Bicycle Birthday

 

For Steele's birthday this year we decided to let his love of cycling inspire the theme of the party. Since we all love cycling too, it wasn't a bad choice!

 

All the major jersey colors represented---I cut out nearly 500!!! The rainbow ribbon isn't exactly accurate, but close enough.

 

The jerseys were strung together to make garlands. It's hard to tell by the photo how fantastic they turned out.

 

I made paper medallions.

 

And stuck them on the treat boxes containing dark chocolate peanut butter cups, black and white circus animal cookies, wafer cookies, and striped fudge cookies.

 

For my birthday Mom found some REALLY good cupcakes that even Steele ate. He usually isn't a sweet tooth. D.D. ordered these adorable cupcake toppers, but when Mom went to get the cupcakes they didn't have the same flavors. Don't worry, we had PLENTY of sugar!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTTONS!

We love you!

And come next July we'll be all set to decorate for the Tour de France!

 

David Millar:::Racing Through the Dark

Now that the Tour de France is over I'm going through cycling withdrawls. It isn't that I don't follow cycling all year long, but there is something VERY consuming about the three weeks of The Tour. It is the most prestigious event of the year. If you are fortunate enough to have cable you get up early to watch the stage live, and then watch the primetime rebroadcast. And if you have nothing else going on that day, you watch the mid-day. The results don't change but there is something inspiring watching these guys race for 4-6 hours over all kinds of terrain. These athletes are AMAZING. They put their bodies through what is the equivalent of running a marathon everyday for 3 weeks. Talk about warriors.

Why am I gong on and on about how tough they are? The sport is hard and is known for being a dirty sport. Cheating and doping are unfortunately part of every professional sport. I honestly feel that cycling has done the most to clean up and keep their sport honest. No other athletes are tested more.

I just finished reading "Racing Through the Dark" by David Millar. This book relates his love turning to disillusionment with the sport and his eventual foray into the doping world. He was caught and banned from competition for 2 years. He talks about how he hit rock bottom and how he learned to love the sport of cycling again. This is one of the most honestly written books about the dark side of cycling. 

Since his return, David has been honest about his past and not afraid to talk about it. He shares his knowledge with younger riders and is a great mentor. He joined a cycling team committed to clean racing. I am sufficiently impressed with him.

This is David Millar winning a stage at this year's Tour de France. One of the few times the breakaway stayed away. He will be competing in the London Olympics, despite Great Britain's stance on past dopers. 

If you know nothing about cycling I would still recommend this book. 

July July

Can you believe July is over half-way over?! It's been a busy month. It started in St. George, Utah with a mini Moody family reunion. It was HOT, but fun to see long lost family.

We've already been to San Diego THREE times.

We saw Matisyahu at the Del Mar Fair.

Fun on the fourth with a cookout and SPARKLERS! Steele made an AWESOME pasta salad.

And what would July be without The Tour de France? The Wilde family becomes obsessive about cycling for the entire three weeks of the race. Some day I'll go to France and see it in person.

Can you think of a better way to spend a Summer evening than at the ballpark with friends? I kind of wish the month would slow down.

Tour of California

This year (unlike last year) we made the most out of The Tour of California. Cycling has a way of getting into your blood and making you love it more and more. Desiree and I even got Steele to take some time away from his crazy busy schedule and spend a couple of days with us following a few of the stages. There is nothing quite like witnessing a bike race in action. Like Desiree says, "It's like going to the World Series and sitting in the dugout." Or like another cycling fan who will remain anonymous, "It's like the Olympics, World Cup and the Super Bowl all rolled into one."

The time trial was held in Solvang, much better than last year when it was downtown LA. If you've never been to Solvang, it's worth the drive and the delicious treats. We arrived plenty early to get a good place at the finish line. 

There was a lot of waiting.

But in the meantime we saw Andy Schleck, who has been second place the last two years at The Tour de France.

