What a beautiful morning. The weather is cool, maybe 50°. The climb up to the finish line today was a nice drive, and pretty easy with very little stoppage. The Andorran police have things very well under control, unlike the useless French.
One thing I realized I haven’t really talked much about is the race itself. I must first say that it’s quite nice not having CBS around, and not having to deal with someone in person. The flipside of that is, the show still goes on, but it goes on back home. So while before I was staying late to make their dubs, I’m staying late to feed their footage down the line. Instead of harassing me in person, they harass me via email. However, there have been few complaints as of yet.
Today’s stage was a good one, as it separated obvious contenders from everyday riders. Alberto Contador got himself a nice attack in, and distance from his own teammate Lance Armstrong, which apparently was unwarranted and uninstructed. He did that on his own. I’m curious to find out what Astana’s team coach, Johan Bruyneel has to say about what I think is the apparent oversight of one Italian rider, Rinaldo Nocentini sneaking away with the Yellow Jersey.
Tonight was a very long drive, probably the longest yet. Out of the Pyrenees we drove, at dangerous, breakneck speeds, to catch as many extra minutes on the night’s sleep as possible. We got the early tip from Craig Hummer that there was an unmapped turn ahead by just a few KM that would take us around the caravan and avoid up to an hour in traffic. It turned out it really didn’t save us any time at all, as we all seemed to meet up at the American Embassy around the same time.
For those who are unaware, the American Embassy is code for McDonald’s. My general rule is, since we’re in a country of such culinary greatness, you should only be allowed one trip to the Embassy the entire time you’re there. I call it the ‘mulligan’. So far I’ve followed the rule. But sometimes, you have no other option when you’re driving very late at night, and the French generally do not understand the concept of take-out.
One thing I realized I haven’t really talked much about is the race itself. I must first say that it’s quite nice not having CBS around, and not having to deal with someone in person. The flipside of that is, the show still goes on, but it goes on back home. So while before I was staying late to make their dubs, I’m staying late to feed their footage down the line. Instead of harassing me in person, they harass me via email. However, there have been few complaints as of yet.Today’s stage was a good one, as it separated obvious contenders from everyday riders. Alberto Contador got himself a nice attack in, and distance from his own teammate Lance Armstrong, which apparently was unwarranted and uninstructed. He did that on his own. I’m curious to find out what Astana’s team coach, Johan Bruyneel has to say about what I think is the apparent oversight of one Italian rider, Rinaldo Nocentini sneaking away with the Yellow Jersey.
Tonight was a very long drive, probably the longest yet. Out of the Pyrenees we drove, at dangerous, breakneck speeds, to catch as many extra minutes on the night’s sleep as possible. We got the early tip from Craig Hummer that there was an unmapped turn ahead by just a few KM that would take us around the caravan and avoid up to an hour in traffic. It turned out it really didn’t save us any time at all, as we all seemed to meet up at the American Embassy around the same time.For those who are unaware, the American Embassy is code for McDonald’s. My general rule is, since we’re in a country of such culinary greatness, you should only be allowed one trip to the Embassy the entire time you’re there. I call it the ‘mulligan’. So far I’ve followed the rule. But sometimes, you have no other option when you’re driving very late at night, and the French generally do not understand the concept of take-out.
And speaking of the French, they must really love their ‘Sex and the City’, because it’s the only thing on their 5 channels at night. I just want Eurosport, and I can’t always get that. Is that too much to ask?
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