Stage 20 - It's (Been) A Long And Winding Road

Another beautiful day for a ride with some good friends. Barry, Darin, Mike and Russ joined me for the last official ride of this year's "50% of the Miles, 100% of the Effort" Tour de France Challenge.

We set out from Germantown for a nice ride through Thiensville over to Lake Michigan, up to Saukville, over to the east side of West Bend and back to Germantown. The miles roll by easy if you can sit where I was when I took the picture below;

The livin' is easy!

I was able to show off the prowess of my peeing from the bike although nobody seemed too impressed. Maybe they were just left speechless from the sight of it all.

The real Tour concluded today with Floyd Landis the victor. My favorite quote from Floyd came from after his amazing ride up Morzine. When asked how he felt about winning his first Tour de France stage he said, "I don't care. I want to win the whole thing". It's that kind of attitude that makes true champions.

Speaking of true champions (and you're probably tired of hearing me rant on Lance (although you can go HERE for an interesting analysis of Lance's blood from the 1999 Tour)), did you notice 5-time Tour de France champion Bernard Hinault on the podium every day? He would help the overall leader of the Tour don the yellow jersey. It's seems like a menial task for one of cycling's greats doesn't it? But you see, this is what true champions are made of. Hinault understands the importance of the Tour and of cycling. He wants to give back to the sport and the event that gave him the opportunity for greatness. You'll never hear him shooting his mouth off. Not one to call silly and meaningless press conferences, he's better known for saying things like, "Everyday there's something that reminds me why I love this sport". He won the Tour five times by being a tough S.O.B on the bike. Known as 'The Badger', he rode with panache and anger. No drugs, no financial deals with other teams and riders, no machinations or manipulations. No playing the press. It was mano-a-mano against every other rider.

Take a look at this impressive list of wins (palmares);

* Tour de France (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985)
o General Classification Maillot jaune (78 days total)
o Points Classification Maillot vert (1979)
o Climbing Classification Maillot à pois rouge (1986)
* Giro d'Italia (1980, 1982, 1985)
* Vuelta a Espana (1978, 1983)
* Grand Prix des Nations (1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984)
* World Road Cycling Championship (1980)
* Paris-Roubaix (1981)
* Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré (1977, 1979, 1981)
* Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1977, 1980)
* Giro di Lombardia (1979, 1984)
* La Flèche Wallonne (1979, 1983)
* Amstel Gold Race (1981)
* Tour de Romandie (1980)
* Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (1984)

That's ten grand tour victories on top of every other major road event.


Back to the Tour Challenge;

As hard as this thing is, it's also a blast. Especially when you have good friends like I do, willing to do anything to help you through. It's The Boss showing up in your driveway when he knows that you want to quit. It's Russ ignoring the pain of a medical problem so he can pull you through the wind. It's Darin willing to ride in the rain so that it doesn't seem so miserable. Honestly, if it weren't for those guys I would not have completed it. 1225 miles is just too far to go on your own. Thanks, fellas. I owe you one (or two, or three..).

Today's ride ended with an old fart in a car cutting directly in front of us and then nailing his brakes. This lead to some very heated words. The roadway was wide open and the old guy was angry that we were riding two-by-two. How is it that stupid people are able to figure out how to work every angle of the welfare system in this country but can't understand that it's legal and recommended to ride two-by-two on bicycles (See item 'E' HERE)? And why does this anger drivers so much that they lose their ability to think to such a level that they're willing to risk serious physical harm? Heaven only knows what might have happened had this knuckle-head been on his cell phone.

But the altercation was just another small item to file away with the rest of the little things that happen and what you see when you're out riding a lot. A great blue heron winging overhead. The smell of freshly mown hay. Drafting behind busses, trucks and tractors. Watching the summer sun, red as Mars, slowly setting as you hustle home to beat nightfall. Sweat raining from The Boss' head. The wind making waves upon the sea of wheat fields. Darin's bike squeaking for mile upon mile. The great taste of a salted nut roll. Russ picking up the pace when he knows you need his help. The feel of the warm wind on your body. The refreshment of a sprinkling rain on a hot day.

But I didn't see any rainbows, not one. I wonder what that means?


The final mile

I made a short and choppy video with my crappy little Casio camera that you can view by clicking HERE. It gives you an idea of what it's like to be protected by four of your cycling buddies as we move quickly along a country road.

Today's Mileage Goal: 47.12. Miles Ridden: 50.