Greetings Readers
Super-Besse - It has been 12 years since the last time there was a stage race finish was here. This year marks this the first mountain stage finish on this year's Tour de France. And what a start to the first mountain stage. We get to see two Category 4 mountain climbs and then we get a taste of our first two Category 2 mountain climbs, which on the last ends on a finish up to the summit, well almost summit of Super-Besse.
Yet, when I saw that Super-Besse, I want to say "Super-Beast". It seems more intimidating then Super-Besse.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened on this stage, but the ending was just what I always want to see. I want to see the climb to a finish line. A climb that makes or breaks riders who have ridden almost the entire course of probably 100 miles and have the last few miles going up a mountain. Any reserves or any thoughts of just taking it easy is not going to cut it. Every rider wants glory and GC riders will mostly have to ride defensively, but not offensively. Why? Well, this the first real mountain stage and most of the GC (General Classification) riders will want to see and probably stay together.
Whereas the rider who wants the King of the Mountain jersey will have to ride like fucking mad man. This is what they train for and this is the only real, for real, time that any rider who can beat the other riders on a mountains will most likely go down in history as the rider who beat everyone that one day in July in the year of 2008. Pictured is the winner of the stage.
Now, I am not saying the yellow jersey is not important in any mountain stage, but the yellow jersey rider will only have to work about the rider(s) who are the closest to him in time and whether or not those rider(s) mount an attack on a mountain climb. If that should happen then the yellow jersey becomes just as important as the King of The Mountain jersey
At that point to me I could care less who should wear the jersey, but the rider who does put up a fight for or keeping the yellow jersey then earns my respect. Not that it matters at all, but to me only that is alot of respect in my book. As I pointed out the Yellow jersey rider only has to work to keep wearing the jersey by beating the second overall leader in the Tour de France. The are a couple of exceptions to where the yellow jersey rider would have to work more than he has to - such as perhaps seeing the second place rider get dropped from the peloton and then it would beneficial to put some time and distance between him and the second place rider.
Now... onto a topic that I want to briefly post about.
There are quite a few bikers / cyclist / commuters who “believe” in the bike lane. When I use the word “believe” they believe that they own that piece of road. Meaning, no joggers, no baby strollers, no walkers, no dog walkers and definitely no vehicles can park in the bike lane should those particular riders come upon such an obstacle on their biking journey in the bike lanes on our blue planet.
Don’t get me wrong readers, I too have issues regarding the bike lane use - just as those few bikers / cyclist / commuters who “believe” in the bike lane, but I am not going to delve into that subject on this post. Perhaps in the future I will broach my personal issues regarding bike lane use. And is it not that I have not expressed my views already.
What I am going touch upon though is what I do or say. Most of the time I am silent, but every so often I mouth off. Cussing does not work – after all it is just words being yelled most of the time at each other. I usually saying something “smart”, sarcastic, rude or tell it like I see it. Every now and then I will raise the infamous one finger salute, but again that is just the middle finger being raise which when you really analyze the infamous one finger salute. After all it is just the middle finger being raised. A strong gesture when we are young, but if you are just as old as I am then the gesture is just a gesture no more than that. But as I stated I do raise that middle finger, with a smile, just to get a small internal victory or a quick silent “fuck you” very much.
Yet, other times I will stop in the bike lane and let the offender adjust his/her route of travel to me being in the bike lane.
The bottom line - my crime, at times, is foul / offensive language use and verbal assault, if that is a crime. I really do not know, but that I am sure that is a crime.
Now, with all that said I have been reading on a certain blog that I keep tabs on is that a certain ignorant bicyclist “believes” they have the right to bike lane. Though, that is not the specific issue for this particular post.
What I want to share with you readers is that this particular ignorant bicyclist believes it is okay to apply a sticker to parked vehicles in any biking lane in Denver and perhaps surrounding vehicles suburbs of Denver.
Does that sound “cute” to you readers? Do you think that is great idea? Are you saying “way to go” for him/her? Do you feel the urge to copy what he/she is doing?
If you answered yes to any of those questions then you are supporting a criminal. Yes - a criminal. What this ignorant bicyclist is doing is breaking the law by committing the crime of vandalism. When this person slaps a sticker to a vehicle that is vandalism. Period. Or the crime that is being committed – Tampering with a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 42-5-103.) Again, I want to reiterate I am committing a crime too, but I do not deface any vehicle because he/she parked in a bike lane.
I find what this bicyclist has been doing ever since he/she has been slapping stickers on vehicles parked in a bike lane in Denver and perhaps surrounding vehicles in the suburbs of Denver a disgrace to us other bikers / cyclist / commuters. I am probably being classed as a “mother fucker” cyclist by the actions of this one person in Denver by that particular vehicle’s owner. Though, I will admit I am a “motherfucker” on some issues, but I do not want to be classified as a “motherfucker” by the actions of this person.
Granted, I could care less about whether or not I am call a “bad word,” but what if this action triggers a certain button on this vehicle’s owner who was slapped with a sticker on their vehicle. Perhaps in this crime that was committed, the owner may take out his/her actions (example: a vehicle or physical assault) on the next biker / cyclist / commuter he/she sees in the future and that next person could be me..
Until the next time
Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete.
Super-Besse - It has been 12 years since the last time there was a stage race finish was here. This year marks this the first mountain stage finish on this year's Tour de France. And what a start to the first mountain stage. We get to see two Category 4 mountain climbs and then we get a taste of our first two Category 2 mountain climbs, which on the last ends on a finish up to the summit, well almost summit of Super-Besse.
