Last year we rushed up to Burley and rushed home after the race. This year we thought we would take it easy and not rush things.
We stayed at the RV spot until today, Sunday, and then headed home around noon. On the way home we stopped to see Stefanie and Garrin and some potential new places for their business, since UTA is kicking the out of their current spot to expand I-15.
After meeting them in Lehi, we stopped for some dinner. It was a good thing we stopped for dinner. Just as we were coming into Provo, I thought I heard something. My first thought was that the bike trailer had fallen off the back and it was dragging out bikes. Then I thought, no, that's impossible so I didn't say anything. Then within 30 seconds, a truck drove up next to us and pointed towards the back of the trailer. Then I really thought our bikes were gone. Dad was driving and pulled over to the side of I-15. It turns out that a tire on the trailer had blown. It took us at least 30 to 45 minutes to change it. The hardest part was getting the spare tire off, as it was locked to the back of the trailer.
A nice State Trooper pulled over to make sure we were ok and helped us change the tire. By this time it was about 7pm. We pulled into Spanish Fork just after 7pm and unloaded everything out of the trailer.
It's been a nice vacation and fun to spend it with my parents.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Spudman 2008
This year Deni conned a few more people to share in the joys of doing the Spudman Olympic Triathlon with us. My cousin Mike and his wife Denise from Idaho, as well as some friends of ours from Spanish Fork, Spencer and Erin.
Here we are at the "Carb-o-load" the night before the race.
We all stayed at the same RV spot as last year, as it was right across the river from the end of the swim. We were sure glad Mom and Dad had pulled the RV up again this year as it was a warm day.
We woke up at 5:15am, ate and headed for the starting line. We made a quick stop to drop off water bottles at our bikes then when to the starting line. My wave started at 7:10am. I went to use the bathroom and when I came back, I couldn't find anyone. I was trying to get my wetsuit on when I saw my cousin Mike and he helped me zip up my suit.
I got in the water about 5 minutes before start time. At 3 minutes, I decided I was going to swim out to get a better starting position. 30 seconds later, after fighting the current, I decided I better go to back to the side of the river so that I don't have to waste all my energy before the race even started. At one minute to go, I swam back out and got a respectable position. The swim wasn't any different than last year. I felt like I zig-zagged quite a bit this year, but I finished the mile swim in 17 minutes 29 seconds. (thanks to the current) 15 seconds faster than last year.
Ryan caught this picture of me getting out of the swim. I'm still not sure why Ryan had my $1,300 camera with Dad's $400 lens on it. But I guess Grandpa had 2 cameras and was training Ryan to take over as the main photographer someday.
The bike was good. Around mile 21 or so, a large group of riders came up. I decided to stay with them as much as I could. In Triathlons, you aren't supposed to draft at all, however due to the number of riders and the small lane we had, the last few miles I rode with a group of 25 riders or so. It's amazing how your average speed jumps when you are riding with a group of riders. Overall from last year, I was 3 minutes faster this year, than last year.
The run, what can I say. I hate to run. I was able to chop off 5 minutes off the run from last year, but I had a 10:22 minute mile. I know not the greatest, however after going for 2+ hours, I think its ok for someone that 1. doesn't like to run and 2. didn't train as hard for the run.
At mile 4, I was hurting pretty bad. For some reason, my hips and knees were really hurting. I pushed through and made it. I enjoy sprinting the last 50 yards. No matter how bad I'm hurting, I can always kick in the last 50 to 100 yards. I don't want to brag, but the guy behind me looks like he is hurting alot more than I am. There was no way I was going to let someone out sprint me.
Overall, I beat my 2007 time by 8 minutes and 35 seconds. My official time was 2 hours 38 minutes and 3 seconds. I am happy that I beat my time from last year and that is about all that matters. I'll continue to train and attempt to better my time again next year.
As I crossed the finish line, I saw my cousin Mike who started with me. My first thought was that Mike had been pulled from the race in the swim, however I was wrong, way wrong. Not only was this Mike's first Triathlon, but he past me on the run and didn't say a thing to me. Yes, my cousin Mike Berger beat me by about 9 minutes.
