Bowl of Cheese by Jeff Cutler

Dear idiots at Bicycling Magazine who send out the daily Tour email:

Don’t you understand the protocol behind NOT spoiling the race result.

Day after day I get an email from Bicycling with the stage result trumpeted in the subject line.

I weep for the audience who hasn’t had the time to watch the latest stage and I shake my fist at Bicycling for not waking up.

How hard would it be for you people running emails at Rodale to just put - STAGE 17 Results - in the subject line instead of - Sastre Takes Yellow From Schleck?

That’s like telling other people who got booted from Top Chef or what happened in the latest episode of Burn Notice.

I know you’re living in Floyd Landis country and might not have the knowledge of how technology should be used. But let this serve as your friendly reminder that some people don’t flip to the last page of a book to see how it turns out.

Thanks in advance for fixing your methods.

I wonder what to do with the sound effects. Will Microsoft change the interface on the Xbox360? Child Online Protection Act has been over-turned. New law needed. Looks like Google may buy Digg for$200 million. CherryPal announces terminal calls it something else. Wiis selling like hotcakes down under. Spam King gets nearly 4 years in jail. GigaOm buying other blogs. Microsoft going to go after Apple with advertising. Finally! The DNS flaw is out in the wild. Look for exploits coming your way.

Click to listen:

Apple looking better and better but margin cuts may hurt the stock price. I like the way Apple does updates for the Mac. TiVO and Amazon doing a deal where you can watch live TV and then buy a product that you see on the show out-of-the blue. People do not watch entertainment just to buy something. General Motors wants electric stations to be set up all over the country by the utilities companies. Esquire Magazine is going to use e-Ink for fancy 75^th anniversary edition. Should be fascinating. iPhone selling for $1000 on eBAY. IBM selling off Lenovo shares. AMD is on the road to recovery. The ASUS eeePC become hot in the EU.

Click to listen:

We watched the Tour de France together this morning and what a stage it was. Spoilers, standings and recaps are over at TDF08.com, but here is what it looked like this morning from my seat in the bar.

TVs everywhere.

At the bar watching the Tour.

Bikes in the basement. The joy of valet bike parking!

Rabid and colorful fans.

What’s a photo montage without some arty shots.

More arty shots.

A great crowd.

Fun, simply fun.

More to come…

This morning I spent about two hours with 50 of my closest friends. OK. These other 49 people and I had four things in common…

We like cycling.
We watch the Tour de France as much as we can.
We like breakfast.
We were willing to jet into Somerville, MA at 9AM on a Tuesday to eat breakfast with strangers while watching the Tour.

I’ve been blogging the race for the past 15 stages (today is stage 16) and I’ve been doing it practically solo.

This blog entry will run both at TDF08.com and here on Bowl of Cheese. But that’s because while I was watching the Tour I met some riders and took some photos.

In order for them to find the photos, they’re going to look at my Tour de France blog and not here.

The interesting thing was that so many people were up, coherent and willing to spend social time with other people while watching TV.

Social and community norms were followed. No serious topics, no seriously blatant cheering, and a generous respect for ‘morning’ moods.

As an article, the slant would be going after a bunch of cyclists and finding out how far they rode to be with other like-minded riders.

I’d find out what types of bikes were in the complimentary bike parking lot (bike valets took bikes at the door and stored them in the basement while people ate).

And I’d find out who had been to a stage of the Tour in person.

With this group, I found that many had ridden long distances and had nice bikes. They also harbor a healthy respect for the skills of the riders, are angered by the repeated doping, and hope that each stage is as exciting as this one.

From a rider almost flinging himself 2800 meters down a mountain, to a breakaway that lasted all the way to the finish, to the very real possibility that yellow would change hands again - this was a really great morning.

By next year I’ll have another road bike - or more likely a cross bike - and will make an effort to attend on the proper two wheels.

Today I scooted to the city to be with my brethren and I realized what I’ve been missing by being off the bike.

I guess I’ll have to find a way to fit the dirt, pavement and scooter into my recreational life.

As I type this I’m still grinning about the colorful kits (these are biking uniforms), the fun stories people shared (the worst muscle cramps anyone has had), and the tasty buffet-style breakfast provided by Redbones (eggs, sausage, home fries and pulled pork hash).

What a ride!

More to come…