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Txzen

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Everything posted by Txzen

  1. Soulor-Aubisque. An impossible road with a precipitous drop and a few short, dark and very wet tunnels. Saint-Savin and the magical valley. First trip up Hautacam in 2011 when I was young, beautiful, and quite a bit more fit than currently. Apparently this photo was taken with a potato.
  2. Hope it doesn’t linger. This is sizing up to be a great Tour. Into my favorite valley tomorrow - stayed twice at a cycling lodge in Saint-Savin, just by Argeles-Gazost. Two trips there - did the Soulor (beautiful high alpine scenery) and Hautacam (unrelenting, ever changing gradient from Hell) twice. There are such beautiful little towns here, none in any guidebook. On the way back from the Soulor, we did a little jog through the same route the tour is taking thinking it was a shortcut to the lodge. It was a mistake and it added a little climbing we really didn’t want. But we passed through the town of Bun. A nothing town, blink and you miss it. Still remember the sound of my freewheel echoing off the old stone walls of the buildings as we whizzed through. Beautiful. https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZYQBY33qVNGc6u6k7 Hoping for fireworks tomorrow.
  3. Love that Ben Healey. Love EF too - great way to bounce back k from the loss of their leader right before the TDF. They’ve been more than animators. A little strange UAE let the yellow go - my guess is with the loss of two of their mountain dudes they didn’t want to spend matches today. Agreed that Jonas and Tadej look closer than ever, minus that TT performance.
  4. Spot on regarding the dangers, though it was a necrotizing fungal infection - not a bacterial one. https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.121-a116
  5. Big difference from the Dauphine TT to today. A month ago JV was the strongest. Not sure what happened today, but he better hope his climbing legs don’t fail him.
  6. Having watched most of the races this season, tadej often seems to lack a little explosiveness that he seemed to have prior as the season has gone on. He creates gaps and outlasts people. Maybe burning all those matches are catching up with him? He’s still got more fast twitch than JV, but I’ve been impressed how he’s been able to bring Tadej back. Could be shaping up to be a very fun Tour…
  7. Strange ‘professional’ stage. I want to blame the Jasper crash but even before there was not much going on. Not sure I can remember a stage where the jury decided against awarding a most aggressive…because nothing happened.
  8. Yes because Peacock sucks. There’s also that nice ‘processing’ delay after the race has concluded before you can watch the replay (15 min or more). I’ve also had the issue where I’m watching it delayed, hit pause for a break and come back to have the telecast ended forcing me to wait for them to re-post it. The TNT/Max coverage is just so much better, and not just because of my crush on Orla. Better analysis in the studio and on the bike, the ability to ‘watch from start’ with stage in progress, a preview box as you fast forward. God I hate Peacock. The only positive is VdV on the bike. Worthless nothing input from Perino, dull and basic ‘analysis’ in the studio.
  9. Remco at least woke up and was keeping with the likely 1-2 podium. Primoz continues to drift back with each acceleration. He’s not that guy, not this year.
  10. I liked seeing Jonas take some pulls at the front today to split the group in the crosswinds. Good stuff. Primoz may be a nice guy, but he totally lacks any killer instinct. Frankly, a dumb racer. Losing time on stage 1? Not great Bob.
  11. In Kyoto now. Amazing city which seemingly is being crushed by tourism. And yet every person we come in contact with - from hotel staff to taxi drivers to our sushi chef - is warm, welcoming, curious about where we are from, and eager to speak what English they know. Amazing country, amazing city. My highlight of the day - the Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple a good 20 min hike north of the (congested) Arashiyama bamboo forest. Created in 811 by a monk to honor those who were buried there long ago, so long that those would remember them are also long gone. The muen-botoke or ‘forgotten souls’. Now more than 8000 statues of the Buddha commissioned by that monk, standing for hundreds of years. Profoundly moving. Also a bamboo forest all to ourselves. Splendid.
  12. Same. Halfway through and dreading the return. In Kanazawa now and loving the vibe of this town. Edit- sorry, suck at trying to put pics in a spoiler on mobile
  13. Before this gets lost in the news today - what a great post, and thanks for sharing (and volunteering). Would love to hear more and get your report on Krakow. Been there many times, but it’s been about 20 years at this point.
  14. Maybe the greatest stage I’ve seen. Flipped the script indeed. Del Toro looked a bit gassed all day but I think there was more to it. I think he was frustrated to have to ride with no help, and it got in his head. The freewheeling in the valley was odd to see, but perhaps knowing Yates hooked up from Wout took the wind out of his sails. Hell of a day.
  15. Gorgeous postcard scenery, flat out racing and gravel-induced chaos. One for the ages.
  16. Which one of you is the guy in the baseball hat behind the referees table arguing to kick out Draymond?
  17. It's been a pretty interesting Spring for sure. Epic weather conditions in Paris-Nice, and poor Jonas. A thrilling Milan San Remo for sure. Love watching that Tadej - we've come a long way since the Chris Froome 'stare at your powermeter' winner. That kid likes to race. A wacky Volta Catalunya - several mountain stages ended with sprint finishes, with Primoz outside the top spot by a second. He was counting on a mountain stage which was neutralized due to wind (and won by Durango's Quinn Simmons, sporting the best mullet and Fu seen in the peloton for some time). What looked to be a ho-hum circuit around Barcelona ended up being a slug fest as Primoz and Ayuso went for spring bonus seconds. I didn't think Primoz, or Bora, had it in them, but his flyer at 20k to win it all was impressive. Paris Roubaix should be a hoot with Tadej in it. Hoping for a good race and no injuries to late-season favorites...
  18. Next year’s performance - Lee Greenwood, Live From Lincoln Center - is going to be fantastic.
  19. God bless those Oil and Gas companies.
  20. Me when I see another post discussing if rap is music.
  21. Not remotely my genre, but I try to stay current to have a mutual vocabulary with my teen. It was a thing. Ain’t no Prince in the rain for sure, but it is ‘of the moment’.
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