On a sad note, a 60 year old gentleman from Provo died in the swim. This was the first death in the 22 years the race has been held. I was at least 10 miles into the bike when it happened. Deni was just getting out of the swim when she heard the Ambulance.
Here we are at the "Carb-o-load" the night before the race.
We all stayed at the same RV spot as last year, as it was right across the river from the end of the swim. We were sure glad Mom and Dad had pulled the RV up again this year as it was a warm day.
We woke up at 5:15am, ate and headed for the starting line. We made a quick stop to drop off water bottles at our bikes then when to the starting line. My wave started at 7:10am. I went to use the bathroom and when I came back, I couldn't find anyone. I was trying to get my wetsuit on when I saw my cousin Mike and he helped me zip up my suit.
I got in the water about 5 minutes before start time. At 3 minutes, I decided I was going to swim out to get a better starting position. 30 seconds later, after fighting the current, I decided I better go to back to the side of the river so that I don't have to waste all my energy before the race even started. At one minute to go, I swam back out and got a respectable position. The swim wasn't any different than last year. I felt like I zig-zagged quite a bit this year, but I finished the mile swim in 17 minutes 29 seconds. (thanks to the current) 15 seconds faster than last year.
Ryan caught this picture of me getting out of the swim. I'm still not sure why Ryan had my $1,300 camera with Dad's $400 lens on it. But I guess Grandpa had 2 cameras and was training Ryan to take over as the main photographer someday.
The bike was good. Around mile 21 or so, a large group of riders came up. I decided to stay with them as much as I could. In Triathlons, you aren't supposed to draft at all, however due to the number of riders and the small lane we had, the last few miles I rode with a group of 25 riders or so. It's amazing how your average speed jumps when you are riding with a group of riders. Overall from last year, I was 3 minutes faster this year, than last year.
The run, what can I say. I hate to run. I was able to chop off 5 minutes off the run from last year, but I had a 10:22 minute mile. I know not the greatest, however after going for 2+ hours, I think its ok for someone that 1. doesn't like to run and 2. didn't train as hard for the run.
At mile 4, I was hurting pretty bad. For some reason, my hips and knees were really hurting. I pushed through and made it. I enjoy sprinting the last 50 yards. No matter how bad I'm hurting, I can always kick in the last 50 to 100 yards. I don't want to brag, but the guy behind me looks like he is hurting alot more than I am. There was no way I was going to let someone out sprint me.
Overall, I beat my 2007 time by 8 minutes and 35 seconds. My official time was 2 hours 38 minutes and 3 seconds. I am happy that I beat my time from last year and that is about all that matters. I'll continue to train and attempt to better my time again next year.
As I crossed the finish line, I saw my cousin Mike who started with me. My first thought was that Mike had been pulled from the race in the swim, however I was wrong, way wrong. Not only was this Mike's first Triathlon, but he past me on the run and didn't say a thing to me. Yes, my cousin Mike Berger beat me by about 9 minutes.
On a sad note, a 60 year old gentleman from Provo died in the swim. This was the first death in the 22 years the race has been held. I was at least 10 miles into the bike when it happened. Deni was just getting out of the swim when she heard the Ambulance.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Syd's got the camera
Sydney took the camera from me and started taking pictures. As you can tell from the pictures below, she didn't think it was working.
Burley or Bust
Last night we slept in my parents 5th wheel trailer in my Uncle Kim's drive way in Hooper, UT. We got to his house late last night, but went out to see his garden at night anyway. Uncle Kim's garden is amazing. When we woke up this morning, we had to go back out to get some pictures.
Here is Deni standing next to his Tomato plants. Yes, his tomato plants are over 6 feet tall. Amazing.
Here's a picture from his deck. It's an amazing garden. (It even looks like he was able to grow a pair of jet-skis too. Wow.
