I agree. I think all the team cars should be replaced by F-250's. This would give those friggen Frenchies something to think about before they run into the road...

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mobiusnc

"Swaying to the rhythm of the New World Order,
Counting the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums" - APC

ummm........

you notice that a good number off them were carrying the US flag????? So might be safe to assume they were actually Americans. They are still morons and are disregarding the efforts of the riders by putting them in potential dangers of crashing due to the negligence of those said fans. ie:a trailing flag from the running fan flag finds itself into a wheel.

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http://www.velokyniska.com

yeah. what is up with the anti-french sentiment here? one of my favorite pictures is of lance being trailed by these two dudes in football jerseys and football helmets on a tdf climb.

and why all this bitching? i mean, do you REALLY want to change the tdf so it's all fenced in and sterilized? have you even BEEN to the TDF??? sure you get a lot of morons but it's overstating it to say that every fan who runs enthusiastically alongside a cyclist is a moron. The excitement of being so close to the riders is infectious.

Even Lance, after his musette-induced crash last year, didn't rant about how the course needs to be railed off.

geez. whiny americans. (just kidding. chill out.)

I bet you really like some of those French people, but you just don't want anyone to know about it. Yes, mobiusnc, I have you figured out.

Doh, busted. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. Mostly I'm just pissed off because my GF is sitting on the beach in Toulon while I'm stuck here this year.

I asked her to yell "Dope, Dope" at Virenque on the Ventoux TT but papa nixed the idea. Go figure...

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mobiusnc

"Swaying to the rhythm of the New World Order,
Counting the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums" - APC

Look if you need a lesson in sarcasm it's going to cost you $250. I don't do this for free you know... :-)

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mobiusnc

"Swaying to the rhythm of the New World Order,
Counting the bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums" - APC

Uh, you don't get out to many sporting events I take it? Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers? Dallas vs. Washington? Euro or S.A. soccer? (talking major nuts). USAS swim meets, say J.O. meets? :) Little League World Series? Bwuahahahahahaha!

No, bike racing isn't golf or Wimbledon, THANKFULLY, but I'll take what God has given. Given the sheer number of fans, I'd say they are pretty controlled as a group. The Basquoise and Americans are the real nut cases though. (But, good for them.)

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Those were really french people posing to be americans in an attempt to make americans look bad ;-)



NOTE: In case you couldn't tell...I'm joking. We don't need help to look bad :D

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

Cousin E, I can always count on you to come up with moderate, compassionate solutions to today's problems. You need to run for office! You'll have my vote.

Machine guns. Sweet - but heavy. What about motorcycles with cattle catchers on them, or snowplows ahead of the leaders? That way you can clear the road without adding unwanted weight to the bikes.

The behavior you are complaining about has been the same in the TdF since before you were born... they shouldn't change it just because an American is winning.

Do you ever get cramped in that little box you call life CE? You sure don't seem to get out much.

if that makes you feel any better, Toulon is not the best place in France for beaches...

;-)

let everybody but postal take epo. then maybe it wont be as predictable. i was hoping for a replay of last year but all the "contenders" turned out to be pretenders. im sure beloki,mayo and tyler will be talking trash for the next 11 months again. voecklers a stud though.

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'STICK EM UP PUNK ITS THE FUN LOVING CRIMINAL'

"Uh, you don't get out to many sporting events I take it?"
- - I get out plenty. As the GM of the company that used to print the tickets for playoffs, World Series, Superbowl, etc., I used to have access to tickets for all major events. The number of events I've been to doesn't change the fact that some people don't realize that the event (TdF) isn't about them, it's about the riders.

"Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers? Dallas vs. Washington? Euro or S.A. soccer? (talking major nuts). USAS swim meets, say J.O. meets? :) Little League World Series? Bwuahahahahahaha!"
- - You're pretty young, I take it. When I was growing up, my father would have beaten me until I couldn't sit for a week if I displayed the kind of cretinous behavior we see these days. Back then, there was the occasional soccer riot; Americans used to know how to act.

Sure, when the Bulls or the Lakers won their championship, a bunch of shitheads set the town on fire. The police should have shot every damned one of them.

"No, bike racing isn't golf or Wimbledon, THANKFULLY, but I'll take what God has given."
- - Don't blame God, He has nothing to do with it.

"Given the sheer number of fans, I'd say they are pretty controlled as a group. The Basquoise and Americans are the real nut cases though. (But, good for them.)"
- - Number or otherwise, I'd say they're a bunch of jerks with no dicks. The problem is that whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will have. Stop acting like this sort of behavior is in any way acceptable. When the two drunks next to you at the ball game try to pour beer on one of the players, just grab the beer from them and tell them what flaming ass holes they are.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

"Do you ever get cramped in that little box you call life CE? You sure don't seem to get out much."

My life is terriffic, which is why I don't go to sporting events and act like a complete moron. I guess you think that's a good thing to do? You must, otherwise why defend the morons and attack the guy who's suggesting people act like adults?

Nice...

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

"The behavior you are complaining about has been the same in the TdF since before you were born... "

That's non sequitor. I'm not saying it's bad because it just started (which it didn't) I'm just saying that the people who endanger the athletes (without whom there would be no event) should be dipped in shit and hung for stinking.

