The end is near!

Lets hope the title of today's post ONLY applies to the Tour of Colorado, and not for the East coast! Susie and Barbara (and anybody else in Irene's path), I sure hope you are boarded up and hunkered down (or evac'd if that is prudent)...watching the news right now and it's going right over Norfolk/Va Beach....I still have friends there but haven't heard from then (I'm assuming they have no power). Looks pretty bad and it's going to get worse over the next few hours. Much will depend on the speed of the sustained winds, and the shift from 'clean' to 'dirty' side as the storm goes by, and then the storm surge...a LOT of the east coast is just a few feet above sea level. I know in my years in Norfolk/Va Beach I was always amazed (being from Wyoming/Montana) about the complete LACK of any altitude. The highest spot in the entire Tidewater area is the landfill turned into a park a few decades back (Mt Trashmore is what it's called...seriously. It's pretty funny actually...it probably has a vertical gain above sea-level of maybe 50- 75 feet!) I know the Navy has sent everything that can move out to sea from Norfolk Naval Station...the ships are far safer at sea where they can weather the outskirts of the storm. And I would assume the Naval Air Stations at Norfolk and Oceana (it's out in the Damneck/Va Beach area)  have sent everything that can fly elsewhere. I've spent a bunch of years in that area and it's going to get hammered today...will be sad to see the devastation in the light of day tomorrow.

OK...for today's post I thought I'd put up the pics Janann has emailed me...so, without further adieu and for your viewing enjoyment from our Reporter in the field...

 Cadel at the Prologue

 "Uhm, ahem...excuse me miss...can I get thru here?"

Yeah, right BUDDY! GOOD LUCK! Can't you see I'm waiting to get a picture of Christian here?

(this brings a smile to my face every time I think of it! GREAT Pic!!!!)

CVV at the Prologue

Frank on the podium Stage 1 (with some unknown guy to his right)

Frankie at the prolouge (Simmer down Susie!)

George after winning Stage 2 (you are THE MAN!)

Jens at Stage 2 (you are ALSO the MAN!)

The Jerseys from Stage 1

Some unknown rider gets interviewed after winning Stage 1 (and YOU are ALSO da' MAN!)

Ooh...nice. That Unknown guy gets the points jersey after Stage 1.

I guess there really is a payoff for killing yourself all day on a bike! 

Go LEVI!

OK...that's all the pics I got, thanks Janann for sending them! I'm very excited for you to have been THERE for this entire race! And looking at the podium shots, holy-mackerel! You somehow got DEAD CENTER! All the races I go to, I can't get anywhere NEAR the poduim! You ladies can pull this stuff off...good for you! Now if only the 'podium kisses' shot was YOU up there giving Levi a kiss.... (any chance you can pull that off?) I'm sure hubby would understand...I know if Jeannie had a chance to give, oh, lets say Brad Pitt a kiss, I'd have to give her a pass on that.

OK..that's all I have for now. I'm sending my best positive thoughts to you over on the east coast....in fact, I think I'll take a little nappy and focus my thought-power in your direction (I a bit tired....just got back from a ride a bit ago...did a measly 50 mile road ride...would have done more but by 11am it was already 96 deg at the top of the canyon....had I gone down the other side it would have been over 100 for sure...so I cut off 10 miles and called it a day).

Later gaters....GAME ON!

WOW! What a RACE!

Gosh...I'm just DYING that I'm not up in Colorado for this race! It just can't get much more exciting! Levi winning stage 1 in spectacular style, George winning the Queen stage yesterday over those crazy passes, and then.......

SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!!! Talking about the ITT below...WARNING! WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!







Well....I just looked at the TT results from today...and all I can say is OH MY GOSH! I could have hoped for that result, but I don't think I could have realistically expected it! The 10 mile TT had 1500' of climbing....which is a LOT for a TT!

And Levi DID IT! Took back the leaders jersey that he lost on the downhill in the rain and cold yesterday!! And in doing so, he beat the next best guy (who just happened to be CVV!) by only a HALF SECOND!! So now CVV is 2nd overall, with TJ Van Garderen is 3rd, Tommy D sitting in 4th (and he finished 4th today too!) and then BIG  GEORGE in 5th overall!! GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY this is a dream race! ANY one of those 5 guys pulls off the win I'll be estatic!

I was so pshyched up after Geroges win yesterday, that I thought it couldn't get any better! That win brings me back to that Tour queen stage he won...his first (and last) Tour win ever! It's so great to see he's got this kind of riding left in him! I was thrilled once again for him...what an amazing man he is and WHAT A CAREER he has had! It just keeps getting better!

Whew....it's pretty much overshadowing that OTHER race in Spain too...amazing that a Grand tour is taking a backseat to a much smaller stage race in the US!

Gosh...I'm just SO sad to be HERE and not there.....the guys I work with (who are up in Denver RIGHT NOW) aren't even cycling fans! THAT is a travesty!!! I'm sure they have no interest in this race...even though it will be IN Denver this weekend (at least I think...can't remember the stages offhand...isn't the last stage Golden to Denver or something like that, or is the Denver part on Saturday? Sheesh, it's sad to have almost no memory anymore. What was I talking about?)

OK.....keeping this short tonight, mostly cuz I JUST got back from my Thurs eve ride, and I'm STARVING! Gotta go eat some din-din, then get to bed....only ONE MORE DAY (work I mean)...then the weekend. COME ON SATURDAY!!

Oh, and Janann, thanks for your updates! We LOVE to hear this stuff...what you're doing, where you were, who you schmoozed, etc etc......GREAT STUFF, KEEP IT COMING! You're our newest roving reporter!


GAME ON!