Stage 9 - An Easy Ride

Well, well, well. The wind has finally died down. At least for now. Sure, it was foggy and misting when I set out but what a pleasure to ride the hoods instead of the drops. Due to work responsibilities I switched tomorrow's mileage for today. That means 72 miles today and 50 tomorrow.

Today I set out straight north to see what I could find. The ride was quiet and uneventful, which was nice. No howling wind, not much vehicular traffic and frankly, not much to look at because of the thin fog. After forty miles or so the fog lifted to reveal a lovely evening. With clear skies, warm temperatures and little wind the smells of summer where everywhere. Freshly cut hay is always a treat and the scent was made even better when mixed with the sweet smell of ripening corn. One not so pleasant smell was that of dead fish as I rolled along the shores of Lake Michigan, just north of Port Washington. But by the time I got into town it was another pleasant valley Tuesday. Charcoal burning everywhere. Rows of houses that are all the same and no one seems to care. Neither did I. Makes you hungry though, riding hard while smelling the grilling Teriyaki chicken, brats, burgers and steaks. (A medium (What do the snobs at Starbucks call it? Grande?) coffee drink at Starbucks to the first person to identify the hidden reference in this paragraph)

During the last twenty miles I was treated to a beautiful sunset as I rode west towards home. What a great ride today. I think my legs are finally adjusting to the workload as today's ride was almost easy. The crotch surgery seems to have been a success too. There is a little residual tenderness but it was minimal and if there was going to be a flare-up a 72 miler should have provoked it. So far, so good. And to top things off, we passed the mid-way point of this year's Tour Challenge. 564 of 1102 miles are in the books.

Cornfield sunset

What makes a Tour de France champion? Sure, winning helps but it's more than that. It's determination, grit, aggression, over-coming obstacles, attacking and fighting to the end. It's doing what Alexandre Vinokourov has been doing. After a serious crash a week ago that left him with deep cuts on both knees and his elbow, along with countless severe contusions and scrapes - he is still in the race. Instead of letting his team car pull him back to the pack after he crashed, he rode hard to limit his losses. Instead of whining about bad luck he rode hard to limit his losses. After getting dropped on the big mountain today he continued to ride hard to limit his losses. The Tour de France charges a steep price for any mistake or run of hard luck and therefore, and unfortunately, Vinokourov is probably out of contention for a podium spot. Elvis thinks that this is a shame because of all of the riders in the Tour, Vino has the most panache, and Elvis thinks that panache should always be rewarded. Yet who knows, last year Floyd Landis pulled back from an eight minute deficit (albeit with the aid of performance enhancing drugs), and maybe there is some magic left in the French air for Vinokourov. He's 8:05 behind the leader, but only 5:30 behind the real contenders. Yes, that's a lot of time with half the Tour over but he's one tough son-of-a-gun and you just know he'll be attacking soon. It'll be interesting to watch.

Vinokourov cried after losing over three minutes today. Sometimes hitting bottom is just what a person needs to throw caution to the wind, take some chances and see what the gods have as a reward.

Vinokourov in tears after losing 3 minutes in today's Stage