July 25, 2004

It's the final day of the Tour de France. There are some entertaining entries in the updates as usual...

13 H 34 - Simeoni Attacks In First Kilometer
There has been a courageous attack from Filippo Simeoni (DVE) in the first kilometer of the stage. As you might expect, the US Postal team is at the front of the peloton and limiting the gains of the Italian rider.

There's "bad blood" between Simeoni and Armstrong (along with many of the rest of the riders, it would appear). Simeoni tried a break-away a couple of days ago and was reeled in by Armstrong and finished that day at the back of the peloton.

13 H 35 - Simeoni Leads By 100m
The advantage of Simeoni on the peloton is 100m. The rapid chase by the peloton has caused the bunch to split in two groups. This is certainly not how the final stage normally begins.

13 H 43 - Peloton About To Catch Escapee
Simeoni has been caught by the peloton at the 7km mark. He is getting a 'talking to' by one Cofidis rider but it's hard to see if Lance Armstrong himself has had any words to say to the early escapee.

And, then for some comic relief...

13 H 56 - Casper Leads Armstrong...
The rider who began the 20th stage in last place, Jimmy Casper, has raced ahead of the peloton... it was not exactly an attack by the 'Lanterne Rouge', rather just a chance for a photo opportunity. Jimmy reached into his jersey pockets, grabbed a digital camera and took a happy snap of himself leading Lance Armstrong.
Casper will earn his second 'Lanterne Rouge' title (from five starts). The only time he's finished the race was in 2001. He was last. Today he began the stage with a deficit to Armstrong of three hours, 56 minutes and eight seconds.

And, a couple of hours into the race...

15 H 14 - 55km Ridden
The peloton continues to be led by the US Postal team. It has covered 55km of the 163km stage. At the rear of the bunch is the only rider who has attacked today, Domina Vacanze's Filippo Simeoni.

The folks writing the news flashes know they're not being very riveting:

15 H 33 - Peloton In Lagny-sur-Marne
The peloton is now in Lagny-sur-Marne at the 66km mark. US Postal continue to lead. Soon there'll be more to report than just the progress of the peloton. The sprinters' teams are due to start setting up the race for the riders hoping to score points for the green jersey classification. There are another 20km to ride before the peloton reaches the site of the first intermediate sprint.

16 H 14 - Three Riders On The Attack
Three riders are attempting to form an escape group. They are riders from Rabobank, RAGT and Domina Vacanze. When the Rabobank and RAGT riders realized they'd been joined by Simeoni, they immediately stopped their effort.

Oh my. Interesting that they guy keeps on keeping on, eh?

16 H 16 - Ekimov Question's Simeoni's Intentions...
As the bunch caught up with Simeoni, Ekimov (USP) made a gesture which seemed ask the question: What do you think you're doing? The escape is now over and the US Postal team seems intent on leading the bunch into Paris.

16 H 19 - Simeoni Tries Again
Simeoni hasn't yet had enough abuse. He has attacked the peloton for the third time today. He has been scolded the two previous times and, yet again, the US Postal team have chased him down.

Fascinating stuff.

16 H 20 - US Postal Keen To Lead Into Paris
As has been the case in recent years, the US Postal team is at the head of the peloton on the approach to Paris. That's how they want to do it again this year, but Simeoni has attacked... again!

16 H 22 - US Postal In Charge Again
The fourth attack by Simeoni was more to illustrate his intentions that to escape the peloton. He was quickly chased down and the US Postal team is back at the head of the bunch.

16 H 28 - 60km To Go
The peloton is 60km from the finish of the stage. The US Postal team is at the front. The traditional red of their jerseys has been replaced by yellow for the 20th stage.

17 H 43 - Armstrong Creates History!
Lance Armstrong has finished the stage in the middle of the peloton. The American has just created history by becoming the first rider to win the Tour de France six times.

Okay. I'm done. Those of you who couldn't care less about the Tour de France can all heave a big sigh of relief!

July 24, 2004

I own a town house. The (rather large) complex I live in is in the on-going (for about 6 or 7 years now) process of being painted "into" a new color scheme. They started with the front most buildings and are slowly working their way to the back of the complex. My building was targeted for painting last summer but things happened (the cost of our umbrella insurance coverage nearly tripled, for example) and they didn't start working on my building until a couple of weeks ago. Just before I left for Oregon, in fact. As soon as I got the notice, I decided it was time to clean out my patio area. I do that about once every 6 months or so. Sometimes, I'll go almost a year. I really have no use for a patio (thus the town house purchase rather than the house-with-a-yard purchase way back when). There are two strikes against me every time I go out there to clean. Well, three strikes I guess, if you count the fact (which we should!) that I clean it out so rarely. The other two strikes are: (1) a very tall pine tree that sheds needles like there's no tomorrow and (2) wild-growing shrubs that don't care if they never see water or much sunlight. I dunno who planted the shrubbery but it's relentless. The tree was planted by the previous owner. I believe she got it in one of those "recycle your christmas tree and get a seedling in return" things the city park service does every year. It was probably only about 15 or 20 feet tall when I moved in. It's now much much taller than my 2-story unit. It completely dwarfs my patio. I had it trimmed last year so it wouldn't be in the way when they got around to painting (see my archives...the story is in the May 9th entry). They didn't end up painting last summer but the job was done well enough that I shouldn't have to get it done again for a couple of years.

