Need . More . Coffee

July 11, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

I must admit that I’m feeling a little weary today. I was up late again last night watching the latest stage in the tour.

Cadel Evans moved up to second overall in the Tour de France in stage 6, the first of the mountain stages, and with some more ‘medium’ mountains in today’s stage we could have an Aussie in yellow by this time tomorrow.

So it’s more medium mountains today before another day on the flat then two days of high mountains. After all that, and ten days straight racing, the riders are given their first rest day for the 2008 Tour de France on Tuesday.

By then I reckon they’ll all be ready for a little rest. I know I will.



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Tour 2008 Continues

July 8, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

After three days of racing the 2008 Tour de France is just getting started.

The official Tour de France 2008 website has all the details and standings for all riders but here’s how things stand for the top ten riders at the moment.

1. FEILLU Romain 124 AGRITUBEL 13h 27′ 05″
2. LONGO BORGHINI Paolo 59 BARLOWORLD 13h 27′ 40″ + 00′ 35″
3. FRISCHKORN William 194 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 13h 28′ 47″ + 01′ 42″
4. VALVERDE Alejandro 31 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 13h 28′ 50″ + 01′ 45″
5. KIRCHEN Kim 41 TEAM COLUMBIA 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″
6. FREIRE Oscar 133 RABOBANK 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″
7. PINEAU Jérôme 145 BOUYGUES TELECOM 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″
8. MILLAR David 198 GARMIN CHIPOTLE 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″
9. EVANS Cadel 1 SILENCE – LOTTO 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″
10. POZZATO Filippo 61 LIQUIGAS 13h 28′ 51″ + 01′ 46″

I’ve enjoyed seeing all the colour and the tactics over the past few days. Tour de France time is one of my favourite times of the year. It does mean late nights and mornings that come around far too soon but I’m enjoying watching the TV coverage half a world away in Perth, Western Australia.

The fun really begins with today’s stage.

Stage four is a 29.5 km time trial so we should start to see the main contenders come out to play. Although it’s only a short time trial I’m hoping to see Australia’s Cadel Evans put in a good performance to set himself up for greater things later in the three week event. It’s claimed that one of his main rivals, Alejandro Valverde, has been brushing up on his time trialling techniques.

Cadel’s strengths are in time trialling and his climbing ability so it’ll be interesting to see at least one of those strengths on display in today’s stage.



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Tour de France 2008

July 5, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
15 Comments

tour_de_france_logo.jpgThe wait is over. The Tour de France 2008 begins today.

For the next few weeks I’ll be glued to the SBS Television coverage of the event and the official Tour de France website.

The Tour de France has been described as the toughest sporting challenge in the world. The elite athletes who take part face 21 grueling stages with many involving cycling up incredibly steep mountain roads. Some have compared it to marathon running saying that it’s like running a full marathon every day for three weeks.

This year’s favourite to wear the yellow winner’s jersey into Paris is Australian, Cadel Evans. If Evans wins it’ll be the first time an Aussie has won the event. Evans stood on the podium at the end of the event last year in second place, the highest ever finish for an Australian.

So what does the world’s greatest sporting event hold for us this year?

Running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th 2008, the 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,500 kilometres.

These 21 stages have the following profiles:

* 10 flat stages,
* 5 mountain stages,
* 4 medium mountain stages,
* 2 individual time-trial stages.

Distinctive aspects of the race

* 4 mountain finishes,
* 2 rest days,
* 82 kilometres of individual time-trials,
* 17 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed.

You’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little sleepy over the next few weeks. The stages are run each day in France which is late at night here in Perth.

C’mon Cadel.



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Collecting Glass

July 2, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

glass.jpgI’ve got a great idea that could help our environment. We already recycle so many things but I’ve found a wonderful resource that seems to be completely untapped at this point.

If we want to recycle more glass products I’d suggest sending someone with an industrial strength vacuum cleaner up to the bike path that runs alongside Hepburn Avenue in Perth’s northern suburbs.

I needed to go to a meeting in the suburb of Kingsley a couple of afternoons ago. As I cycled along I could hardly believe the amount of broken glass on the cycleway. The mind boggles at how so much glass could find its way there. Are people doing this on purpose because they don’t like cyclists? Are the locals particularly clumsy? Is it simply an accumulation brought on by the fact that the local council has never bothered to clean the pathway?

I did my best to dodge the very frequent patches of shattered glass but I eventually found another way to collect the glass other than the industrial strength vacuum cleaner. I was about to cycle to work yesterday morning and found a small shard of glass in my back tyre. It didn’t slow things down too much. A quick tube change and I was on the road again but I could have done without it. I’m actually amazed that I didn’t collect even more pieces.

I’m increasingly becoming a big fan of plastic bottles.



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Be Prepared

June 17, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Do you ever wonder if people are taking things a little too far?

I always carry spares when I’m cycling. I have a spare tube along with some patches and glue under my seat and a pump fitted to the down tube. I also carry a tool with a number of screwdrivers and allen keys and a pocket knife.

I don’t need all those bits and pieces very often but it’s great to have the confidence that if I do have any problems, I can get myself back on the road fairly quickly.

I saw someone taking the whole spare thing to the next level while I was riding to work yesterday. I rode past a cyclist who was pedaling along quite happily – with an entire bike over his shoulder. If he had any problems he would have been able to stop – change bikes – and just continue on his way.

I’m sure it would be very convenient in the case of emergency but somehow I just can’t see it catching on.



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