Guy In Blue Jersey Wins Tour de France

I've been watching some of the Tour de France coverage this year. For me, oddly perhaps, it's not about the race but the photography. The French countryside through which the bicyclists travel is simply gorgeous. The coverage from day to day is like one big travelogue for rural France.

The race itself can be exciting at times, like when someone sprints away from the pack. You sit glued to the TV to see if anyone else will break away and catch up to him.

But one thing that annoys me is how some fans react. I think these guys have been standing out in the hot sun on a hillside too long sucking back the vin rouge.

You see, as the bikers draw near and start to climb an incline the fans on both sides of the road crowd in and what once was a two lane road quickly becomes a gauntlet barely wide enough to fit a bike and it's rider.

And the fans whoop and holler, wave flags and clap. The braver fans - or maybe the more inebriated - slap the bicyclist on the back or, stand in their way or run along beside them bumping them almost off their bikes. It's just crazy. And the more die-hard fans run along beside the riders dressed up in costumes. Weird.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday one fan decided to take matters into his own hands. What did he do? Well, watch...

Way to go, mon ami. This year, as far as I'm concerned, the guy in the Blue Jersey wins the Tour de France.

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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