Next we went to my cousin Chad's house (Uncle Kim's son). Old McChad's Farm E-I-E-I-O.
Ryan was able to ride a goat.
Ryan and Sydney gathered fresh laid eggs.
Since we were close to Hill Air Force base, we decided to stop into the Air Museum. We've driven by it countless times and never stopped in. It was a very cool Museum. Worth the hour or so we stayed there.
Here is Sydney and Ryan in front of a replica of a Atomic Bomb. I always thought it was bigger than that.
And of course, the trip to the Museum would not be complete without taking this picture of Deni and I.
After the museum, we stopped by my Aunt Brenda's in Ogden to visit for a few and then headed to Burley, Idaho for our race.
We pulled into Burley around 6pm. It will be nice to have a day of rest here in Burley before the big race.
Here is Deni standing next to his Tomato plants. Yes, his tomato plants are over 6 feet tall. Amazing.
Here's a picture from his deck. It's an amazing garden. (It even looks like he was able to grow a pair of jet-skis too. Wow.
Next we went to my cousin Chad's house (Uncle Kim's son). Old McChad's Farm E-I-E-I-O.
Ryan was able to ride a goat.
Ryan and Sydney gathered fresh laid eggs.
Since we were close to Hill Air Force base, we decided to stop into the Air Museum. We've driven by it countless times and never stopped in. It was a very cool Museum. Worth the hour or so we stayed there.
Here is Sydney and Ryan in front of a replica of a Atomic Bomb. I always thought it was bigger than that.
And of course, the trip to the Museum would not be complete without taking this picture of Deni and I.
After the museum, we stopped by my Aunt Brenda's in Ogden to visit for a few and then headed to Burley, Idaho for our race.
We pulled into Burley around 6pm. It will be nice to have a day of rest here in Burley before the big race.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Novell Lagoon Day
Just about every year, Novell rewards us by giving us the day off and giving us tickets to Lagoon. We had the choice of yesterday or today. We decided we'd do it today as we are heading to Idaho for our Burly Spudman Triathlon (Thursday July 24th - Sunday July 27th). It seems like a better idea than going back to work for one day.
We had planned on leaving earlier in the day, but we weren't ready to leave, however we weren't in any hurry, so we took our time.
Since my parents were going with us to Burley (and kindly driving their 5th Wheel trailer for us to sleep in) we talked them into visiting my Uncle Kim in Roy, while we were at Lagoon. We pulled into Lagoon around 2:30pm and my parents dropped us off.
It was quite a warm day today. We started out with a few rides.
Sydney and I getting ready for a ride on the Bat
Deni and Ryan waiting patiently in line for a ride.
After a few rides we had dinner around 4:30pm.
After dinner we headed towards Rattlesnake Rapids, but the line was too long. By this time we were looking for some relief from the hot afternoon, so we ended up riding the Log ride. We didn't get wet enough, so we then headed for Lagoon-a-beach to cool off.
On our walk back to Lagoon-a-Beach we saw this cabin (Bigler Cabin), which is one of Deni's extended relatives.
As we were walking in Lagoon-a-Beach, they announced that everyone had to leave the water. We were told they found some poop in the water, so they had to clean it up. It was fairly good timing as we had time to get dressed, rent the most expensive tubes ever. We got 4 tubes for $20 bucks and the park closed in 1 hour. (We did get $8 bucks back as I returned them, but $12 bucks for 4 tubes for 1 hour seems a bit steep.)
Even though Sydney was about an inch or 2 short (without her shoes), we took her down the tube slides. I put her between Deni and I. Both Ryan and Sydney had a great time on the slides. We also spent some time in the lazy river.
We would have liked to have a little bit more time in the cool water, but by 8pm it began to cool off.
Sydney, Deni and Ryan waiting in line
Sydney, Brett, and Ryan waiting in line
We continued through the Park and road a few more rides before calling my parents to pick us up around 9:30pm.
We had a great time at Lagoon.
We had planned on leaving earlier in the day, but we weren't ready to leave, however we weren't in any hurry, so we took our time.
