Day 1

That's right. I'll be making comments when I remember about what I look forward to the most during the summer (as far as televised entertainment is concerned). The 96th edition of the Tour de France is underway, starting in the beautiful, yet ritzy Mediterranean coast country of Monaco. Only a few kilometers of this mornings time trial is actually rode on French soil, this being not so unusual as each year a clockwise route of France is traded for a counter-clockwise route the next and so on and so forth. The Tour has been ridden through Germany, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Great Britain (not sure how on those last two). The next three weeks will certainly hold historical significance as record Tour winner Lance Armstrong returns to the stage with team Astana, which last year was banned from the Tour for relations to Alexander Vinokourov and doping, and two other teams (Garmin-Slipsteam and Columbia-Highroad) bring even more American riders to France in hopes of rekindling the threat of American riders in the classic events. 

The next 3 weeks will be entertaining to say the least. I'd have more to say but need to get a start on this day if I too will ride my bike. Thought I'd share a photo of Armstrong's time trial bike for this years Tour. Of course he gets the special treatment and rides a one of a kind (literally) machine that no one else on the Tour or even the team for that matter will ride, but I must say, this is one hell of a bike, certainly tickling my fancy for all things chic. Who'd of thought Armstrong would not only show up in style, but "murdered out"?

 

So glue your butts to the couch and turn on the TV. No grief from me for liquifying your brain this time.