Wrong is wrong.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

"Machine guns. Sweet - but heavy. What about motorcycles with cattle catchers on them, or snowplows ahead of the leaders?"

Now we're getting somewhere. replace the motorbikes with Hummers. That's make a nice hole for the riders to go through! No, the snowplow idea is the best, because that would toss the bodies off to the side where they wouldn't be under the rider's wheels.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

I'd like to see every man for himself. I don't see the point of a whole team protecting one rider from wind, from attacks, wearing the other riders out, etc. If each team is only going to have one guy try and win the race, why not just have one rep from each team race.

I'm naive to cycling, and learned from reading Lance's books that some rider's job is just [1] protect him from wind, [2] chase down attackers, [3] wear out the other top riders, etc. Then the protected rider gets all the glory.

I think it would be more interesting if EVERY rider was trying to win. Isn't that what racing is all about?

I don't dig "team" sports where only one guy gets the glory. Is there any other sport thatdoes that?

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-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

I'm inclined to agree. That's why I do tris, because I don't want to rely on someone else to get the job done, nor have to answer to someone else because I had a crappy day on the course. If I suck, I suck alone - no excuses and no one to whom I have to apologize.

I'd like to see some major cycling events done TT style, where each rider is on his or her own, and if there's another stage tomorrow, you stagger start based on your accumulated time. No drafting.

That way, the best athlete wins, not the best tactition. Meanwhile, the TdF is what it is, and those who choose to participate know the rules. Personally, I'd go postal in the middle of 180 riders flying through the countryside, waiting for some genius to lose it and take out 50 riders. The genius would probably be me...

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

Answer the question CE. Do you ever get cramped? One man's "moron" is another man's fan. Act like a stuffy, grumpy, boxed up crank living high on a pedestal above the plebian "morons" you so easily dismiss? Not on your life. I spent most of the last 17 years living that way. Trust me, you're missing A LOT. But you keep on trusting your cozy little place in the world to be the RIGHT and ONLY way to live and behave.

"Answer the question CE."
- - Oh my, aren't you the petulant little pissant!!

"Do you ever get cramped?"
- - Not in the least. My world is pretty nice.

"One man's "moron" is another man's fan."
- - Well, if you think those folks are good fans, then you're a moron as well. By the fact that you think I owe you answers, that's a conclusion already made. I have an opinion, it upsets you. Get over yourself.

"Act like a stuffy, grumpy, boxed up crank living high on a pedestal above the plebian "morons" you so easily dismiss?"
- - Nothing stuffy about good manners. You should try them out some time. But you'd rather get your shorts in a knot over the guy who sees what's wrong rather than correct what's wrong. I bet you voted for Clinton!!

"Not on your life. I spent most of the last 17 years living that way. Trust me, you're missing A LOT."
- - I have a great life, a great home and great friends. I can't imagine what I could possibly be missing. Better go back to psychiatrist school, Dr Freud, your presumptions about me are based on reading nine posts? Yeah, you know me like the back of your hand!! ROTFL!!!

"But you keep on trusting your cozy little place in the world to be the RIGHT and ONLY way to live and behave."
- - In polite society, some things are just not acceptable. You probably think morality is personal. You probably think the guy who punched Merckx was just an overzealous fan who needs more love in his life.

So tell me, my little anal-retentive shrink wannabe, what's really bugging you? You can't possibly get this worked up over the comments of a total stranger unless your medication ran out yesterday.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
Brought to you by the good folks at Metamucil and Geritol...

Ahh, I see...now the name calling starts. And THAT is what you call grown-up? Get real. Are you kidding us? All it takes to get under your skin is a little challenge to your self-righteous attitude? You hide behind your stuffy self-important view of the world and denigrate those who disagree with you, yet you accuse ME of being anal-retentive and petulant? Excuse me then... I'll just crawl back in my little pissant-hill now.

NOT.

I don't think you "owe" me answers. I just assumed another ADULT could have a reasonable discussion about something about which they disagree. But you've already determined that I'm a MORON, so how could I possibly converse on your lofty level? (Pause while Tribriguy feigns supplication to the all-superior CE...)

And for the record, EVERY SINGLE presumption you have made about me is DEAD WRONG! Starting with "bet you voted for Clinton." I live in VERY polite society. I live with a strict moral code. And NO, I don't think the guy who punched Merckx was just "overzealous."

Yup, you're right, you really have NO imagination. That much has become readily apparent.

"How to improve the TdF"

I thought you were going to say "Have it in the USA"



;-)

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"your horse is too high" - tigerchik

All right, enough is enough. I think trashing each other was not the intention of this thread.

I think that the best way to improve the TdF is to move it to NEW JERSEY!!! Whaddaya think about that, huh? Allow CONCEALED WEAPONS!!! The fat assed dude with the viking helmet won't know what hit him. Require riders to stop at predetermined BEER STOPS!!! They must consume 16 oz. (or 500 ml or whatever the hell the equivalent is) of Budweiser in order to continue. (Please do not suggest a better beer, there is none, that is why it is the KING). Then we will see who the real "Giant of the Road" is.

Thank You

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"Maybe you should just run faster..." TM