Since my parents were going with us to Burley (and kindly driving their 5th Wheel trailer for us to sleep in) we talked them into visiting my Uncle Kim in Roy, while we were at Lagoon. We pulled into Lagoon around 2:30pm and my parents dropped us off.
It was quite a warm day today. We started out with a few rides.
Sydney and I getting ready for a ride on the Bat
Deni and Ryan waiting patiently in line for a ride.
After a few rides we had dinner around 4:30pm.
After dinner we headed towards Rattlesnake Rapids, but the line was too long. By this time we were looking for some relief from the hot afternoon, so we ended up riding the Log ride. We didn't get wet enough, so we then headed for Lagoon-a-beach to cool off.
On our walk back to Lagoon-a-Beach we saw this cabin (Bigler Cabin), which is one of Deni's extended relatives.
As we were walking in Lagoon-a-Beach, they announced that everyone had to leave the water. We were told they found some poop in the water, so they had to clean it up. It was fairly good timing as we had time to get dressed, rent the most expensive tubes ever. We got 4 tubes for $20 bucks and the park closed in 1 hour. (We did get $8 bucks back as I returned them, but $12 bucks for 4 tubes for 1 hour seems a bit steep.)
Even though Sydney was about an inch or 2 short (without her shoes), we took her down the tube slides. I put her between Deni and I. Both Ryan and Sydney had a great time on the slides. We also spent some time in the lazy river.
We would have liked to have a little bit more time in the cool water, but by 8pm it began to cool off.
Sydney, Deni and Ryan waiting in line
Sydney, Brett, and Ryan waiting in line
We continued through the Park and road a few more rides before calling my parents to pick us up around 9:30pm.
We had a great time at Lagoon.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Happy Birthday Sydney
Today was Sydney's 5th birthday.
It's hard to believe that my baby is 5 years old already. When I put her to bed last night and told her that her birthday was tomorrow, she got so excited - she even kicked her feet in excitement.
As I would assume, Sydney woke up quite happy this morning. Before I left for work, we gave Sydney her gift, a brand new, 2 wheeled, pink razor scooter. She wasted no time jumping on it and making our living room a race way. She went around and around the couch until it made me dizzy watching her.
I drove into work today, as I planned on leaving early to come home to help Deni with Sydney's birthday party. Deni called me just before I was leaving, around 2:30pm telling me that Sydney had an accident on her scooter and that she might have broken her leg/foot. When I got home, Sydney was happy, but crawling from place to place. She wouldn't put any pressure on her left foot. I tried to get her to walk on it, but it was pretty apparent that she was hurt pretty bad. I got home right about 3pm, which happened to be the time when all the kids were coming to her party. Since her birthday is in July, what better than a swimming pool party in the backyard. A great idea, if you can walk. I spent then next 2 hours carrying Sydney from place to place while she watched her friends play the games Deni had setup for the party. She was quite happy, despite her foot, unless she accidentally put pressure on her foot, which is the case in this picture, I think.
Of course, what's a birthday without a few presents.
Sydney invited 2 boys and 4 girls (and of course her brother too.)
After Sydney's birthday party, we headed to the doctor to see if her foot was broken. I made the mistake of telling Sydney that the doctor would take a picture of her foot, just like when the cartoon figures get struck by lightening. In my mind, I was picturing a cartoon figure being struck by lightening and his skeleton showing up, but I wasn't apparently thinking too well in my attempt to explain it to her. After I made that comment, I got that look from Deni like I was retarded (which after thinking about it, I was.) Next came the fun part, fighting her to lay calm enough to get an xray of her foot.
Turns out there were no bones broken, just a nasty sprain. Sydney got a boot, which she can take off for baths and swimming. She has to wear it for the next 1 to 2 weeks. Even with the boot on, she has yet to put pressure on her foot.
It's hard to believe that my baby is 5 years old already. When I put her to bed last night and told her that her birthday was tomorrow, she got so excited - she even kicked her feet in excitement.
