28-Jul-2008: It was a beautiful day in Paris on Sunday, and a fitting end of the Tour for Team CSC-Saxo Bank, whose incredible teamwork all three weeks in France culminated not only in the overall victory for Carlos Sastre, but also the white jersey for Andy Schleck and the overall Team Classification victory.
I’ve waited seven years for CSC to win the TdF. It was incredible to watch the well timed teamwork of CSC methodically take over the front of the peloton and execute their tactics. I’m not a big sports fan, and I never really understood what it’s like to watch your favorite team go to the Superbowl or the World Series until now. In previous years CSC never had any real chance of winning the TdF, so I never really took much interest. I always rooted for Cancellara in the TT and hoped Voigt would do an awesome breakaway. This year was agonizing watching how close the final TT was on stage 20. CSC could have easily lost all three awards in a single day, and on paper they were set to lose the yellow jersey. All the press said Sastre was going to lose that day, and the thought of coming this close and blowing was almost too much for me to watch. But the best wins are always the ones that come from behind and defy the odds.
There may be a lot of you out there just living your innocuous lifestyles wondering what the esoteric lifestyle is. The EL by definition is something you just can’t know anything about. There may however be a path to the elusive esoteric lifestyle.
I’m still not used to calling them team CSC Saxobank, but I’m a dedicated enough of a fan to keep trying. It was amazing watching CSC dominate Stage 10 of the TdF. The tactics were perfect as Cancellara put the pressure on in the beginning and Gustov and Voigt crushed the will of the peloton up the Tourmalet. In fact Voigt single handedly removed Valverde and Cunego out of Tour contention, proving once again that he has the more moxy than any other cyclist in the field. A perfect day would have ended with Schleck finishing first and in yellow, but at least you stayed on your bike Frank. And in all fairness that’s all I asked for. Stage 11 was even more amazing as Arvesen managed to win the stage by a few centimeters. When I heard he was in a break with Ballan and Pozzato, I thought he had no chance in the final sprint. Whether it was legs, brains, or luck, Arvesen pulled a much deserved win even though he was in the lead for the sprint. I figured he’d blow it like the 2006 Paris-Tours, but it looks like he’s getting smarter with age. Bravo CSC Saxobank! Now all I need is Frank in yellow and Voigt in an all day breakaway win.
“While one should value a more esoteric lifestyle, one should embrace the idea that all innocuous lifestyles are objectively equal.” -paraphrased from a great intellectual.
Totally right on dude, it’s not about the ‘05 lifestyle. It’s all about the esoteric lifestyle.
I’d like to get a USB wall charger for my iPod. I don’t want to buy the Apple one because I think it’s overpriced. Ideally I’d love a powered USB hub that would charge my USB devices even when the PC is turned off. If that doesn’t exist, any good reliable USB iPod charger would be nice.
Our old pepper mill gave out on us a month ago. It had been steadily going down hill for some time as it got progressively harder to produce any pepper. One day a screw fell out of it and into our food. Fearing for our safety, we decided it was time to get another one. It was a cheap Chinese made one from Farberware. It lasted for about five years so we saluted it goodbye and searched for another pepper grinder. Normally I’d just get another cheap grinder, but fresh ground black pepper is used a lot in our kitchen, almost at every meal. We’re big fresh ground pepper fans, and for a tool you use everyday, it’s best to find something that’s good and will last. Well I had a gift card to Williams and Sonoma and we set out to get the best pepper grinder ever.
Everything at W-S is expensive and generally overpriced la-dee-dah stuff. $30 for an All-Clad Food Turner? Seriously? They had a $110 dollar Peugeot pepper grinder, a ridiculous price for a ridiculous object d’art. Finally I saw this model from Kuhn Rikon for $40. After a few weeks of use, I really find it to be worth the extra cash. Here’s what I like about it.
The grinding element is ceramic instead of steel. Ceramics are much harder than steel and the shape of this grinding bezel makes short work of those pepper corns, and the pepper flakes are consist in size.
The large diameter of the spice vase gives you plenty of torque for grinding, so it’s easy to use.
What’s super awesome is that the grinding end stands up instead of down like other grinders. This keeps your counters and tabletops from getting dirty with pepper. I don’t understand why every pepper grinder doesn’t do this
Another interesting feature is that it has interchangeable spice canisters that you can load into the grinder. I don’t think I’ll use this, but if I wanted to switch from black pepper to sichuan pepper, interchanging the canisters would be a snap.
It’s really well made and comes with a 25 year warranty.
I saw this ad for the first time while watching this year’s TdF coverage. As soon as it finished I just sat on the couch a little stunned. Each time I watch it, I get a little emotional. I’ve never seen anyone perfectly show what it is I love about bikes so much until I saw this ad. Maybe it’s because everything they show is a part of my life. I think of the long solo training rides, or the casual errands K and I run on our bikes on the weekends. I think of the great stories my friends and I have that involve epic rides. I think of the daily grind of commuting on a bike, and even at it’s worst, how much better it is than being in a car. I think of my first time riding my bike and the freedom it gave me. Bicycles make us better people and a better society. Thanks Trek for pointing that out. I believe too.
Memo to Frank Schleck. I’m not asking much for this year’s TdF. I’m not asking for another Alpe D’Huez win, or a podium finish. All I’m asking is that you stay on your bike. I simply can’t handle another race where you’re going to do well and then you blow it by falling off your bike for no real reason. Missing the final sprint at last year’s Giro Di Lombardia was bad, blowing this year’s Tour de Suisse was even worse. You already caused a crash in Stage 2’s feed zone. Get it together Frank, Cancellara can’t win everything for the team. If you don’t I’ll have to switch my Luxembourger loyalty to Kim Kirchen.
