The First 100 Miles

Welcome Liam!

Welcome Liam Paul, the first baby born to the Inane Asylum.  We're so proud!

Congratulations to Janann and her new bundle of joy.  Baby Liam weighs in at 8lbs, 4oz so we're guessing that we probably have a sprinter on our hands.  He may be a little bulky for the climbs.  And with only four days left until the Tour kicks off - how does his butt look?

We wish you all the best Jannan.  Get some rest and send us some pics!!

Class Act

Chris Horner has written a great blog post about why the decision was made to leave him off the Tour team this year.  It's clear, it's honest and it's incredibly gracious.  Not sure how the team will feel about Chris's honesty but I think that's what you get with Chris Horner, whether you like it or not.  Obviously both Lance and Levi appreciate what he has to say as they both linked to the post on their Twitter feeds today.

He thanks Lance and Levi for much lobbying on his behalf and he asks us to not be too hard on Johan who was put in an impossible position and did what he had to do.

Fascinating to get a glimpse into the internal politics of a world-class cycling team and makes me love Chris Horner even more than I did before.

I Miss Horner Already

No Chris Horner at this year's Tour!?!?!  I'm devastated.  I just got over the Jon and Kate divorce news and now this!

I have become addicted to the VeloNews TV interviews with Horner.  He gives a better explanation of team tactics and what goes on in the peleton than any of the guys who cover cycling for a living.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are discussions going on over at Velo News this afternoon about the possibility of asking him to join their coverage team during the race.

I guess I understand that perhaps he hasn't fully recovered from his crash at the Giro and you can't take up a valuable Tour slot with a guy who might not be able to pull his weight for the three weeks, but it still breaks my heart.  I bet it's disappointing for Lance, Levi and Alberto too.  If you're thinking about winning yourself a Tour de France you sure as hell want a guy like Chris Horner pulling you to Paris.

It's Almost July...

...and I can feel everyone getting excited about the Tour.

I know I'm not around like I once was but even with my focus on getting my book done these days I can't deny that I'm starting to feel it too.

Hearing about Lance's win in the Nevada City Classic and reading what Ben Jacques-Maynes had to say about Lance and Levi after trying to hold their wheels at that race, well, you'd have to be dead not to be all tingly inside.

So, I'm still here and you know I'll have some kind of opinion as the race progresses.  I hope you'll visit and I hope that Jannan has her baby during the Tour because that would be SO COOL!