Someone asked me yesterday if I wanted to watch the Tour de France in person.  The answer is yes, but!  Because June and July are hot weather months.  And yes, because the trip could be sandwiched with the French Open (tennis) at the start, and Wimbledon at the end.

The biggest challenge, other than joining a guided tour, is getting from one venue to the next, since they are not contiguous.  Watching on TV over the years, one solution to the rather sprawling location of the routes is renting a motorhome.  But as a foreigner, I cannot see driving through the French countryside in a cumbersome vehicle, trying to find a place to park, and a place to view the race.  As exciting it is on TV, I think it would be better in person.
Why are the logistics so difficult?  Take a look at the routes.

First, the length of the race, from June 26 to July 18 is three weeks (actually 23 days long with two rest days).  This year, the race has ten new sites and stage cities.  So, there are twenty-one stages, including two time trials.

The best parts for me would be in the south, toward Bordeaux, and the beautiful town of St. Emilion.  Though the race always ends on the Champs Elysees, I think I would avoid Paris.  My ideal race stages would be, in this order:  Champagne, Loire, and Bordeaux.

The race is 3414 kilometers, or 2121 miles long.  Of the 21 stages, 8 are flat, 5 are hilly, 6 are mountain stages, and two are time trials.  There are 23 teams with 8 rides each, for a total of 184 riders.  And of course, not all riders who start will finish, due to accidents or medical reasons.

An American has not won the race since 1990, Greg LeMond.  The wins by Lance Armstrong were removed, since they proved he was cheating.

But despite all of the doubts, it would be fun to attend at least once.  But visit the French Open and return to Wimbledon!

To honor the start of the Tour de France on Saturday, here is a silly little email I wrote back in 2013.  I was just starting to get serious about cycling, bought a carbon fiber road bike, and decided cycling would be my main form of exercise.

Fast forward to the 2021 race, the defending champion is a Slovenian, Tadej Pogacar (pronounced Po Ga Cha).  He is only 22, weighs a mere 146 pounds, but proved to be the best in 2020.  My personal favorite is the sprinter, Peter Sagan from Slovakia.  You can see he is built for sprints, not the long haul.

Perhaps I will attend one of these years?  Or take a cycling trip on parts of the TDF route? I really meant “Tour de France”, the world’s most famous bicycle race.  Now that I am a bit of a cyclist, the race has taken new meaning.  This means I can actually watch a rather boring event like this, though the last mile or two are generally the best or most action-packed.  I know I will never wear the famous yellow jersey, given to the winner of each stage, and worn by the leader of the race.

Most people do not know the race started in 1903, as a means to increase paper sales for the magazine L’Auto.  It was stopped twice for both World Wars.  This year’s race is the 100th year of racing.  Though the route changes each year, the format stays the same.  The Tour is so popular in Europe that over a million people line the route each year.  Media coverage extends to 10 different languages.

I find it difficult to root for these racers, knowing that so many of them were juicing, like Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong.  Doping has plagued the race since its beginning.  Fortunately, the race contains so many colorful characters over the years.  The greatest professional racer ever is considered to be Eddy Merckx from Belgium.  He won the Tour de France and the Gira d’Italia five times each. 

Actually, there are four Americans who could win.  They are Tejay van Garderen of BMC Racing, Andrew Talansky of Garmin-Sharp, Taylor Phinney of BMC Racing, and Joe Dombrowski of Team Sky.  A total of 219 riders started the race.  Each day, some participants drop out due to injury or failure to achieve the minimum amount of time, based on the leader’s time.

 One of the most remarkable, but logical aspects of the race, is that it is free, for the entire course.  The only ticket required would be VIP seating near some of the finish lines.  How would you even begin to collect tickets or control the crowd?  They line the course, often spilling into the roads and city streets.

Some other numbers related to the course are:

21 stages, and 2 rest days.

200 bottles of water or drink mix riders are likely to consume during the race, depending on the temperature.

3 stages in Corsica for the first time in tour history.

Alpe d’Huez has 42 switchbacks.  Riders will climb the Alps twice in one day.

90 kilometers of time trials, one team and two individual.

5 is the number of bikes most teams bring, per rider, with 3 for the road and 2 for time trials.

160,000 is the average number of calories that racers will consume during the three week tour.

29 climbs ranked as Category 2, Category 1, and HC* or beyond category.

*too challenging to fit into conventional listings

Though I am hardly a Francophile, I cannot imagine a more spectacular ending to the race than the Champs-Elysees.  It might be fun to watch some of the race, then head up to the Champagne region and taste champagne for a week or so.  Anyone interested?

 And yes, I still think the riders are “juicing” in some manner, whether blood doping or “better living through chemistry.”  How does a guy nobody ever heard of (Pogacar), at the age of 21, win the biggest cycling race on earth?  Whatever it is they are doing, I could certainly use the help on these long, hot summer rides.

