Stage 17 - Back To The Salt Mines

Met up with Darin and the Boss on a very windy and very humid late afternoon. Since the Tour featured another mountain stage it was west into the wind for us, and another ride in and around Holy Hill. I'm getting a bit tired of this route so we changed it up a little bit by heading further west on some nice and quiet country roads. The change of scenery must have done us some good because the pace was high. That's good though - the sooner we hit the turn-around point, the sooner we got out of the headwind.

The high humidity caused copious amounts of fluid to drain from our bodies and we were soon in search of a filling station. Upon finding one I was pleased to see that Darin had read the previous blog entries and was giving a Salted Nut Roll a chance to prove it's worthiness as a sports energy bar. I just know that he will soon be a convert.

Speaking of fluid loss, take a look at the picture below. That's part of my arm about 20 minutes after the ride. I had apparently sweat so much that there was enough salt to re-crystallize after the water evaporated. As an avid proponent of re-cycling I saved the salt and then sprinkled it on some french fries at dinner time.




That Lance Armstrong, he never stops giving me fuel for disliking him. In his usual I-just-can't-stand-to-not-be-in-the-news mode he held a press conference in France yesterday. Why? So he could tell everyone how he phoned the Tour de France's director, Jean-Marie LeBlanc and told him how the latest doping scandal would, "never have happened on our watch, ever". Read the details of the press conference HERE.

First, why phone a guy who you hate and make that kind of comment? Second, if you did such a thing why hold a press conference to tell the world about it? This is why I think Armstrong is such a jack. You have your money and your fame, now shut-up and go away. Your 15 minutes are up. And finally, just what does he mean when he says the doping scandal wouldn't have happened on his watch? That the riders would not have doped (yea, right), that it wouldn't have been made public, or that the investigations never made any progress because of outside pressures?

Having all of his former closest rivals swept up in a doping scandal makes for a strong argument that Lance doped too. You can be better and stronger than everyone else, but if they're all doping and you're still kicking butt it makes it ever more difficult to believe that you didn't dope. So again, shut-up and go away or one day you'll shoot your mouth off a little too far and someone will break the roaring silence that is your history with drugs.

And it must have killed you today to watch Floyd Landis launch one of the greatest ever Tour rides. Something you never had to do because of your dominant teammates. If Landis goes on to win this thing just a little shine will come off the Armstrong mystique. Lots of non-cycling fans here in the United States will assume that the Tour isn't so difficult or special after all. I mean, if a cancer survivor wins it and then a guy with a dead hip can win it, what's the big deal? You must be hating every minute of this all while you smile and call Landis a friend even though the two of you hate each other.

Lance with his new 'friend' at the Tour

Lance had apparently dumped Sheryl Crow so that he could travel and play with the actor Jake Something-Or-Other, the gay cowboy from the movie Brokeback Mountain. Lance and Jake travelled to France together to experience the Tour de France as 'fans'. See the picture above and draw your own conclusions.


Today's Mileage Goal: 61.69. Miles Ridden: 62 (Or 100K if you're like Darin and want it to sound farther).