Le Tour

[RickC]

Second the vote for speedplay pedals. They're very cool. And since they're flat you can ride them a short distance with real shoes to the parking lot in a pinch. (I'm a tri-geek so my bike is racked at the end of a race.)

Granted endurace sports are hard to film, and Americans like to watch sports rather than participate. But watching a well done long event -Le Tour, Le Mans or the Isle of Mann TT - is one of my few TV joys - even on tape delay. And the Hawaii Ironman race usually looks better than real life in 2 hour format!

Miss the old, well-done, Wide World of Sports shows. Gave us all a more well-rounded appreciation of what humans can achieve/perform. Introduced me to a number of the sports I play today, and made my failure at Little League easier to bear!

To open a local paper in Chicago is to think that there are the 3 big stick and ball sports, plus the three also rans: NASCAR, golf and hockey.

[dd74]

We have lousy Adelphia cable at our house, so I'm not sure if Le Tour is on at all on our local stations. Is anyone carrying more than just highlights? I heard OLN might. But ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN? Anyone?

Thanks.

[turbo6bar]

Well, I'm gonna go off topic a bit. Has anyone ridden the Speedplays and Look pedals back to back? About 3 weeks ago, I started pushing the big chainring. It resulted in nice speeds, but after the second day my knees started hurting. Well, I took it slow for 2 weeks. Then, I changed my saddle and adjusted it so that my kneecap is directly over the spindle. Now, my knees feel great. I'm sure the saddle adjustment was the cure. I am running old Shimano Ultegra look-style pedals (probably 7-10 degrees float) and red Look cleats. Would the Speedplays be a great improvement?

I ride 5-6 days a week, 18-30 miles per ride. Totally recreational, but I do like challenging my body.

Coverage on Time Warner cable has been nil, from what I've seen, but then again, I don't watch TV more than 20 or 30 minutes a day, anyway.

Jurgen

[dd74]

You're smart not to watch more than 20-30 min. a day. The stuff rots your brain.

I've transitioned from Looks to Speedplay. The Speedplays, in my opinion, make my pedaling much more efficient. They provide more of a circular stroke than elliptical, as was the case with the Looks. My left knee hurt my first time out on the Speedplays, but I think that was just me tensing up as I became accustomed to a new pedal. Now both knees are fine.

What I like is the simplicity of the pedal. With Looks, it always seemed I had to change cleats every three months, or tighten the tension in the pedal. I also like that there's less of a footprint with the Speedplays, which allows deeper cornering while pedaling.

The caveat of the pedal is not the weight, but the weight-to-cost ratio difference between the standard cro-moly Speedplays and the top of the line Ti version. I don't think you lose enough grams with the Ti Speedplays to justify the $100 or so increase in price.

[nostatic]

I use the Speedplay Frogs (the offroad pedal) even on the road, as I like being able to walk in my shoes. They take some getting used to (and some people never do), and it feels like the pedals are big ice cubes (lots of float and no springs brining you back to center). After you get used to it though, it is tough to go back to a regular pedal.

If I was still racing crits I probably wouldn't want them (want to be a bit more locked), but I've used them on trails and pavement with good results.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by dd74
Maybe he's not going to make today's stage, huh?

Didja' guys hear about Tyler Hamilton - the American racer who rode for Armstrong's last year?

He's with a different team now. But anyway, he fractured his collar bone in The Tour's first crash on the second stage, but continues in the race.

It's said his pain has caused him to either grind or crack all the teeth in his mouth.

Gee, this guy looks like he's having loads of fun! Far as I'm concerned, I prefer billiards as an esoteric sport to follow...Efren Reyes...as good at his game as Lance is on a bike...

[turbo6bar]

If I'm not mistaken, Tyler Hamilton is working with a cable TV outfit producing a documentary about the human body and mind in the Tour. I imagine he's riding because he doesn't want to disappoint them. My biggest fear of riding is going over the handlebars and breaking my collar bone. I don't know how I'd manage, since my work requires physical activity.

I'll put the Speedplays on my To Buy list. I just splurged on a set of Recaro SRDs, and my play fund is running low. I couldn't turn down SRDs for less than $900 delivered.

jurgen

[curtisaa]

Todd...I used to do the 1/2 Triathlons, and I would hang with the guys at the Rose Bowl. People whom think they can cycle ought to check this out. When the peloton goes by you, all you hear are guys yelling and sounds of chains going through their derailers. The pack now-days (summer months) can be anywhere from 75 to 125 guys. The joggers and walkers detest these guys. Like you said Todd, when there's a wreck, it's usually bad...

OLN, I think is doing a great job on their coverage this year.

[tabs]

Only I could run into the back of a parked car riding UPHILL on a bicycle. Yep thats me, I turned a corner for a 1/2 mile uphil climb, and as I turned the corner all I could think of was "I am in danger" and as I was preoccupied with that thought and looking down at my feet as I was climbing the hill...bang right into the back of a car...I wound up with my chin resting on the back of the guys car... the guy cam outa his house and a lady stopped...the guy said to the lady, "Yeah I just thought he was resting on the back of my car at first." Anyway I walked the rest of the way home as the front wheel was bent a little. I was lucky I only cut my mouth.... Shorthly after this happened my Mom was diagnosed with Cancer...

[JavaBrewer]

The first crit I ever saw was the La Jolla Gran Prix (or something like that) back in the 7-11 team days - Davis Phinney, Jeff Pierce, Andy Hampsten, etc... A few years later a guy named John Tomac came on the U.S. pro scene (accomplished MTB pro) and was my inspiration to pickup road racing.

