end of a dream

once when i was in middle school my dad grounded me. i can't remember his reason but the Real Reason was because the ohio state buckeyes had lost that day and i probably got on his already grated nerves. finally i can understand my dad's disappointment and frustration (and perhaps cursing once or twice?) for today was a devastating day in the tour de france. see, i am an avid, nay rabid cycling fan. more specifically i am fanatical in my love of lance armstrong. this year is his final year riding the tour and honestly, it's probably best. he is 38 yrs old afterall. following on the heels of his 3rd place finish last year i was at least hopeful that he would make the top 10 (if not join the winners on the podium in some capacity again this year.) however, it is not to be. the tour de france started last week and it has been nothing but bad luck for my man lance by way of flat tires and so. many. crashes. i've seen every tour since 1998 and this is by far the "crashiest" tour i've ever seen. today alone lance armstrong was involved in THREE. the first crash he narrowly navigated around, albeit through the grass on the side of the road. the second was devastating as it was very near the beginning of the ascent up a grade 1 (which means SUPER BIG) mountain. that means he had to get back on his bike and use a lot of his (and his teammates) energy to pull himself back up to the peloton (aka the main group of riders). pulling yourself up a grueling 9.5% grade mountain when you've already used up a ton of energy just to catch up? brutal! he was a minute behind going up the mountain, but! i was hopeful because he is an excellent descender so i figured he could make up the time on the way down. but then the unthinkable, if not impossible happened, some guy riding right in front of him made him crash AGAIN. this one was lethal to his spirit and well, i cried a little watching the cameras get up in his face when he was struggling so hard just to crank over those pedals. his face was so melancholy and defeated. but you can't win 7 tours without some cameras taking liberties when you're getting kicked around.

anyways, today was the end of the dream of an 8th tour. i mean i never expected him to actually win truly. but not-be-embarrassed, certainly! the consolation i hope he is feeling (because certainly i am feeling this way) is that A) he had rotten luck multiple times and B) at least alberto contador didn't win. (if lance didn't win i am perfectly happy to put my weight behind andy schleck).

so the point of all of this is that i feel really crushed and i can at last understand why my dad grounded me. because if my kids or husband get in my way today, whoahhh baby watch out because i will crack that whip.