People surprise you sometimes. Just after the Women's race Sunday one of the competitors embraced one of the other riders and began to cry. Not just a little tear, either. A full on cry. The other rider helped console her and after about 5 minutes she seemed better. It all seemed unusual because there were no accidents and I think the cryer had a good race.
As the afternoon wore on I watched the 1/2's race and I had completely forgotten about the incident. Then came the surprise. The final race had just ended and it was time for me to help with the cleanup. I began to walk across the street to gather some traffic cones when I felt a hand on my back and a woman say something like "Thank you." I do not recall her exact words because I was startled. I asked what she was thanking me for and, to paraphrase, she mentioned her crying earlier and that she saw me smiling and it helped cheer her up. She caught me completely off guard with that comment. The way she was at the time I didn't think she noticed much of anything except for the tears in her eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder and asked if everything was okay. She said it was and continued on her way. That was it. Since then, I've replayed that moment in my mind several times and am still surprised by her comment.
Anyway, I was sufficiently tired this morning and really didn't want to roll out of bed. About 11am my body finally decided to wake up and not work at 75%. Today is my usual rest day. I did cut the grass right after getting home and before the rain settled in. My props to Accuweather.com and their hourly forecast. They nailed a forecast for a bike ride a couple months ago and today they predicted the rain reaching my zip code in the 6 o'clock hour. The rain started at about 5:15 but thats pretty good in my book
News Item of the Day: TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Gord Fraser sprinted to victory in the final stage of the Tour de Georgia Sunday, ending a six-day race that is likely to provide a wake-up call for six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
Overall victory went to Armstrong's Discovery Channel team mate Tom Danielson who took over the leader's jersey on Saturday and had little trouble defending it on the 201-km final stage, to finish four seconds ahead of fellow American Levi Leipheimer. Phonak rider Floyd Landis, a former-team mate of Armstrong's on the U.S. Postal team, was eight seconds adrift in third.
The defending champion in Georgia, Armstrong failed to win a stage in what was likely his last professional race in the United States, eventually finishing fifth at one minute and 42 seconds behind the winner. The Texan was never a major factor in the race and poor performances in Thursday's time-trial and then in the mountains, have raised serious concerns about his fitness as he bids for an unprecedented seventh Tour de France crown this July. Last week, the 34-year-old announced that this year's tour would be his last.
Armstrong openly admitted that he was not satisfied with his preparations thus far but was encouraged by some of his performances. "I think I'm on track," Armstrong told the New York Times.
Italy's Andrea Tafi triggered the only significant break on the flat run in to Atlanta, pulling clear with three other riders halfway through the final stage and building a lead of more than three minutes. However, the peloton easily reeled in the break, setting up a sprint finish won by Fraser ahead of New Zealand's Greg Henderson and Switzerland's Aurelien Clerc.
Viewpoint: As a sidenote, St Louisan Mike Lange finished a rather nice 33rd place in the overall standings. One of my few claims to fame is that I have beaten Mike several times. He was just a youngster then and could now ride me off his wheel whenever he wanted but that part does not need to be divulged.
As the afternoon wore on I watched the 1/2's race and I had completely forgotten about the incident. Then came the surprise. The final race had just ended and it was time for me to help with the cleanup. I began to walk across the street to gather some traffic cones when I felt a hand on my back and a woman say something like "Thank you." I do not recall her exact words because I was startled. I asked what she was thanking me for and, to paraphrase, she mentioned her crying earlier and that she saw me smiling and it helped cheer her up. She caught me completely off guard with that comment. The way she was at the time I didn't think she noticed much of anything except for the tears in her eyes. I put my hand on her shoulder and asked if everything was okay. She said it was and continued on her way. That was it. Since then, I've replayed that moment in my mind several times and am still surprised by her comment.
Anyway, I was sufficiently tired this morning and really didn't want to roll out of bed. About 11am my body finally decided to wake up and not work at 75%. Today is my usual rest day. I did cut the grass right after getting home and before the rain settled in. My props to Accuweather.com and their hourly forecast. They nailed a forecast for a bike ride a couple months ago and today they predicted the rain reaching my zip code in the 6 o'clock hour. The rain started at about 5:15 but thats pretty good in my book
News Item of the Day: TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Gord Fraser sprinted to victory in the final stage of the Tour de Georgia Sunday, ending a six-day race that is likely to provide a wake-up call for six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong.
Overall victory went to Armstrong's Discovery Channel team mate Tom Danielson who took over the leader's jersey on Saturday and had little trouble defending it on the 201-km final stage, to finish four seconds ahead of fellow American Levi Leipheimer. Phonak rider Floyd Landis, a former-team mate of Armstrong's on the U.S. Postal team, was eight seconds adrift in third.
The defending champion in Georgia, Armstrong failed to win a stage in what was likely his last professional race in the United States, eventually finishing fifth at one minute and 42 seconds behind the winner. The Texan was never a major factor in the race and poor performances in Thursday's time-trial and then in the mountains, have raised serious concerns about his fitness as he bids for an unprecedented seventh Tour de France crown this July. Last week, the 34-year-old announced that this year's tour would be his last.
Armstrong openly admitted that he was not satisfied with his preparations thus far but was encouraged by some of his performances. "I think I'm on track," Armstrong told the New York Times.
Italy's Andrea Tafi triggered the only significant break on the flat run in to Atlanta, pulling clear with three other riders halfway through the final stage and building a lead of more than three minutes. However, the peloton easily reeled in the break, setting up a sprint finish won by Fraser ahead of New Zealand's Greg Henderson and Switzerland's Aurelien Clerc.
Viewpoint: As a sidenote, St Louisan Mike Lange finished a rather nice 33rd place in the overall standings. One of my few claims to fame is that I have beaten Mike several times. He was just a youngster then and could now ride me off his wheel whenever he wanted but that part does not need to be divulged.
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