I Need A Tour de France Buddy

The Tour de France is a big sporting event.

As such, I need somebody to discuss it with at work. Sadly, I seem to be the only cycling geek to be found in my office. Here are some random thoughts:

Are cyclists tough? Well, Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone in two places at the end of stage 1, back on July 6th. Since then he's ridden over 1,500 miles. He can't be on any serious painkillers because he would run afoul of the sport's doping rules.

Are cyclists "good sports?" It seems so. I have enjoyed seeing the camaraderie between riders this year. Yesterday Lance Armstrong went down in a freak crash when his handlebars got tangled up with a fan's food bag. Did Jan Ullrich, his main competition for the overall lead, take advantage of this turn of events and streak away? No. He waited for Lance, just as Lance had waited for him once two years ago. Very classy, especially when you consider that it could very well cost Ullrich first place.

In other sports news, I wish I had a little league coach like this when I was growing up.