years ago that I saw a stage in person in Barcelona (so cool, here's my blog post). Anyways....

I have been watching for the past 3 weeks, and today was the finale in Paris. Watched that around 9am.

That was preceded by the kick-off of Tour de France Femme avec Zwift, the new TDF for women. It is 8 days long and kicked off around 4am. These women rock. 

That's usually more than enough commitments for me in a day, but I recently decided to broaden my world by joining some virtual book clubs, and today was the first meeting. It was at noon, so I was 'rushing' from the men's TDF to a Zoom meeting. 

The book club was great. The book was 1984 by George Orwell, which I recently read (I am working my way through all of Orwell's works, I really like his writing). What a great group of people, and the most intellectually stimulating 3 hours I've spent in a long time. 

My TDF experience in Barcelona

Review: The Secret Cyclist

The Secret Cyclist: Real Life as a Rider in the Professional Peloton by The Secret Cyclist
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secrets without a lot of drama
A great listen, and easy to digest over a day or two of the TDF. Lots of recent relevant observations, including happenings in the 2018 Tour de France. Having read several books about professional cycling, and having followed the ups and downs of doping and scandals, not much would surprise me, and nothing here did. Instead, I got a refreshingly positive inside look at the life of a professional cyclist, one who has stayed grounded and clean over the years. But it's not bland. Our secret cyclist has strong opinions and shares them with conviction. Insights on other riders relate mainly to the stories behind and around crashes and controversies, but are respectful of others privacy. It's not a tell-all, it's a tell-some. Good choice of narrator, it sounded like it was the rider himself.

View all my reviews

The Picture of Courage

This man is the picture of courage. I am both saddened and inspired.

If you don't follow the Tour de France, then let me introduce you to Johnny Hoogerland. After being hit by a media car - along with cyclist Juan Antonio Fletcha - landing in a barbed wire fence, getting back on his bike (after being cut out of the fence, then tended to a doctor riding a motorcycle), persevered to finish the race while bleeding and in excruciating pain. He is on the podium because in addition to being in a breakaway of five riders that actually was going to beat the peloton to the finish, he was positioned to win the "King of the Mountains" polka-dot jersey - all he had to do was finish. It didn't matter that he came in 16 minutes after Luis Leon Sanchez (who took the win for stage 9); all he had to do was cross.

What courage. He was in tears as he was awarded his jersey and in such obvious agony. They say it took them 33 stitches to sew him up afterwards (well, I also heard 44 stitches, whichever it was, it was a lot).

Some other reflections:

• I know the riders take risks, and they accept those risks -- but it's one thing to go crashing over the edge of a mountain or into a ditch as a result of cycling (and there have been plenty of those in this year's TDF -- but to be hit by a car? It's crazy - and I feel for all those riders shaken by the incident, as well as those injured


• It was a French television media car that hit them and -- get this -- they were ignoring instructions from the TDF Race Director on race radio (it's in one of the articles below) - it's beyond irresponsible


• I was shocked to see the images of Johnny wrapped in the barbed wire, being cut out, the huge gashes in his legs and on his bared ass (yes, his uniform was in tatters), and his blood covered legs as he crossed the finish line - but I looked


• I was bothered that I looked, as it seems disrespectful, somehow, to be looking at the worst of it all - and thought of how he would feel, knowing his rear end was displayed to the world in tweets, then re-tweeted, and re-tweeted..... I wish people would resist the temptation to re-tweet the pictures that he'd really not want anyone to see


• But mostly, I am moved by the deep-to-the-core courage it took for him to get up on his bike and carry on.

Remarkable courage. Inspiring. Breathtaking. Moving. RAW COURAGE. Wow.
Here are a few articles about what happened, if you missed all the action:
Tour chief furious at vehicle accidents
More blood and broken bones leave the peloton shaken and looking for answers

Trip Reflections: Tour de France in Barcelona (a year ago)

A year ago today I was watching the Tour de France in person, in Barcelona. Yeah! It was very exciting! This is me on July 9th last year, waiting for the tour to arrive. I got there early so that I could get a spot right next to the barricade.
It was WET WET WAIT so I took refuge in a little bar and had tapas and beer while I waited.

