Stars and bars and black and white

by jeffbean on June 9, 2009

With the Dauphiné Libéré happening in France this week, the countdown to the Big One starts. Le Tour. The Tour de France. Or as Bob Roll would say, Tour “Day” France. American influence on the global sport of cycling can’t be ignored. Think Lance. Texas flags. That covers a huge swath. But color and symbolism speaks beyond names, geography and any drama surely to unfold in July. Check out this photo of David Zabriskie gliding along in the U.S. TT Champs Stars and Bars in the 2007 Dauphine Liberé prologue. A snapshot in time. The skinsuit, rider and Cervélo P3 suits my eye. And the image elegantly sums up cycling in so many ways. U.S. (flag) + Canada (bike) + Dane (Team Director) + France (Dauphine Liberé) + Athlete (American Dave Zabriski) = Beauty.

Photo by palletmike on flickr

Photo by palletmike on flickr

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or check out why this website began. Thanks for visiting!

Related posts:

  1. Stars and bars One of the greatest things about professional bike racing are the national champion stripes. Winning your country’s road race or time trial gives you bragging rights for a year that you wear on your sleeve. Or in the case of this skinsuit for David Zabriskie, your entire body. David’s a...
  2. Paper bike OK, I admit it. I still like the feel of newsprint in my hands while sipping a hot cup of joe. The New York Times is my Sunday read of choice and inspiration for this weekend blog post. Because road bikes don’t feature chain guards, we roadies miss out on...
  3. Tailwind “Dreams are necessary to life.” - Anais Nin I woke up this morning, stepped outside to pick up the NYT and felt a brisk wind. The kind that can break your will to go hard solo on a bike if you let it. Headwind for 60 miles up the coast...
  4. Summer colors If the Tour de France was a Broadway production, it would win the Tony Award for best use of color in costumes – and maybe best special effects. The colors that accompany the whirring peloton take the mind into a virtual artist studio of water colors, oils and simple charcoals...
  5. Winter in summer Bikes that go left very fast. Those would be track bikes. And this one below called Speed Metal is made by Winter Bicycles. It was supposed to be here in San Diego in April at the handbuilt bike show but alas couldn’t make the trip. These pictures tell the story....

Leave a Comment

Previous post: Campy embroidered

Next post: 14.375 lbs / 6.52 kgs