6:30 am on a Sunday??
What am I doing up this early on a Sunday morning? Tour de France. I am hopelessly addicted to bicycle racing and in particular this one.
While the TDF officials struggle valiantly to eliminate doping and addictions from their race, myself and many others like me continue to watch faithfully. This has been my favorite sport for years and years and many of my other blog posts have contained info on the race. The highs and lows of this sport become an emotional involvement for me.
I can't even explain why this sport is my favorite. It all began with a little 3-day bicycle race called the Red Zinger in Boulder, Colorado back in the 70's. When Celestial Seasonings sold the race to Coors, I was incensed and indignant. How could a beer company be good for the sport?
Over the years, Coors pumped vast sums of money into this Colorado based race until they finally pulled their sponsorship around 1988 or 1989. By then I had moved from Colorado and was no longer following the race day by day in person....standing out in the hot sun for hours waiting for my favorite racers to pass by. The race had grown to 11 days and I was expecting the US to embrace the sport and make it a national pasttime.
Well, that hasn't happened. We do still have some large races here in the US, but no longer in Colorado. I will never ever forget those summer vacations when I was at each and every stage of the Coors Classic, screaming my lungs out and shooting thousands of photographs. Those were pleasure moments that I will take with me to my grave.
Cycling has grown in popularity here in the US, largely due to Armstrong's success in the sport. Many American companies have sponsored teams in the TDF in the past 20 years. I'm ever hopeful that it will continue to gain followers in large numbers and more races will spring up around the country. Television coverage now has made a huge difference and many thanks are owed to Versus for making this possible.
While the TDF officials struggle valiantly to eliminate doping and addictions from their race, myself and many others like me continue to watch faithfully. This has been my favorite sport for years and years and many of my other blog posts have contained info on the race. The highs and lows of this sport become an emotional involvement for me.
I can't even explain why this sport is my favorite. It all began with a little 3-day bicycle race called the Red Zinger in Boulder, Colorado back in the 70's. When Celestial Seasonings sold the race to Coors, I was incensed and indignant. How could a beer company be good for the sport?
Over the years, Coors pumped vast sums of money into this Colorado based race until they finally pulled their sponsorship around 1988 or 1989. By then I had moved from Colorado and was no longer following the race day by day in person....standing out in the hot sun for hours waiting for my favorite racers to pass by. The race had grown to 11 days and I was expecting the US to embrace the sport and make it a national pasttime.
Well, that hasn't happened. We do still have some large races here in the US, but no longer in Colorado. I will never ever forget those summer vacations when I was at each and every stage of the Coors Classic, screaming my lungs out and shooting thousands of photographs. Those were pleasure moments that I will take with me to my grave.
Cycling has grown in popularity here in the US, largely due to Armstrong's success in the sport. Many American companies have sponsored teams in the TDF in the past 20 years. I'm ever hopeful that it will continue to gain followers in large numbers and more races will spring up around the country. Television coverage now has made a huge difference and many thanks are owed to Versus for making this possible.
posted by Deborah at
8:01 AM
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