This shot gives you a sense of the locale where I was, as well as just how wet it was....

This guy's idea of rain gear scares me a little... I hope he poked holes for breathing!

A local newswoman files her story about the TDF's impending arrival in Barcelona. Not sure if she was speaking Spanish or Catalan. Note the shoes.

This was my favourite pre-race moment. This Robert Plant look alike wandered into the crowd, still drunk from the night before, with a bottle of wine in his hand. He was really very harmless, was having a good time chatting up the waiting crowd, but they eventually moved him away, as he really was a hazard to himself; he kept walking into the road. BTW, it was only some time afterwards, when telling someone this story, that I realized he was probably on his way home from Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls, as it was running at the same time, and they all wear white.

These cyclists initially cause a stir of excitement, but I guess they are test riders of some sort, out to check the course.

One is kept plenty entertained for a good hour before the arrival of the first riders with all the floats..... including horses! It was one of those floats that I got my red polka dot hat from (does that make me a queen of the mountains?)

Beer. Or something along those lines.

Finally, the Tour Director's car. That means the riders are close behind.

Here come the sprinters!!! I was on the other side of town from where the finish line was, so this would have been the teams setting up their lead-out men....

The excitement of a rider up close! Look at the faces of the crowd.

This poor fellow had a bike problem right in front of us. He got great encouragement from the crowd when he was finally able to get going again.

It's quite something to see the riders and cars and motorcycles all up close, all so close to one another.

These were the last two riders of the day, still getting an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd. Note the rain gear on the riders.... you don't often see that.

After all the excitement, I wandered by the arch and they had all these stationary bikes set up. I think it was a Livestrong event, where people rode these, while the race was going on, to raise money. Strange, but true.

This is the little bar I slipped into on my way home.... ah, the pleasures of a beer and a loo! And there I sat, planning my return in the morning to see the riders off....

On July 10th last year, once off the Barcelona metro in the morning, I got my fav breakfast: a bikini!!!! And there wasn't even rain.

Fortunately, the rain held off, and didn't have to wait too long until the Race Director's car went by the other way....

And in a flash, the peleton went by!

Really, if you blinked, you might really miss it! As this was the start of the day's racing, all the riders were by in a matter of minutes that you coulld count on one hand. Don't know why that surprised me, but it did! As you can see, they are already picking up speed.

This fellow was bringing up the rear...

Managed to get a few good pics of local watchers before the riders got there.... Click to enlarge this one... I guess no one was getting their prosthetics on time that morning!

Loved seeing these ladies out watching the excitement below...

The Tour de France really was one of my trip highlights... I can't believe how lucky I was that they went through Barcelona when I was there! I am a pretty big fan, and generally have a sleep deprived month watching coverage at 4 or 5 am at home - which I am doing this week. In Barcelona I didn't easily find English footage, so I was more distant from the specifics of the race last year.... but being up close and personal definitely made up for that.

I can't believe I never posted all this a year ago, but it says a lot for just how 'busy' I was and just how many experiences haven't made it to this blog yet!

It's nice to have these memories as I am watching the race this year ;-)

I will see the Tour de France first hand!!!

I can't believe my luck! The Tour de France is going through Barcelona this year, and it is when I am there!!!! This is so totally awesome. I am a serious couch-potato fan. Stage 6 ends in Barcelona on July 9th, and Stage 7 leaves Barcelona leaves on July 10th. Soooooooooo cool! I was looking up the schedule and route map to see if I could travel to one of the stages, but they are bringing it to me!! I'll just have to take the subway and then walk somewhere.... I wonder if I'll see Bobke around town? and I wonder if he will have hair again?