As I would assume, Sydney woke up quite happy this morning. Before I left for work, we gave Sydney her gift, a brand new, 2 wheeled, pink razor scooter. She wasted no time jumping on it and making our living room a race way. She went around and around the couch until it made me dizzy watching her.
I drove into work today, as I planned on leaving early to come home to help Deni with Sydney's birthday party. Deni called me just before I was leaving, around 2:30pm telling me that Sydney had an accident on her scooter and that she might have broken her leg/foot. When I got home, Sydney was happy, but crawling from place to place. She wouldn't put any pressure on her left foot. I tried to get her to walk on it, but it was pretty apparent that she was hurt pretty bad. I got home right about 3pm, which happened to be the time when all the kids were coming to her party. Since her birthday is in July, what better than a swimming pool party in the backyard. A great idea, if you can walk. I spent then next 2 hours carrying Sydney from place to place while she watched her friends play the games Deni had setup for the party. She was quite happy, despite her foot, unless she accidentally put pressure on her foot, which is the case in this picture, I think.
Of course, what's a birthday without a few presents.
Sydney invited 2 boys and 4 girls (and of course her brother too.)
After Sydney's birthday party, we headed to the doctor to see if her foot was broken. I made the mistake of telling Sydney that the doctor would take a picture of her foot, just like when the cartoon figures get struck by lightening. In my mind, I was picturing a cartoon figure being struck by lightening and his skeleton showing up, but I wasn't apparently thinking too well in my attempt to explain it to her. After I made that comment, I got that look from Deni like I was retarded (which after thinking about it, I was.) Next came the fun part, fighting her to lay calm enough to get an xray of her foot.
Turns out there were no bones broken, just a nasty sprain. Sydney got a boot, which she can take off for baths and swimming. She has to wear it for the next 1 to 2 weeks. Even with the boot on, she has yet to put pressure on her foot.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Oh you damn fool, spit it out it's a fly
My Grandma Berger used to tell the following story (quite a bit).
There was a time when my Grandma Berger's mother went to work. This left my Grandma and her sister (Leatha) at home alone while their mother worked. Apparently, my Grandma Berger and her sister would work for 5 minutes and then play for 10 minutes. When they would play, they played a game of "Open your mouth". The game consisted of one of them closing their eyes and opening their mouth, while the other put a surprise in their mouth. Leatha found a piece of candy and surprised Grandma Berger with it. Then Grandma Berger found a raisin and surprised Leatha with it. At each turn, they would try to get something better. Finally it was Grandma Berger's turn again. She looked around and didn't know what to do next...and then saw a little dead fly. With Leatha's eyes closed and mouth open, Grandma Berger put the fly in her sisters mouth. When Leatha closed her mouth, Grandma Berger yelled "Oh you damn fool, spit it out it's a fly."
Why do I tell this story. First of all, it's pretty funny. Second I was riding my bike to work this morning. I was cruising along at about 21 miles an hour when some sort of bug flew into my mouth and felt like it hit the back of my throat. As I was trying to get this bug out of my mouth by spitting, I thought of my Grandma Berger's story of putting a dead fly in her sisters mouth.
I finally got it out of my mouth and learned a valuable lesson. Keep your mouth shut while riding your bike.
There was a time when my Grandma Berger's mother went to work. This left my Grandma and her sister (Leatha) at home alone while their mother worked. Apparently, my Grandma Berger and her sister would work for 5 minutes and then play for 10 minutes. When they would play, they played a game of "Open your mouth". The game consisted of one of them closing their eyes and opening their mouth, while the other put a surprise in their mouth. Leatha found a piece of candy and surprised Grandma Berger with it. Then Grandma Berger found a raisin and surprised Leatha with it. At each turn, they would try to get something better. Finally it was Grandma Berger's turn again. She looked around and didn't know what to do next...and then saw a little dead fly. With Leatha's eyes closed and mouth open, Grandma Berger put the fly in her sisters mouth. When Leatha closed her mouth, Grandma Berger yelled "Oh you damn fool, spit it out it's a fly."