Anyway...to the point. I sorta have one. I spent the Saturday before leaving on my trip bagging up mounds and mounds of pine needles and cutting back the shrubbery. I ended up with six (6!) large garbage bags full of cuttings and needles.

So, everything was ready for the repairmen and painters. They could move about the patio un-encumbered by the jungle that reappears every 6 months. Good deal. Here's the odd thing. The painters have decided to use my patio as their storage area. As I was leaving for work a few days ago, I noticed what seemed to be a large garbage bag just inside the patio gate. They were actually working on my garage and patio so I didn't think much of it. I got home that evening, though, and took a look out back. Mounds of painting equipment was piled up and covered with a tarp. Same story the next day. Today (Saturday, no less), I get up to hear a conversation going on outside my kitchen window. I peek out and lo...two of the painters are milling about, going through their supplies, and getting ready to do whatever it was they were going to do today. And, now...at about 3 pm...they seem to have left for the day. So, I looked out again and the stuff is still there. Buckets of paint. Brushes. Ladders. Etc. It sure is a good thing I cleaned out my patio, eh? There'd be no room for the painters if I hadn't. I don't really mind them using my patio. I mean, after all, I'm not using it. But, it strikes me as odd that they'd just assume it was okay to take over. That it wouldn't occur to any of them that maybe they should ask if it's okay. It's just odd. But, then again, it is me. So, it shouldn't surprise anyone. Least of all me. Eh?

July 23, 2004

From today's Campus Watch crime report:

Public Intoxication / Assist Outside Agency / UTPD Warrant Service (2300 Guadalupe)
A non-UT subject was found laying face-up and "passed-out" on the sidewalk. The subject had been laying on the sidewalk long enough for several cockroaches to begin "crawling on or about his person." The subject was found to be under the influence of an alcoholic beverage to the point he was a physical endangerment to himself. The subject was found to have an outstanding outside agency arrest warrant for public intoxication and two outstanding UTPD arrest warrants for public intoxication. Occurred on 7-22-04 at 12:55 am.

Normally, I wouldn't spotlight this kind of report because it's just sad. And, icky. However, there's a feature of the Campus Watch report called the "Crime Prevention Tip of the Day" that referred back to this report. The tip did make me laugh. Here you go:

Crime Prevention Tip of the Day
If the thought of legal troubles, medical concerns or social problems do not convince you to drink sensibly, then maybe the fear of bugs crawling on you will help you to be a more responsible drinker. I can't think of anyone who would drink themselves to the point they would allow cockroaches to crawl all over them. If you are 21 years old or older and wish to consume alcoholic beverages, then drink responsibly. Never allow yourself to loose control. If you're under the age of 21 then don't drink at all.

Good common-sense advice! Just think about the bugs!

July 22, 2004

I really enjoy reading the Tour de France updates every day to see what happened during each stage. 'Loved this entry today:

14 H 06 - US Postal Team Car 21st In Convoy
The traditional order of the team cars which follow the peloton is in accordance with the best-placed rider of each team in general classification. Today, however, the US Postal team car is in last place in the convoy despite Armstrong leading the race by 3'48".
The reason is that Johan Bruyneel, the driver of the team car behind Armstrong for the time trial yesterday, had conflict with one of the security motorbike riders. Last place in the convoy for stage 17 was the only real result of the argument.

And, then a couple of minutes later:

14 H 10 - Postal Team Car Penalty...
The last-place position of the US Postal team car in today's convoy was because of an argument with a camera motorcycle rider in stage 16, not a security motorcycle rider as reported in a previous flash.

Everything about the Tour is so "matter of fact" and "oh, well...that's just the way it goes." The more I learn about the insanity of the Tour, the more I love it!

Here are the last three dispatches as the lead racers were about to reach the finish line (note the 1-minute interval between each newsflash):

17 H 13 - Landis Attacks!
Landis has attacked the lead group. He has been chased down by Ullrich. Less than 1km remains in the stage and now Kloden has bolted!

17 H 14 - Kloden Lead By 75m
Kloden has an impressive lead on Landis, Armstrong, Ullrich and Basso. There are 500m to go and it looks like the German champion will win the 17th stage...

17 H 15 - Lance Wins Again!
Lance has chased down Kloden and won the stage! The yellow jersey caught the German champion in the final 25m to win his 4th stage this year.

Such exciting stuff! Reading the updates is almost as much fun as watching the race live. Almost. Heh. Here are some photos of the last few seconds as the leaders approached and crossed the finish line:

As the Greggus would say... Sweet!

July 15, 2004

I was just reading up on today's progress in the Tour de France and came across an entertaining entry:

15 H 29 - Peloton Held Up By Six Cows...
The peloton had to ease off the pace of its chase because six cows were in the middle of the road.

Heh. Our progress out in the field last week was also delayed by a herd of cattle at one point. It was more than 6 cows and we were forced to a complete stop. I'd love to have seen the bike race being held up by cattle. Too funny.

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joanna@joanna.org
URL: http://www.joanna.org/archive/Jul2004.html
Last updated: July 25, 2004

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