Tour Reflections and Dreams of 3D Flight...

Hey all!

I would like to start this blog entry off with my thoughts and reaction to the 2009 Tour De France. So here we go…



I think the best guy won. Alberto Contador is a rider with the God-given talent, physical makeup, and discipline to assume the mantle of #1 in the world. I say this not only because he has once again proven himself in the Tour De France, but also because he has won the Giro and the Vuelta as well. This sort of performance echoes the accomplishments of Eddy Merckx (for you newbs, Eddy is considered by many to be the greatest rider in the history of the sport) more so than Lance Armstrong’s 7 Tour wins.

Speaking of Lance, one cannot discount his 3rd place performance. In a sport where most people peak in their late 20s seeing this guy throw in a ride like this at age 37 is still commendable. Granted he had an amazing team and director behind him but the talent that exhibited itself at age 21 is still there.

I think the real show down will come next year when each of these riders will have their own respective teams. I hope that Alberto will have the equal support that Lance Armstrong will have with Team Radio Shack. Lance will have the help of Andreas Klöden and Levi Leipheimer who are both awesome riders in their own right. I wonder where Alberto will go.

Here is an idea… Why not get Bjarne Riss to resurrect team CSC and get all the members from the 2004 squad like Jens Voigt, Bobby Julich, and Ivan Basso to support a Contador Effort? This was team that took on U.S. Postal during the Lance Armstrong 7 year reign and nearly beat him!

Anyway I’ll be tracking these guys through the onset of next season in anticipation for what should prove to be a kick ass tour next year.

Hobby Update



While cruising Youtube I stumbled upon some R.C. Helicopter flying videos that totally blew me away. Advances in carbon fibre manipulation, and electronics have produced machines that are capable of jaw dropping aerobatics. While many often say the sky is the limit, the well-seasoned pilots who guide these machines demonstrate that this arena may in itself have no boundaries.

It used to cost an arm and leg to simply own a hobby grade helicopter but I was surprised that pro level machines like the carbon fibre based Walkera Creata 400 are quite reasonably priced. This all got me thinking of signing up for a new hobby.



I’ll fill you all in on what I’m discovering about it through my research online and at the local bookstores. I figure I should be as informed as I can be before I invest anything into it...