From 2014

I went to the Final Four in Dallas two years (2014) ago.  I went to a previous Final Four in Los Angeles back in 1972.  This mega event, as you can read below, has morphed into an event bigger than anything else in collegiate athletics.  And it is even more special this year.  My California Golden Bears made the tournament as the fourth seed (and lost).  And my adopted Fresno State Bulldogs made their first “Big Dance” since 2001 (and lost), by winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.  This year’s Final Four should be bigger and better than ever!

During last year’s shutdown due to the pandemic, the NCAA basketball tournament was not held, hence no Final Four.  The many men and women who play college basketball missed out on the biggest stage of your young lives.  This year has provided some redemption for their many years of hard work and sacrifice.  I hope they enjoy every minute of their moment in the spotlight.

Here is my story from 2014:
All sports fans know when I say Final Four, I mean the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament, often called either “The Big Dance” or “March Madness”.  The 68 best collegiate basketball teams play a single elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Champion in basketball.

The tournament was started back in 1939, and has since been called, among things, March Madness, the Final Four, and The Big Dance.  Thirty two of the teams selected are conference champions.  The other 36 teams are selected by the NCAA Selection Committee.  The selected teams are divided into four regions, seeded based on record and strength of schedule.  After four games played by the lowest eight ranked teams, the remaining 64 play a tournament over three weekends.

Each weekend eliminates three-fourths of the teams.  The final 16 remaining after the first weekend are called, “The Sweet Sixteen”.  The remaining four after the second weekend are called, “The Final Four”.  This “Final Four” weekend is the biggest weekend in college basketball.

The UCLA Bruins have won the most NCAA titles with eleven, ten of which were coached by a legend, John Wooden, often called, “The Wizard of Westwood”.  In fact, the first and only Final Four championship game that I have attended was in 1972 at the old Los Angeles Sports Arena.  UCLA was victorious over Florida State by a score of 81-76.    The famous Wizard of Westwood, Coach John Wooden

My California Golden Bears won their only NCAA Championship in 1959, over West Virginia, 71-70.  The star for West Virginia was Laker great Jerry West.  Cal had no real stars, but was coached by one of the best coaches of all time, Pete Newell.  The following year, Cal was the runner up to Ohio State.  Do you see a resemblance?  Yes, it is Laker great and now Warrior exec, Jerry West, the logo for the NBA

The tournament has grown since I last attended.  The weekend of the Final Four is now an extravaganza much like Super Bowl Weekend.  Between the two semi-final games on Saturday, and the Final on Monday evening, numerous other events are held.  This year, the biggest event is a three day free music concert in downtown Dallas, headlined by “The Boss”, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on April 6.

Officially, it is the March Madness Music Festival, to be held in Reunion Park, on a first come, first served basis.  I wonder what time I need to show up?  Other headliners for the three-day fest are Jason Aldean (it is Texas, after all), The Killers, and Tim McGraw.  I just want to see and hear ‘The Boss”.

Reunion Park is located in downtown Dallas, about 18 miles from Texas Stadium.  The Championship game will be held Monday, April 7. The Texas Stadium venue is also the site of the world record for basketball attendance.  The 2010 NBA All Star game drew a record crowd of 108,713.  I foresee a total madhouse.

My plan is to arrive Saturday, and make sure I secure a good place to hear “The Boss” on Sunday.  But also, when I arrive on Saturday, I plan to buy my tickets for the Championship game on Monday night.  But I will buy my tix from one of the two losing teams’ fans on Saturday, hopefully at a big discount.  As they walk out of the stadium, rather disappointed, I will take advantage of their utter disdain for all things basketball.  After all, 50% of all teams have to lose!!!

When I said the Final Four has grown, the entire CBS package brings $500 million to the NCAA.  The revenue is divided among the teams and conferences, based on a rather complex formula.  You can imagine back in 1972 when I last went, the TV contract was quite small in comparison, and there was no three day music concert.  My how things have changed.  I do not even recall a merchandise tent outside of the old LA Sports Arena.  A good time will be had by all!

PS: I do not have a favorite for tonight, but will root for both an exciting game, and the underdog.  This entire weekend is so different than my first Final Four.  My seat was in a luxury box, of all things.  And the food and booze were flying.  And I had the first $20 burger of my life, certainly Texas sized, I could only eat about a third of it! 

Fast forward to 2016.  Only a single Number One seed made it to the Final Four.  Once our own favorite gets eliminated, I think we tend to root for the underdog.  No doubt these teams that make the Final Four often cheat like crazy.  The problems at both Syracuse and North Carolina have been in the news throughout the past year or more.  My feeling is that the schools should just pay the kids to play a sport, and make a space available in the classroom to the kids that want to be there!!

For 2021:  The west coast has risen again in basketball.  The Conference of Champions (Pac 12) had four teams in the Elite 8.  And now two west coast teams, UCLA, and Gonzaga will play in the Final Four!!!