I have always been impressed by the riders, their condition and the mileage that they rack up in the course of the 21 stages and consider it one of the premier sporting events in the world. When you can ride your bike for over 100 miles and average a speed of 25-30 mph, day after day, you have done something. And those mountains! I would be riding up in my lowest granny gear for a mighty long time on those roads, and be scared to death of the speeds on the descent. My hands would ache for weeks from gripping the brake levers.
Once back in the late 80s, a fellow student of mine at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain up in Tennessee convinced me to meet him early one day to ride up the mountain to class and then back down in the afternoon. I think we rode from about 650 feet to around 2,000 feet in elevation, and it was a tough slog going up, with the speedy descent a white-knuckle one all the way to the bottom. I only did it once. My friend did it every class day for a month.
I took my car all the other days...
My foray into bike racing took place in 1987, at the age of 51. The Tour de Mountain, Signal Mountain, TN, a 30 mile 3 loop course, and I did not win a yellow jersey.
But there is a trophy on my dresser to this very day..
There were several things I learned on this race day:
1. It is not cool to have to walk your bike up that one hill, 3 times
2. I won't be a threat on the real Tour
3. If your age group is small enough, you can actually take home some hardware
My entrance into this world of racing, and my exit from this stage on the same day, was enough for me, but those other two guys in my age group may still be out there somewhere.
I'm home on the Island, still riding my bike, but watching the race on TV.
Flat roads, low mileage, and a flat screen for me.
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