Riding for Roses

October 2 is the 9th anniversary of Lance Armstrong’s diagnosis with testicular cancer. Lance is a funny guy. He likes to celebrate it

I am supposed to ride the 40 mile ride with Spencer. They’ve changed the route slightly this year. The distance is a tiny bit longer. The hill climbing is about the same. However, there are two small problems.

Check out the Dutch TV coverage of Austin’s reactions to Lance Armstrong (click on “Austin is trots op Lance Armstrong” for the video). The reporter is a Dutch man stationed on Washington, DC, who travels around the US covering interesting stories. They came to Austin for a couple of days to catch Lance Fever.

It’s this simple: The Tour Watch 2005 event at Central Market North is the best Tour de France viewing party in Austin, TX. It’s true. My new friend Stephen says so. He visited every single Tour watching party at least once at says this one is the best.

Rumor mills can generate interesting fictions, blended with enough fact to feel true. Let’s cut the finish and then tell the story. Lance is not going to be in Austin on Sunday. Linda Armstrong Kelly is not going to be to Austin Sunday. However, if you get yourself to Tour Watch 2005 at Central Market on 4001 N. Lamar Blvd. in Austin Sunday morning, you will have the opprtunity to sign a big yellow thank you card that will be delivered to Lance.

We are filling in context material for the Discovery Network show by taping key events during the Tour de France. They wanted some footage of us watching the mountain days so I made sure Spencer came with me both Saturday and Sunday to Central Market for Tour Watch 2005—Saturday was bit of a bust with rain reducing the crowd and limiting taping chances. Sunday was perfect and Spencer milked it.

At the oncologist on Friday, I commented to Spencer’s nurse, Jennifer, that Spencer’s hair wasn’t so much attached to his head as it was resting peacefully. Yesterday afternoon Spencer wanted to go for a swim and we wound up proving those words.

Lance became the holder of the Yellow Jersey on July 5 thanks to Discovery Team having a great ride, but decided not to wear yellow to start July 6. Why not? Listen to Conversation with Rob: Yellow Jersey Etiquette for a brief discussion.

As I mentioned in my podcast yesterday, most stages of the Tour de France have intermediate sprints. They are fun to watch and, sadly, not always covered by the US television coverage of the Tour. As the riders approach the intermediate checkpoint they jockey for position and there can be a lot of politics if a breakaway group is heading toward a checkpoint—stronger riders may let other riders win to build temporary coalitions. Spencer is in facing an intermediate sprint right now. He has raised $7,187.88 towards his $25,000 goal. We are within striking distance of the next fundraising level of $7,500 (the Green Jersey award). Please help Spencer win his Green Jersey by donating to support cancer survivors and Spencer’s Ride for the Roses.

Conversations with Rob: Tour de France Jerseys

We are here at Tour Watch 2005 at Central Market North in Austin watching the Tour de France. Lance took the Yellow Jersey in Stage 4! People keep asking me about the special jerseys and what they mean, so I spoke for a few minutes on the meaning [...]