Feeling Flat
It was a rest day for the riders of the Tour. Actually, they're travelling. They have to fly (by airplane) to the next stage. And a rest day doesn't mean they don't ride. They still have to get some riding time in to maintain fitness. Stage 9 is a really flat one, another day for the sprinters. But with the mountain stages immediately after, there may be some jockeying in the breakaways setting up the GC contenders. Right now Team T-Mobile have four riders in the Top 10 and a rider in 11th place. That means any one of these riders can go out and win the yellow. This is the position that Discovery *wanted* to be in. Alas, they didn't turn in winning rides in the Individual Time Trials. T-Mobile did.
But there are two more weeks to go, and it's still anybody's race. It is fun to watch because you never know what's going to happen next or who's going to step up and win the day. It's also nerve-wracking.
I'm wondering if the Discovery Team might not have a case of cold feet. For seven years they've been working for one guy - Lance Armstrong - every move they made was to help Lance win. Each member knew what he had to do. Now there's no Lance. And there are three or four guys who could lead the team, but they're all hesitating. Unsure they are worthy? Afraid they won't measure up to Lance's accomplishments? Having doubts about their own abilities? These are all top-flight athletes to be sure, but they're also human. And as a supporting rider for a team with no clear leader, it's gotta be difficult to define what your role is and how you can contribute in any given stage. I'm just hoping Discovery can work something out. They're getting ever closer to the mountains where the real trials begin.
The Braves are on a hiatus, too, as are all the major league baseball teams. The All-Star game is tomorrow and with their star players participating, league play is suspended for four days. It's a welcomed break for players not in the game to rest up and heal. The downside is it breaks momentum. The Braves struggled mightily in the month of June logging in the most losses by any Braves team in a very long time. Over the last ten days they've been winning and are on a roll. That many rest days in a row are good, but when league play resumes they're out on the road and won't have home field advantage. It makes it little tougher to win games. I hope they can pick up where they left off and win lots of games.
It was my first day back to work after a week's vacation. It was a good day, but it always feels a little weird, a little disjointed, for the first couple days.
Tomorrow is our campus writers group meeting. We agreed to bring excerpts of our writing to share with the group. I was on vacation and didn't give a thought to work, not even the writers group. It's embarrassing to admit it. In fact, I did very little writing during my vacation. And one of the things I really wanted to do was write. I'm not sure what that means. I think my focus on writing is a little disjointed too, Needless to say I don't have an excerpt worth sharing from the story I had told them about. Not sure what to do now that it's so late. Well, I'll bring what I have and read it. What the heck.
On Saturday I went so see The DaVinci Code. Loved it. I saw An Incovenient Truth on Sunday. Loved it too. I want to post my comments, but I've worn myself out.
But there are two more weeks to go, and it's still anybody's race. It is fun to watch because you never know what's going to happen next or who's going to step up and win the day. It's also nerve-wracking.
I'm wondering if the Discovery Team might not have a case of cold feet. For seven years they've been working for one guy - Lance Armstrong - every move they made was to help Lance win. Each member knew what he had to do. Now there's no Lance. And there are three or four guys who could lead the team, but they're all hesitating. Unsure they are worthy? Afraid they won't measure up to Lance's accomplishments? Having doubts about their own abilities? These are all top-flight athletes to be sure, but they're also human. And as a supporting rider for a team with no clear leader, it's gotta be difficult to define what your role is and how you can contribute in any given stage. I'm just hoping Discovery can work something out. They're getting ever closer to the mountains where the real trials begin.
The Braves are on a hiatus, too, as are all the major league baseball teams. The All-Star game is tomorrow and with their star players participating, league play is suspended for four days. It's a welcomed break for players not in the game to rest up and heal. The downside is it breaks momentum. The Braves struggled mightily in the month of June logging in the most losses by any Braves team in a very long time. Over the last ten days they've been winning and are on a roll. That many rest days in a row are good, but when league play resumes they're out on the road and won't have home field advantage. It makes it little tougher to win games. I hope they can pick up where they left off and win lots of games.
It was my first day back to work after a week's vacation. It was a good day, but it always feels a little weird, a little disjointed, for the first couple days.
Tomorrow is our campus writers group meeting. We agreed to bring excerpts of our writing to share with the group. I was on vacation and didn't give a thought to work, not even the writers group. It's embarrassing to admit it. In fact, I did very little writing during my vacation. And one of the things I really wanted to do was write. I'm not sure what that means. I think my focus on writing is a little disjointed too, Needless to say I don't have an excerpt worth sharing from the story I had told them about. Not sure what to do now that it's so late. Well, I'll bring what I have and read it. What the heck.
On Saturday I went so see The DaVinci Code. Loved it. I saw An Incovenient Truth on Sunday. Loved it too. I want to post my comments, but I've worn myself out.