I regret leaving the sport for so long as I have put on a good 35 lbs since then and its a hard sport to get back into cause you suffer so much when totally out of shape. That plus the time commitment is a real burden - but I sure miss the fitness level, the long rides, and the thrill of dropping people on a grueling climb. The strange thing thing was that I was a really good sprinter but my passion was climbing. Of course I couldn't keep up with the "real" climbers but I had a real love for max effort and could manage pain better than most. Oh and the eating was great too! 3 big meals and a 2000 calorie protein shake just to keep at 165 lbs. Ahh those were the days.

[JavaBrewer]

I'm trying to dig up a picture of Davis Phinney doing that in a European road race (maybe TDF but I doubt it). He was head down hammering to reconnect with the peloton after flatting and ran into the back of a team van. He went through the rear glass and cut up his face pretty bad.

Originally posted by tabs
Only I could run into the back of a parked car riding UPHILL on a bicycle. Yep thats me, I turned a corner for a 1/2 mile uphil climb, and as I turned the corner all I could think of was "I am in danger" and as I was preoccupied with that thought and looking down at my feet as I was climbing the hill...bang right into the back of a car...I wound up with my chin resting on the back of the guys car... the guy cam outa his house and a lady stopped...the guy said to the lady, "Yeah I just thought he was resting on the back of my car at first." Anyway I walked the rest of the way home as the front wheel was bent a little. I was lucky I only cut my mouth.... Shorthly after this happened my Mom was diagnosed with Cancer...

[dd74]

Phinney is a god. That guy was completely awesome. He and Alexi Grewal. And Andy Hampsten, talk about cycling hall of fame material.

Hampsten in particular, since at the time he was riding (remember, LeMond was his contemporary), the world thought little of Americans in Int'l cycling.

Hampsten proved them wrong with winning the G'iro Italia.

LeMond's triumphs speak for themselves.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by dd74
Phinney is a god. That guy was completely awesome. He and Alexi Grewal. And Andy Hampsten, talk about cycling hall of fame material.

Hampsten in particular, since at the time he was riding (remember, LeMond was his contemporary), the world thought little of Americans in Int'l cycling.

Hampsten proved them wrong with winning the G'iro Italia.

And wasn't the weather like snowing or something? The Euro's were astounded that an American had the bigger set that day.

Oh forgot about Alexi - he was like France's Fignon in the TDF - I recall him spitting into the camera lens. The John Mac of cycling.

[dd74]

When my daughter was in day care, I knew a guy who used to cycle in the Rose Bowl pelotons. One day he lost control and ended up going through the windshield of a police car.

The guy wanted to keep riding. He didn't know he was bleeding pints at the time.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Someone explain to me this Rose Bowl thing???

[dd74]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte
Someone explain to me this Rose Bowl thing???

The Rose Bowl is enormous, as you might know from watching New Year's Bowl Games. It can seat well over 100,000 people, and is older than dirt. I think the landscape of it can be seen from outer space. It's nestled deep in Pasadena, inside the San Bernardino Valley.

The grounds around the Rose Bowl are also very large. Very little auto traffic occurs around there, from the times I've been there, making it a great area to cycle, rollerblade and run. Often, there are club bicycle rides there: read road cyclists with fast bicycles. They ride in a group, called a peloton, and can amount to many, many riders. When riding in a peloton, one's threshold of error has to be extremely small - for example - watch the rider in front of you, if your tire touches his, you probably will go down.

When one goes down in a peloton invariably a large portion of the peloton goes down, akin to a domino effect. To me, it's a horrible thing to see happen.

Groups in cycling tend to be faster than individuals, so the speeds can get up to 30 or 40 miles an hour. Peloton riding is dun and challenging, but requires a lot of concentration.

[curtisaa]

It's really quite awesome to witness. I live adjacent to the rose Bowl, so I'm very familar with this ride:

It's every Tuesday and Thursday (rain or shine) @ 5:45. If you want to hang with these guys it's 10 laps around the Rose Bowl and the adjacent Brookside Golf Course. Each lap is very close to a 5K ( 3.2 miles). I would guess the AVG speed to hang in the Peloton is 25-28 MPH. Sounds easy RIGHT....jump in the pack, or at the rear and just draft for a few laps, it's tough.

[scottmandue]

Well I'm pissed, I got dishnetwork but no OLN and I am not going to the 150 channel package, I just don't like TV that much.

I say we have a write in campain to ESPN to bring it back.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by dd74
When riding in a peloton, one's threshold of error has to be extremely small - for example - watch the rider in front of you, if your tire touches his, you probably will go down. When one goes down in a peloton invariably a large portion of the peloton goes down, akin to a domino effect. To me, it's a horrible thing to see happen.

And even more horrible to participate in I did a Cat 3 road race years ago where I chickened out on a breakaway and ended up in the pack sprint for 3rd. We had the wind at our backs and it was probably the fastest I've ever gone on a flat road other than motor pacing. The guys in front tapped their brakes as did I and my partner on the left. There followed a series of skids and seriously grisly crunches and crashes. I never looked back, didn't place either, but still felt like the luckiest man around. After that I always took my chances with an early sprint break.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by scottmandue
Well I'm pissed, I got dishnetwork but no OLN and I am not going to the 150 channel package, I just don't like TV that much.
I say we have a write in campain to ESPN to bring it back.

Can you sign up for the full package and then cancel in 2 weeks?