Here is the eventual race winner Chris Horner after his time trial ride.

George Hincapie. Former three time USA Road Race Champion, as well as MANY other Classics and stage race wins. One of my favorite cyclists of all time. A truly great all around racer.

Oscar Freire. Three time World Champion. Three time winner of Milan-San Remo. A top sprinter. 

Johan Vansummeren. This year's Paris-Roubaix winner. And at 6' 5.5" the tallest man in the peloton.

Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin. The voices of cycling. No two men know more about the sport of cycling than these two. Their british accents and unique turn of phrase make them delightful to listen to. These guys travel all over the world commentating on this fascinating sport as no one else can. And we were lucky enough to hang out with them for a few minutes while they shot a race preview segment. That's almost like saying you got to hang out with Vin Scully, Howard Cosell and Harry Caray.

The next day the stage started in Claremont. We were at the start of this race. Here we are hanging out with Greg Henderson, winner of stage 2 and Ted King, a very funny guy. You can see the green jersey winner Peter Sagan a little further back. 

A super stinkin' fun weekend! Giving us practice for when we actually make it to The Tour de France and follow it for three weeks some July. In our dreams.

Etsy Front Page Feature

So excited to find our Tour of California Messenger on the front page of Etsy! And of course, the theme was THE TOUR DE FRANCE!

Thanks to beezus417 for curating the treasury!

More things cycling

Some years ago my brother got his first road bike. This past week he acquired a few more two-wheeled pedal-turners. His new fixed gear bike is a beauty. She's matte black and very sleek.

While visiting San Diego last holiday weekend we decided to load up and go for a spin. We finally have enough bikes for those who choose to to ride. We are DEFINITELY not professionals, but we enjoyed our leisurely ride around Coronado. (I forgot to take any shots of us actually riding---I'll have to borrow some from my sister.)

After a great little ride of course we needed some refreshment. El Zarape called to us and we responded. It had been longer than I care to remember, but the potato rolled tacos were EXCELLENT! Usually a drowned vegetable quesadilla in green salsa is my menu choice.

A perfect morning.

J'Adore Le Tour de France

It's July. And that means that it is The Tour de France. The Tour is a bigger event than the Super Bowl, the World Series, and probably the Olympics for our family. (And we follow all of those too.) We watch every stage for 3 weeks. If it is a good stage we'll watch it twice. When cable doesn't carry tv coverage, I will get up at 5 am, or 4 am, or 3 am (if it's an important mountain stage) to watch streaming coverage on the internet. We watch the recaps on the rest days. We play the fantasy cycling challenge. I won from our league last year. We follow other bike races too, but this is the grand daddy of them all. Some day I'll attend The Tour de France in person.

Two of my favorites: Lance Armstrong and Thor Hushovd

Cycling has a way of getting into your blood. The sport is absolutely fascinating! There are so many components and intricacies. It's a team sport with individual pursuits. Or and individual sport with team support. There are competitions within the competition. Sprinters, climbers, contenders for the general classification---I LOVE it! I especially love me a good sprint. (So sad that Tom Boonen isn't in The Tour this year.) And I admire the professional bike rider above any other professional athlete. Does any other sport require the dedication to workout 2-6 hours a day sun & heat, rain or snow & cold? Sometimes riding hundreds of miles? Or how about dragging their bodies over mountain peaks in the Alps or Pyrenees? These men have metabolisms resembling a hummingbird, and when racing a 3 week stage race will consume 7,000-9,000 calories a day and still look almost gauntly. They have amazing resilience, strength and dedication.

I am glad to see the popularity and understanding about the sport of cycling gaining in popularity in the USA. Yes, it gets a bad rap with doping scandals, but the sport and a majority of the riders are cleaner than any other professional sport and have better controls in place. That's all I'm going to say about that.

So I'm wearing my yellow LIVESTRONG bracelet and following every bit of cycling coverage I can get until July 25 when the race concludes on the Champs Elysees.