Why do I tell this story. First of all, it's pretty funny. Second I was riding my bike to work this morning. I was cruising along at about 21 miles an hour when some sort of bug flew into my mouth and felt like it hit the back of my throat. As I was trying to get this bug out of my mouth by spitting, I thought of my Grandma Berger's story of putting a dead fly in her sisters mouth.
I finally got it out of my mouth and learned a valuable lesson. Keep your mouth shut while riding your bike.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Swimming in poop
As I've said before, it's difficult to find the time for both Deni and I to train at running, biking and swimming and find time to spend with the family and fulfill all our other responsibilities. We came up with the idea of going swimming as a family each Monday night to try an kill 2 or 3 birds with one stone. Deni picked me up from work and we head to the Orem to swim.
Before we got to the pool, we had to make a minor stop at the Boy Scouts of America office to get Deni a Scout uniform. It still amazes me how expensive clothing from a non-profit organization is. We spent about 80 dollars for Deni and Ryan's uniforms and books. (and that was with a 20% discount.)
We also stopped by the bike store to get a new chain for my bike. I never knew this (but it makes sense), but bike chains stretch over time and they need to be replaced roughly every 1500 miles or so. They have a little tool that measures your chain and can tell if it needs to be replaced. I was nearing that mileage on my bike since I bought it 2 years go, so we went ahead and replaced my chain.
Finally we drove to the pool and ate dinner at the park next to the pool. While Deni and the kids were finishing up dinner, I headed in to start my swim. Deni and I have been swimming a mile each and we trade off watching the kids. I was having a pretty good swim today, when on my last lap as I went to turn, I saw a blur standing at the end of the lane. It was Deni and she grabbed me as I was starting my turn. I stopped, stood up and looked at her and she said that they had found poop floating in the pool and I should get out. Call me crazy, but I was one lap (100 meters) away from swimming a mile and I wanted to finish it, however I decided I would get out. Had I finished I would have been under 32 minutes for a mile. Not a great time, but not bad. My fastest time in the pool this year for a mile was 30 minutes 31 seconds.
Before we got to the pool, we had to make a minor stop at the Boy Scouts of America office to get Deni a Scout uniform. It still amazes me how expensive clothing from a non-profit organization is. We spent about 80 dollars for Deni and Ryan's uniforms and books. (and that was with a 20% discount.)
We also stopped by the bike store to get a new chain for my bike. I never knew this (but it makes sense), but bike chains stretch over time and they need to be replaced roughly every 1500 miles or so. They have a little tool that measures your chain and can tell if it needs to be replaced. I was nearing that mileage on my bike since I bought it 2 years go, so we went ahead and replaced my chain.
Finally we drove to the pool and ate dinner at the park next to the pool. While Deni and the kids were finishing up dinner, I headed in to start my swim. Deni and I have been swimming a mile each and we trade off watching the kids. I was having a pretty good swim today, when on my last lap as I went to turn, I saw a blur standing at the end of the lane. It was Deni and she grabbed me as I was starting my turn. I stopped, stood up and looked at her and she said that they had found poop floating in the pool and I should get out. Call me crazy, but I was one lap (100 meters) away from swimming a mile and I wanted to finish it, however I decided I would get out. Had I finished I would have been under 32 minutes for a mile. Not a great time, but not bad. My fastest time in the pool this year for a mile was 30 minutes 31 seconds.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Cooking Brownies with the Sun
Deni has been working on completing our year supply of food storage. She's also learning to use and cook the things we have stored. Along with "getting prepared" came the purchase of a Sun Oven. A Sun Oven isn't too complicated of a device. It's a box with mirror-like reflectors and a temperature gage that use the Sun to cook. Deni successfully cooked Lasagna in it a few weeks ago and I thought it was my turn to try it.
Of course, if there ever is an emergency where we would need to use our Sun oven, I want to be sure we are able to cook the important things, like Brownies.
