that there tour in France

wantaway

Very strange. I use a bike to get to work. This has had a strange effect over the last week or so. People keep talking to me about the Tour de France and assuming that I somehow am some kind of fanatic because I ride a bike. It is like when people assume I give an hoot about the premiership because I happen to like football.

Anyone else had this phenomenon? Is there anyting I should say other than shake my head and say “that team Astana eh? What a box of frogs…”

scooper

dirk_van_gently

Ask them about F1 or Nascar, or some other meaningless motorsport, especially if you know they are not interested, when they say they don't follow it, say "well as you are a car driver I thought you must be".
The irony may be lost on them though

roger_merriman

ha not the only one, could try mumbling something about armstrong, i just say i'm sport free, which i largely am though i do watch a little rugby, i was born in wales so....

Deadeye Duck

I'm the opposite. Nobody round here gives a damn and I can't understand why.

Last year I was the same as them, not even knowing it was on and not caring about it, but since I've started paying attention to it this time, I can't believe it's not plastererd in every newspaper and news show every day. It's amazing!

wantaway

to be fair my interest has gone up now I have started cycling. This is not really saying much since previoulsy I had no interest at all and my current level of intereststill does not quite reach understanding the tactics. It is more based on trying to understand who has the best bike / shirt colour combo.

And even on that subject I am undecided.

Eau Rouge

Slippery slopes and all that.
You'll be wondering whether Silence-Lotto will ever get a climber to help Cadel or not before you know where you are

Jamey

I'm already starting to nudge slower commuters and ask them to fetch me a drink.

wantaway

When I start watching the Giro de Italia. That is when I'll press the panic button.

Roougers

There is going to come a point when the whole world will just grind to a halt because everyone in an Office Environment is watching some form of streaming TV.

Last week I was flicking between the tour and the ashes, collegue 1 was watching Torchwood on iPlayer (yeah I know) and Collegue 2 was watching the ashes also.

Still, I'm not complaining like!

wantaway

Jamey wrote:

I'm already starting to nudge slower commuters and ask them to fetch me a drink.

now that is a good idea.

Jamey

Obviously it's a joke... There's no such thing as a slower commuter than me

Eau Rouge

wantaway wrote:

When I start watching the Giro de Italia. That is when I'll press the panic button.

Nooo!
The Giro is usually a better race to watch. The Dolomites are harder than the Alps, RAI's coverage is second to none, and the Italian teams pull out all the stops. It's a great three weeks of racing.

wantaway

Eau Rouge wrote:

wantaway wrote:

When I start watching the Giro de Italia. That is when I'll press the panic button.

. The Dolomites are harder than the Alps, .

yeah but the Alps' dad is bigger than the Dolomites' Dad. And they can drink more, and they said they could have the dolomites with one arm tied behind their back.

prawny

Eau Rouge wrote:

wantaway wrote:

When I start watching the Giro de Italia. That is when I'll press the panic button.

Nooo!
The Giro is usually a better race to watch. The Dolomites are harder than the Alps, RAI's coverage is second to none, and the Italian teams pull out all the stops. It's a great three weeks of racing.

+1 The giro is good.

Now this year my obsession led me to watch the Tour of Qatar, oh dear :?

System_1

While watching the Tour at my dad's place the other day he asked me "Do you fancy taking part in that one day?". Quite aside from the fact I'm already 35, 4 stone overweight and clearly past my best, I don't think he quite understood the concept of a professional cyclist. I think he reckons you just turn up on the start line. :P

System_1

While watching the Tour at my dad's place the other day he asked me "Do you fancy taking part in that one day?". Quite aside from the fact I'm already 35, 4 stone overweight and clearly past my best, I don't think he quite understood the concept of a professional cyclist. I think he reckons you just turn up on the start line. :P

iain_j

System wrote:

While watching the Tour at my dad's place the other day he asked me "Do you fancy taking part in that one day?". Quite aside from the fact I'm already 35, 4 stone overweight and clearly past my best, I don't think he quite understood the concept of a professional cyclist. I think he reckons you just turn up on the start line. :P

That bugs me so much. Folks at work know I cycle. Folks at work have become aware of big race going on in France. "Why don't you enter?"

OK - you play tennis, so why aren't you at Wimbledon? You drive a car, why aren't you in the Grand Prix? You play football, why aren't you in the Premiership?

Grr.

pangolin

MTFU and get to the start line!

oscarbudgie

Ironic considering pro cycling is the most physically demanding sport there is - perhaps you should point out that the riders will ride the distance of, say, London to Nottingham, in about 4 or 5 hours, every day, for three weeks, with the odd mountain thrown in along the way?

cjcp

prawny wrote:

Eau Rouge wrote:

wantaway wrote:

When I start watching the Giro de Italia. That is when I'll press the panic button.

Nooo!
The Giro is usually a better race to watch. The Dolomites are harder than the Alps, RAI's coverage is second to none, and the Italian teams pull out all the stops. It's a great three weeks of racing.

+1 The giro is good.

Now this year my obsession led me to watch the Tour of Qatar, oh dear :?

Giro doesn't do it for me. I'm not in "Grand Tour" mood at that time of the year. Cunego v Di Luca doesn't exactly get my heart racing either.

Stone Glider

Last year I watched the Giro in a Spanish owned hotel on a Greek island from an Italian feed. All the riders seemed to have the same name - too many sylables. It was good though :?

My wife was a little disappointed that when i insisted on returning to our room in the afternoon all i did was watch TV :oops:

el_presidente

The Giro has insane stages - like last year a time trial up a cart track to a ski station, it was so steep most riders were using compacts and mountain bike cassettes, and so narrow they couldn't fit the cars up, each rder had a support motorbike with a pillion rider with a spare bike on his shoulder. At the top they were riding past the snow & skiers.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/imageBank/c/CORONES.jpg

This year the Blockhaus stage was somewhat unsubtle:

thedaffodilfish

wantaway wrote:

...previoulsy I had no interest at all and my current level of intereststill does not quite reach understanding the tactics. It is more based on trying to understand who has the best bike / shirt colour combo.

And even on that subject I am undecided.

Clearly its Cervelo

Or Saxobank.

cjcp

el_presidente wrote:

The Giro has insane stages - like last year a time trial up a cart track to a ski station, it was so steep most riders were using compacts and mountain bike cassettes, and so narrow they couldn't fit the cars up, each rder had a support motorbike with a pillion rider with a spare bike on his shoulder. At the top they were riding past the snow & skiers.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/imageBank/c/CORONES.jpg

This year the Blockhaus stage was somewhat unsubtle:

What's the stage which has the unpaved bit of road for the last few kms? I think it was last year's Giro, but don't know if it was the Blockhaus.

Runoutofgears

Tried watching the Giro this year with some sucess, but I'm hooked on the Tdf, clashes with tons of stuff on the telly that the missus wants to watch, she can't believe it's on every night!

Come to think of it, I can't quite comprehend what it must take to do what the riders do, almost every day, for the duration of the Tour.