Michelle, the Fan Click to Enlarge

While she makes fun of golf on TV for it's hushed announcer tones, the Tour de France announcers speak in nearly the same manner, but in hard English accents. We'll see skinny cyclists zipping by the camera, looking like Nascar race cars with ads in dozens of languages on their jerseys.

For me, the most entertaining part is watching the thousands of fans who make signs in their native languages (Allez!) and paint themselves in their nation's colors and run along next to the riders before falling down out of breath. Michelle, meanwhile, watches and calculates in her head such things as how far they've pedaled in miles/kilometers, their estimated heart rates, how many calories they've expended, what gear they must be in, and their anaroebic/lactic acid stages. My brain hurts just thinking about it.

The favorite to win this year, for his fourth time in a row, is American Lance Armstong. Excuse me, that's amazing god-like superhuman Lance Armstrong. Michelle tells me that he beat cancer. He also has the most amazing cardio-vascular system in the world. He speaks four languages. He's so good at racing that now he's racing to secure his place in history rather than worry about beating the other cyclists. All the interviews on TV are with him. I'll be officially sick of him on Day Two of the race.

France, however, is beautiful! Last year, while watching them ride through the Alps, I swore I would go there next year (now this year). Michelle could watch the race (zip - zip - zip...boy, they were fast!) and I could see France. But, it wasn't in the cards. Next year!

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