Admit it. You slept in this morning, right? The Tour de France and its riders took a rest day. So should you. I slept in. My legs feel great. The extra tall French press that’s been making strong espresso before 5:30 a.m. is pristine. I was almost ready to degrease it before I caught myself. The HDTV is turned off, preparing for epic stages to come.
Although television and Internet fans of professional cycling don’t experience long transfers, hot mountain stages or split-second crashes that can wreck GC hopes, we still experience our own kind of grand tour fatigue that could use a rest day. The short list of sacrifices we make: waking in the dark; enduring house ads on Versus that provide a wild stew of UFC, Hockey, Rodeo, Fishing, Hunting, and Indy Car; trying to decide to risk being late to work or watch riders cross the finish line. For fans, rest days mean fewer tweets, lower heart rates and a closer inspection of the General Classification. It’s a chance to catch our breath and prepare for the next surprise. You know it’s coming. If this year’s version of the Tour de France thus far is any indication, you can bet we’ll see a few things that we didn’t expect before all is said and done. Hope you’re rested.
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Your post was perfect. Yes, I was right on track snoozing heavily and letting my tired legs get the rest they need. Then at 5:45am one of our cats decided to jump on the other one sleeping at the foot of our bed. The blood curdling yelp from the cat that was ambushed shot me into our ceiling and my heart rate was nearly what it was on my recent climb of the Tourmalet. Needless to say my rest day didn’t go quite as planned and the coffee pot was soon fired up. I sat on the couch and turned on the replay of Stage 8.
Those crazy cats. Wonder if we’ll see one run onto the road during stage. Thanks for reading and sharing your rest adventure, Donald! BC