I thought that I would take this opportunity to talk a little about the Tour Day France which finished up on Sunday. I managed to watch all but one stage this year. Thanks, in part, to the fact that Mrs. Ten Speed has a crush on sprinter phenom Mark Cavendish.  I no longer have to petition her to watch the Tour. Overall, I’m not sure what to make of this year’s tour. I enjoyed it and it was exciting and unpredictable, but there was something missing. I spent every night trying to think about why I wasn’t more excited. Was it the virtual absence of Robbie McEwen in the field sprints? Was it the early abandonment of the awkward and entertaining Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez? Was it the complete lack of a dominating figure that we will either love or hate and sometimes both? I’m not sure, but there were couple things I did get excited about. First, Christian Vandevelde finishing in the top five and a bad stage away from a podium. The guy can even give a good interview. Second, two U.S. based teams to root for with Cavendish’s 4 wins and Will Frischkorn and Danny Pate both in winning breakaways. Third, the French—Chavanel, Auge, Cesar, Dessel, Voeckler or pretty much anyone on Cofidis—really make the tour entertaining. No, they’re never in the top ten on GC, but they are always in the break; I love the break, and it was a good year for the break. The podium didn’t do much for me, I was disappointed Cadel couldn’t hold on to the Yellow, but I suppose Sastre has earned it.

Other notes on the Tour:

• Did anybody like this Craig Hummer guy? I would have liked him more if his name was something a little more fuel efficient.
• I wish Saab would have done a couple of different commercials, so that they didn’t have to run the same one ever single stinking time, “we take energy from exhaust and recycle it…we take energy from exhaust and recycle it…we take energy from exhaust and recycle it…” enough already. Hey wait, they’re owned by the same company as Hummer!
• Did anyone else notice how the bike commuter in the Trek commercial runs a red light?
• What’s with everyone dragging their kids up on the podium with them?
• What’s with Bobke and all this Primordial ooze talk?
• I get the impression Jonathan Vaughters really likes wine, cheese and wooly turtlenecks.
• Can someone tell me where Robbie Ventura learned to interview?
• Does anyone really watch Tapout?

Other loose ends to tie up:

I was very busy last week—staining the deck, sealcoating the driveway, building some rain barrels and watching the tour—so I didn’t post on Thursday or Friday. I have posted for those days today and backdated them, so be sure to check out Bill’s Suteki Track 10 Mixte and Ben’s Street Seen Takara Mixte.