The main off topic sport around here seems to be soccer...which is fine. But the Tour starts tomorrow meaning I'll be a complete nerd for the next 3 weeks. I encourage everyone to watch a couple stages. It is unbelievably exciting. I'll also be running around northern MI streams in the middle of the night for week 2 of the Hex hatch. Happyhappyhappy.....
Armstrong is out of the way - are there any American teams/cyclists worth following? Must admit I don't know much about the TDF.
TJ van Garderen. Finished fifth last year and won the best young rider catagory (under 23ish). Also, he is on the same team as the 2011 winner (Cadel Evans) which complicates things. Further complications come from him finishing ahead of Evans last year. Controversy.
Best young rider is under 25, fyi. Definitely a big deal. His 5th place finish was with him supporting cadel for the first half of the race. Definitely could have creeped up to 4th with a longshot at third if he hadn't been waiting up for cadel.
I don't expect him to get 5th this year just because the field is quite a bit stronger, but he is definitely the best American hope at a big time stage racer.
Another name to keep an eye out for is Talansky, who has been performing solidly as of late.
Definitely expecting an awesome Tour this year. Lots of big guns are back (though Wiggins is out again) and the course is fricking amazing. A mountain-top finish on the penultimate stage (versus the usual TT) will be very cool, especially if the GC is a close call. I'm very excited for le Tour to begin in case it wasn't apparent!
his team (BMC) is good and it will be interesting to see whether they wind up riding in his support or for Cadel Evans.
Cadel seems to be riding very well this year... I think he'll be in stronger contention than he was last year. Cadel is the team leader so they'll ride for him. It could get interesting later in the race though. I have a feeling that if last year were to repeat itself, Cadel would have his team support TVG and go for the podium.
Vacationing. Got sick a couple days go,so beer isnt so appealing..but I am recovering, and now my daughter has the same stomach thing. Ugh
Good Mom > Beer tasting in No Cal.
As expected, we're in storm mode here at DTE right now, but as we have virtually no outages in the region where I work, we sent all of our field people up to the Pontiac area. The building here, as a result, is almost a ghost town. It will make for a rather quiet, potentially somewhat productive Friday unless another round of storms rolls through here.
This weekend will be spent preparing the house for cats. We decided to get back into the business of having pets in the house now that the kids are in elementary school, so last night, we went and bought most of the basic essentials. It means that I will have to be a little more fastidious about my allergy medication, but beyond that, we should be more or less set by early next week.
The only other chore of note is starting the process of getting the lenses in my glasses replaced. The UV coating on one lens seems to be defective, as evidence by the spots that have shown up in it. It isn't interfering with my vision at all, but if you look at the one lens up close, you can see the spots. Fortunately, I did opt for the Protection Plan from LensCrafters, so if I lose the argument over who pays, my vision co-pay is only $20 and that's all it would cost me.
And now, in the last few months we went to the national championship game while John Beilein just pantsed some of the best defenses in the country and last night we had two guys get drafted in the first round. Our starting line-up next year might be three 5*s and two 4*s with two of those guys being projected first rounders for the 2014 draft.
if someone travelled back in time five years and proclaimed in the diag that this would be so, people would've laughed you off campus. But nay, it has come true.
The future is most definitely bright. I will posbang you all to celebrate this.
It's friday friday... something something something friday.
'Bout damn time too.
So everyone, who is our next commit?
Due Date is finally here for my first son! Praying he comes out healthy, all that matters. Dr. was pretty confident he will be here within next few days, I'm selfishly hoping for today :) Everyone have a great weekend and Go Blue!
and head up to our vacation home on the shores of Lake Huron for a week of fun on the beach and cruising around my boat. I've got a case of good stuff ready to roll which includes a nice sampling of Revolution Brewery beers. Love Anti-Hero. Nice IPA. Kinda like 3 Floyds Gumballhead. Seems it will be a summer favorite for me this year.
Super pumped about the Tour, but unfortunately I'll be moving this weekend.
Would anyone be interested a primer on cycling in diary form? It really is quite exciting once you know a bit about the strategy. Then it's not just watching a bunch of skinny dudes in spandex ride around, just like how football isn't just a bunch of big guys running into each other once you know the nuances.
"Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer, all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying from that's keeping you from the finals?"
"Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. But good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever."
- Lance
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