On The Fly

Peter Sagan claims stage two of the 105th Tour de France following an uphill sprint win in La Roche-sur-Yon, 182.5 km (113.4 miles), after another hectic finale involved a major crash on the final bend and yet more splits in the field. Ah, Summer! Bicycling magic is renewed for millions when the voices of Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll, and Jens Voight grace the television airwaves broadcasting  Le Tour de France  (Le Tour). When you have the audacity to believe you’re an accomplished bicyclist, tune into NBC S N Sports broadcast of Le Tour in July (July 7 - July 29, 2018), this year on YouTube TV. Quickly humility sets in. This year marks the 105th Anniversary - 21 stages, a total distance of 2,898 kilometers (1,874 miles), and only two,  yes two , rest days - of this classic race that tours the French countryside with the finale in Paris on the Champs-Elysées. Bicycling magazine lists a few fun facts about Le Tour; racers will consume 16...

“ Mark Cavendish claimed stage one of the 103rd Tour de France at Utah Beach as he out sprinted Marcel Kittel and Peter Sagan to take the first yellow jersey of his career.” Ah, Summer! Bicycling magic is renewed for millions when the voices of Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, and Bob Roll, grace the television airwaves broadcasting  Le Tour de France  (Le Tour). If you have the audacity to believe you’re an accomplished bicyclist, tune into NBC SN Sports broadcast of Le Tour in July (July 2 - July 24, 2016). Quickly humility sets in. This year marks the 103 rd  Anniversary - 21 stages, a total distance of 3,535 kilometers, and only two,  yes two , rest days - of this classic race that tours the French countryside with the finale in Paris on the Champs-Elysées. Bicycling magazine lists a few fun facts about Le Tour; racers will consume 160,000 calories during the three-week tour. 200 bottles of water or drink mix (depends on the temperature) per race....

Summer on my calendar has officially arrived. The fourth of July celebrations have already come and gone and Le Tour de France is underway! This morning the sun peeked over the horizon in California at 5:45 a.m., a comfortable 60 degrees, the skies were turquoise blue, the winds calm, bird’s singing quietly in the background, and the fresh smell of the trees filled the air. Well, not exactly, you see today’s chore was to empty and completely scrub the cats litter box. As you might imagine the smells were not exactly that of a floral bouquet. Anyway . . .  For me, summer continues to build the anticipation of this year’s annual high Sierra adventure. This will be my fourth consecutive year wildness backpacking near Bishop, CA. It’s less than two weeks away and my motivation for training increases daily as the trip approaches. My challenge is to not overdo it, maintain a balance between workout and proper rest. As a devoted cyclist and French compatriot, anticipation al...