Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Mini Tour de France - Stage 1

The team bus took me across the James River for the start of Stage 1 of my Mini Tour de France (TdF). This would be the longest stage of my tour and judging by the merciless sun that shone high and bright through cloudless skies, it was gonna be a hot one to boot.This stage was over the lightly traveled, country roads through the counties of Isle of Wight and Surry. It was a circuitous route through Smithfield, up to Surry, over to the Jamestown Ferry, through Chippokes plantation, back through Smithfield.

For the majority of the ride I was surrounded by fields of corn and soy bean and accompanied by a nagging cross wind.At one point I had my head down and was hammering along when I happened upon a poignant reminder of the Tour de France. The spectators, especially on mountain stages, traditionally paint words of encouragement to their favorite riders. While I never saw my name painted on the road, I did happen upon this sage advice.My pedal strokes took on an increased sense of urgency and I blew by said "bad dog", who was lazily lounging in the shade. I was either going to fast or it was too hot for him to give chase.

Results after Stage 1:

My Mini TdF
Stage Winner: Me
Distance: 70 miles
Time: 4h 31' 59" (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
Overall Leader: Me
Overall Distance: 75 miles
Overall Time: 4h 49' 33"

The TdF
Stage Winner: Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre)
Distance: 140 miles
Time: 5h 09' 38"
Overall Leader: Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank)
Overall Distance: 145 miles
Overall Time: 5h 19' 38"

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