By Joe Nuss
My wife elbowed me in the back about 3a.m. the other night.
“Joe… Joe… wake up. You’re talking in your sleep.”
“Où sont mes chaussettes?”
“Huh?”
“Mes chaussettes. Ma chance chaussettes! Vous savez … les chaussettes! L’avion est en partance pour Monaco! Dépêchez-vous!”
… and I don’t even speak French!
With the upcoming Tour de France in my editorial sights, my late-night editing ritual now includes a plate of cheese, a bottle of wine and the occasional drunk-dialing of my travel agent feigning purchase of a ticket to Monaco. In the day, I find myself craving the sandwich au jambon I’d snack on during my honeymoon to France and I curse myself for not taking my bike on that trip. Suddenly, the cheese I buy here in the U.S. seems bland. No matter how expensive, it pales in comparison to the creamy goodness of what the street vendors put on that delicious sandwich in the small coastal town where my wife and I stayed during our honeymoon.
When it comes to living well, the French can make a good point. Regardless of your interest in cycling, who wouldn’t want to spend the afternoon in a gorgeous field or on a magnificent mountain drinking wine, eating great food and watching an epic race? And you don’t even have to be that interested in cycling. In fact, according to the Tour de France’s official website, 39% of the spectators come just to watch the publicity caravan that precedes the race. For the past 96 years, the Tour de France has been a spectacle that has even been extended to include a version for convicts.
What’s more, you’ve got to love the French’s version of “doing time”. As one cyclist in the cadre of convicts pointed out, “it’s like an escape for us.” How true! Wiser words have not been spoken by a person capable of giving new meaning to the term “breakaway”. I wonder if French officials were kind enough to let the prisoners know that while there were 17 stop-over cities on the 1,500-mile route, there were also17 stop-over jails, should any member of the criminal cycling cadre get too ambitious.
But, despite his criminal status, Daniel does have it right – cycling is a kind of escape, at least for me. From the time I was 10 and would ride off early Saturday morning on my red banana-seat bike (lest my dad find too much work for me around the house) to the time last weekend when I rode off early Saturday morning on my red carbon-frame bike (lest my wife find too much work for me around the house), to the time last year when I watched the Tour on TV and imagined myself wearing the maillot jaune on the Champs Elysées, I’ve always enjoyed the element of escape that cycling provides.
While I would love to travel to France and watch the Tour first-hand this year, my “escape” will be limited to what I see on television. Not being an avid watcher of television in any regards, I jumped at the chance to have cycling coach and commentator Chad Andrews and JoE Silva, contributing writer to ROAD and VeloNews (to name a few) create an amazing preview to guide me and you through the Tour this year.
Chad and JoE have put together a guide that will educate and excite those not totally immersed into cycling and the Tour while providing some keen insights to how the race will unfold that even the most hardcore follower will find useful. Even better, they’ve provided their picks for the green, polka dot, and yellow jerseys, not to mention the final podium.
While Chad only gives Lance an 8 to 1 shot at winning this year (check out his odds for all the top riders), my heart is still routing for the man that’s changed the face of cycling and inspired so many with his LIVESTRONG campaign. So, grab a glass of wine, a plate of cheese and get ready for an epic race this year.
Oh yes, don’t forget your yellow bracelet http://www.livestrong.com/ and…
Allez Lance!