Yet, when I saw that Super-Besse, I want to say "Super-Beast". It seems more intimidating then Super-Besse.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened on this stage, but the ending was just what I always want to see. I want to see the climb to a finish line. A climb that makes or breaks riders who have ridden almost the entire course of probably 100 miles and have the last few miles going up a mountain. Any reserves or any thoughts of just taking it easy is not going to cut it. Every rider wants glory and GC riders will mostly have to ride defensively, but not offensively. Why? Well, this the first real mountain stage and most of the GC (General Classification) riders will want to see and probably stay together.
Whereas the rider who wants the King of the Mountain jersey will have to ride like fucking mad man. This is what they train for and this is the only real, for real, time that any rider who can beat the other riders on a mountains will most likely go down in history as the rider who beat everyone that one day in July in the year of 2008. Pictured is the winner of the stage.
Now, I am not saying the yellow jersey is not important in any mountain stage, but the yellow jersey rider will only have to work about the rider(s) who are the closest to him in time and whether or not those rider(s) mount an attack on a mountain climb. If that should happen then the yellow jersey becomes just as important as the King of The Mountain jersey
At that point to me I could care less who should wear the jersey, but the rider who does put up a fight for or keeping the yellow jersey then earns my respect. Not that it matters at all, but to me only that is alot of respect in my book. As I pointed out the Yellow jersey rider only has to work to keep wearing the jersey by beating the second overall leader in the Tour de France. The are a couple of exceptions to where the yellow jersey rider would have to work more than he has to - such as perhaps seeing the second place rider get dropped from the peloton and then it would beneficial to put some time and distance between him and the second place rider.
Now... onto a topic that I want to briefly post about.
There are quite a few bikers / cyclist / commuters who “believe” in the bike lane. When I use the word “believe” they believe that they own that piece of road. Meaning, no joggers, no baby strollers, no walkers, no dog walkers and definitely no vehicles can park in the bike lane should those particular riders come upon such an obstacle on their biking journey in the bike lanes on our blue planet.
Don’t get me wrong readers, I too have issues regarding the bike lane use - just as those few bikers / cyclist / commuters who “believe” in the bike lane, but I am not going to delve into that subject on this post. Perhaps in the future I will broach my personal issues regarding bike lane use. And is it not that I have not expressed my views already.
What I am going touch upon though is what I do or say. Most of the time I am silent, but every so often I mouth off. Cussing does not work – after all it is just words being yelled most of the time at each other. I usually saying something “smart”, sarcastic, rude or tell it like I see it. Every now and then I will raise the infamous one finger salute, but again that is just the middle finger being raise which when you really analyze the infamous one finger salute. After all it is just the middle finger being raised. A strong gesture when we are young, but if you are just as old as I am then the gesture is just a gesture no more than that. But as I stated I do raise that middle finger, with a smile, just to get a small internal victory or a quick silent “fuck you” very much.
Yet, other times I will stop in the bike lane and let the offender adjust his/her route of travel to me being in the bike lane.
The bottom line - my crime, at times, is foul / offensive language use and verbal assault, if that is a crime. I really do not know, but that I am sure that is a crime.
Now, with all that said I have been reading on a certain blog that I keep tabs on is that a certain ignorant bicyclist “believes” they have the right to bike lane. Though, that is not the specific issue for this particular post.
What I want to share with you readers is that this particular ignorant bicyclist believes it is okay to apply a sticker to parked vehicles in any biking lane in Denver and perhaps surrounding vehicles suburbs of Denver.
Does that sound “cute” to you readers? Do you think that is great idea? Are you saying “way to go” for him/her? Do you feel the urge to copy what he/she is doing?
If you answered yes to any of those questions then you are supporting a criminal. Yes - a criminal. What this ignorant bicyclist is doing is breaking the law by committing the crime of vandalism. When this person slaps a sticker to a vehicle that is vandalism. Period. Or the crime that is being committed – Tampering with a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 42-5-103.) Again, I want to reiterate I am committing a crime too, but I do not deface any vehicle because he/she parked in a bike lane.
I find what this bicyclist has been doing ever since he/she has been slapping stickers on vehicles parked in a bike lane in Denver and perhaps surrounding vehicles in the suburbs of Denver a disgrace to us other bikers / cyclist / commuters. I am probably being classed as a “mother fucker” cyclist by the actions of this one person in Denver by that particular vehicle’s owner. Though, I will admit I am a “motherfucker” on some issues, but I do not want to be classified as a “motherfucker” by the actions of this person.
Granted, I could care less about whether or not I am call a “bad word,” but what if this action triggers a certain button on this vehicle’s owner who was slapped with a sticker on their vehicle. Perhaps in this crime that was committed, the owner may take out his/her actions (example: a vehicle or physical assault) on the next biker / cyclist / commuter he/she sees in the future and that next person could be me..
Until the next time
Daryl Charley
The Fallen Athlete.
1 comment:
Oh Daryl, how could anyone ever call you a "bad word"? That would just not be "awesome" as your ex co-worker used to say. At first I thought it was cool to put stickers on things, I thought that it might be "cute" but then when I saw that you looked through the law in order to determine the legality of said issue, I thought to myself "those "motherfuckers"". What "motherfuckers" those ignorant cyclists are. "Way to go" Daryl, "way to go".
Until the next time
Sam
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