Floyd Landis Bested by Young Turk from Colorado
 

And narrowly beats an Ozzie (Though I thought I heard the announcer say Tasmania.)

Tour of the Battenkill finished a few hours ago. Here are some middling shots from my point and shoot.

It was great fun, but cold and rainy. A lot of riders dropped out due to the mud and the cold. They just didn't have the extra calories or whatever to deal with the cold, wet, muddy weather.

Where? :confused:

Here is the start, Caleb Fairly, Floyd Landis and "the Australian" are on the left:

62 miles later, lap one. Here is the lead pack, though none of these guys placed.

More Cold, muddy riders. Orange and blue is Caleb Fairly's team, that might be him, it was hard to tell. That grimacing guy in green is Floyd.

More muddy riders and a Cliff Bar. A couple of hours later the sun came out and this kid crossed the line about two or three minutes before Floyd.

Another shot of Caleb and here is Floyd, who got an enormous reception, much louder and longer than the Young Turk's.

Another shot of Floyd crossing and then him chilling on the steps of The Rice Mansion waiting for the winner to get tested for performance enhancing drugs.

Here is third place Queenslander Jay Robert Thomas. I was getting a beer when he crossed the line so I have no finishing photos of him. Fitting, perhaps, since he is Australian.

Speaking of fitting, our county "dairy princess" seems to be taking measurements herself as she doles out bottles of chocolate milk from a sponsor, one of our local dairies.

Pepsi was a sponsor and so was Battenkill Dairy, so the winners got a bottle of each. The second shot was a shout out to Battenkill Dairy who make a very righteous chocolate milk.

Damn, those pictures look like they were taken by a pro.
Oh wait, they were... good one to. :thumb2:

The Washington County Dairy Princess looks like she's about had it with the cheese.

Floyd's wife crashed head on into my brother's Murano because she was waiting to make a left with her wheels turned and got rear ended. Just like in Garp. ....except nobody got killed.

I think she's checking out his package.;)

There were a couple of 'full baskets', I noticed.

Squirrel, can you explain the "team" thing to me in bike-riding? I mean, if your team is good enough to keep up with you, why aren't they in the competition themselves? And if they can't keep up, what good are they to you, the real rider of the team?

Clod,
That was something that always perplexed me, as a bike mechanic and tour biker. We are not racers.

Here is some of what I have pieced together:

The team is seen as a support crew for the main rider, the one who has the best chance of winning, is strongest, etc. Your team mates help to get you to the finish line with as much finish in you as possible.

There are sacrificial members whose job it is to bluff and put on a strong attack at certain times. If they are convincing, they will cause other teams to chase them in the hopes they will wear out. These riders never intend to finish the race and spend themselves.

Other team members will "pull" you by riding in front of you breaking the wind so you can rest or save your strength for the finish, they can also block others from passing or chase down attackers.

Why are there lead guitarists and a rhythm section? Why are there queens and drones? Why are there CEOs of Lehman Brothers and the rest of us?

Hmm. I guess as long as they get paid, it works out okay for them...

Lance Armstrong's "auto"biog explains it pretty well.

sn, you're saying that the rest of the team breaks wind and this inspires the main rider to surge ahead and win the race?

As well as the teamwork already explained, sometimes they act as a waterboy. In eg the Tour de France, a team rider cruises to the back of the peloton, hooks up with the team car, loads up with drink bottles (I've seen them shoving a dozen inside their shirt) and then powers back up to hook up with the rest of the team and pass on the drinks. Climb the ladder, serve your time, maybe one day YOU will be the number one.

Okay, but like... is it different team members riding each day? Or have they all fallen back and dropped out by the end of the race? I just don't get it. If you can ride the entire freaking Tour de France, including dropping back and powering up to the front carrying a load of water at will... you should get credit for it.

Obviously there is neither an "I" nor a "Clodfobble" in "team."

But there is a me in meat.

There is a "bi" in bicycle.

When the "Goldenrod Nutpants Team" wins, let me know. As long as "Lance Armstrong" is winning, it ain't right, unless he's paying them for their services.

I needed those people to follow me around at track meets!

They do get paid, don't they?

Lance's team gets paid. The Goldenrod Nutpants team does not get paid, but they are allowed to eat all the nuts they can find along the roadside, if they don't get hit by a car first.