As I said before, the Sun Oven is a simple concept. Point your Sun Oven at the Sun. I set the Sun Oven out to Pre-heat. It was about 250 Degrees when I started.
Hmmmm Brownies cooking.
When I started cooking, it wasn't cloudy, however some clouds came in so it took me longer than normal to cook. The only real instructions are to make sure the Sun Oven has a clear view of the sun, which means you have to adjust it every 30 minutes or so.
The finished product. It took me 2 hours to cook these, however that was due to the clouds and not being able to keep the Oven at the higher temperature.
It was odd going outside and smelling brownies cooking, but was a fun experiment. The brownies were fully cooked, however they did seem to be more moist than cooking them in a conventional oven.
Of course, if there ever is an emergency where we would need to use our Sun oven, I want to be sure we are able to cook the important things, like Brownies.
As I said before, the Sun Oven is a simple concept. Point your Sun Oven at the Sun. I set the Sun Oven out to Pre-heat. It was about 250 Degrees when I started.
Hmmmm Brownies cooking.
When I started cooking, it wasn't cloudy, however some clouds came in so it took me longer than normal to cook. The only real instructions are to make sure the Sun Oven has a clear view of the sun, which means you have to adjust it every 30 minutes or so.
The finished product. It took me 2 hours to cook these, however that was due to the clouds and not being able to keep the Oven at the higher temperature.
It was odd going outside and smelling brownies cooking, but was a fun experiment. The brownies were fully cooked, however they did seem to be more moist than cooking them in a conventional oven.
The Tour starts
Typically we aren't TV people. Yes there are a few shows we watch, but for the last 10 years we've been able to get by without cable. (Actually we have cable but the very basic cable ($8 bucks a month through the city).
The problem is we really enjoy watching the Tour de France. Last year I used a bittorrent client and downloaded some UK coverage of the Tour, the year before we watched most of it at my parents house, etc. However this year I wanted to be able to watch it in the comfort of my own house. So I upgraded our cable to get the Channel "Versus", which has coverage of the Tour.
The Tour de France is an amazing bike race, matter of fact, it's THE bike race.
This year, the Tour de France starts today (Saturday July 5th) and continues to Sunday July 27th 2008 and it is the 95th Tour de France. It is made up of 21 stages (days) and covers a total distance of 3,500 kilometers. (about 2,174 miles) That is the same distance from Los Angeles, CA to Atlanta, GA (which is only 300 miles off of riding from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean or completely across the United States.)
This morning I set my alarm for 6:25am so I could get up and watch the first day of the tour. Coverage began at 6:30 am MST and went for 3 hours. It's amazing to watch.
For our 20th Anniversary (it's going to take me 9 years to save for it), Deni and I are going to go to France during the tour and spend a week there. My hopes are to watch a few stages as well as take our bikes and ride some of the same roads. Until then, I'll keep watching the tour.
The problem is we really enjoy watching the Tour de France. Last year I used a bittorrent client and downloaded some UK coverage of the Tour, the year before we watched most of it at my parents house, etc. However this year I wanted to be able to watch it in the comfort of my own house. So I upgraded our cable to get the Channel "Versus", which has coverage of the Tour.
The Tour de France is an amazing bike race, matter of fact, it's THE bike race.
This year, the Tour de France starts today (Saturday July 5th) and continues to Sunday July 27th 2008 and it is the 95th Tour de France. It is made up of 21 stages (days) and covers a total distance of 3,500 kilometers. (about 2,174 miles) That is the same distance from Los Angeles, CA to Atlanta, GA (which is only 300 miles off of riding from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean or completely across the United States.)
This morning I set my alarm for 6:25am so I could get up and watch the first day of the tour. Coverage began at 6:30 am MST and went for 3 hours. It's amazing to watch.
For our 20th Anniversary (it's going to take me 9 years to save for it), Deni and I are going to go to France during the tour and spend a week there. My hopes are to watch a few stages as well as take our bikes and ride some of the same roads. Until then, I'll keep watching the tour.
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