Tour de France 2011 talk

[jlnc]

Thanks Possegal! 6am huh? Hmmm, maybe I will wait for the taped edition later in the day...I'm not that hardcore. (Yet!) I have a feeling it will become addictive!

[ny biker]

Mostly it starts at 8 on Versus -- the early starts are for the big mountain stages.

I generally record the live morning broadcast with Phil and Paul, then watch that at night instead of the prime time Americanized version.

(Of course Comcast decided to "upgrade" my on-screen guide and DVR software last week, and I've been having so many problems since then that I'm worried my recordings will get messed up. As it is I need to program every day separately to make sure it gets set up right.)

Thor looked really weird in that wig...

[ny biker]

And here's a nice little appetizer...

http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-fra...viewer-s-guide

[Possegal]

Thanks Possegal! 6am huh? Hmmm, maybe I will wait for the taped edition later in the day...I'm not that hardcore. (Yet!) I have a feeling it will become addictive!

Yeah, the 6AM ones are only a few and they are the days that they will be pedaling up the mountains for many hours. My family also does what NY biker does and DVRs the live broadcast as there is a lot more Phil and Paul in that one. I've also been known to stream it on one monitor at work, while working on the other monitor.

I'm going to go through withdrawal this year though, since last year I was in Rotterdam and Brussels or the first few stages. I want to be there again this year!

[azfiddle]

We don't have cable so we are purchasing the online service for El Tour, which we did last year. You can watch live or start anytime after and watch any sections you want.

Our local Carmichael Training Center is having an open house on the next 3 Weds evenings, from 5-6:30 to watch the race, with their own commentary and free energy bars and drinks for refreshments. I think we will stop by at least once.

[Roadtrip]

Wow. TdF. Seems like this past year just flew by. I can't believe it's July again.

I hope Andy finds his form, I'm really rooting for him, but TRS is close to my heart too!

Shannon

[ny biker]

BTW, we should make it clear now: are spoilers allowed in this thread?

I can't watch video on my pc at work, so I usually follow major races via the live on-screen commentary on velonews.com. It can be surprisingly exciting, even though it's just words on a screen.

Also I see updates on twitter from the various cycling people I follow. I love it when Graham Watson stops at a cafe mid-race to upload photos via his ipad.

[TrekTheKaty]

"Meanwhile, Andy Schleck doesn’t seem to have the same capacity for ruthlessness. Consider “Chaingate.” After Contador rode away from him on Stage 15, Schleck said “my stomach is full of anger.” However, he acted more like I do when my stomach is full of dessert, which is to say he got all docile and cuddly, and by the end of Stage 17 they were hugging and kissing on the top of the Tourmalet."

Um, yeah. That's true.

[hulagirl]

23 days of heaven! I watch online and since I work from home I find something to do that allows me to watch in front of my laptop! Usually it's something like glazing tiles for a convention coming up. I LOVE Tour Time!

[pll]

"Meanwhile, Andy Schleck doesn’t seem to have the same capacity for ruthlessness. Consider “Chaingate.” After Contador rode away from him on Stage 15, Schleck said “my stomach is full of anger.” However, he acted more like I do when my stomach is full of dessert, which is to say he got all docile and cuddly, and by the end of Stage 17 they were hugging and kissing on the top of the Tourmalet."

Um, yeah. That's true.

Hilarious! That'd be more my riding style, "my stomach is full of dessert."

[Realgone]

I cannot watch it the same way anymore. All I can think about is, I wonder how much they are juicing and how much Lance was juicing, though I never really doubted it. I am sure I will still enjoy it none the less.

[Lauralyn]

I love the Tour, I record it and watch it over and over. I like Thor and Tyler Farrar on Team Garmin and would love it if they won.

[pll]

BTW, we should make it clear now: are spoilers allowed in this thread?

I'd vote for allowing spoilers. Should have added that to the title.

[pll]

I'm not that hardcore. (Yet!) I have a feeling it will become addictive!

Watching cycling is a bit of an acquired taste. It takes a few days to get hang of how the teams and riders compete. The neat thing is that there are so many competitions rolled into one event: general classification, sprinters, climbers, most aggressive rider, best young rider, team classification, etc. I still find that the sprint stages are a tiny bit dull, except for the last 10 minutes or so, but the mountain stages can have me and the edge of my seat.

[malkin]

I love the long flat stages through the countryside; complete with the Phil & Paul banter, it is the perfect set up for napping.