The Mountains

Today is the first big mountain stage in this year's Tour. Friday and Saturday will likely be decisive, but today's stage is long enough and hilly enough to really give us a feel for who's in the race, and who's not.

Is this me in the Friday, July 9 issue of USA Today? My parents and my wife really think so. 

HOT #2: Trying to ride away from the chasers. 

The Skunk

Funny story from Amy:

Robby was coming by Amy's house to run with her, and Amy mentioned there was a skunk with a cup over its head stumbling around the neighborhood. When Robby arrived, the skunk was just in front of Amy's house bouncing off the curb, the mailbox, etc., with a yogurt cup stuck over its head.

Not wanting to be sprayed by a skunk, the two donned trashbags and sought to corral the crazed beast, armed with brooms and a towel. They managed to corner the critter and Robby jumped on it with a towel. Amy reached down and removed the yogurt cup with a distinct sound not unlike removing a cork from a wine bottle.

They retreated and let the previously hooded creature free. Apparently it didn't spray them because it was fresh out after having wandered around the neighborhood, blindly spraying everything it bumped into...

So, that's their good deed for the week.

2004-2005 Triathlon Schedule confirmed to date

Date Race Name Location Distance
03/28/04 Texas State Triathlon Canyon City, TX Olympic
05/31/04 America's Triathlon Austin, TX Olympic
06/06/04 Heart of Texas #1 San Antonio, TX Sprint
06/20/04 Buffalo Springs Half Ironman Lubbock, TX Half
07/11/04 Heart of Texas #2 San Antonio, TX Sprint
07/18/04 Ironhead Dallas Triathlon Grand Prarie, TX Olympic
07/25/04 Small Texan Triathlon Boerne, TX Long Sprint
08/08/04 Heart of Texas #3 San Antonio, TX Sprint
08/15/04 Heart of Texas #4 San Antonio, TX Sprint
09/12/04 Heart of Texas Championships Canyon City, TX Olympic
10/10/04 Dave Scott Texas Man Sprint Tri Irving, TX Sprint
04/09/05 Ironman Arizona Tempe, AZ Ironman

A heartbreaking race

Yesterday was another heartbreaker of a triathlon. I won my age group, but was only good enough for second overall. Lost to the same guy again. Some consolation in knowing he is a former Olympian, but I should still be beating this guy...

Still have lots of work to do on the run, but the good news is that the next race will provide 2 more miles on the bike to open things up.

Tour live updates on the Web

www.velonews.com - click on live updates
www.letour.fr - click on Version Anglais, and then Newsflashes

I'll have you know that my wife picked Boonen as the winner this morning. I told her she needs to start placing my picks for the Mouse Potato when it resumes in August. I had McEwan for those keeping score... 

the other one we purchased 

the two pictures we ordered. same as previous, but without the watermark. hopefully i have another ride like this sunday. 

This is my favorite pic from the Tour so far: Lance, Hincapie, Ullrich on the cobbles in stage 3. 

Lots of crashes

Interesting to see the bloodbath the Tour has become. Cippolini and Petacchi out now leaves the sprint field pretty wide open. With McEwan hurt in today's crash, we might see more breaks succeed in the coming days. Still can't wait for the mountains!

Getting close to racing again

Looking forward to racing Sunday, although I haven't been feeling too strong the last few days. Lots of aches and pains and slow times on track and in the pool have led me to back off for the last couple days. Now I'm into the final 48 hour routine so hopefully being on autopilot will help me get back on track.

Armstrong in Yellow

Postal had a great day and put lots of time on the rivals. Minute on Hamilton, 1:20 on Ullrich, 1:46 on Leipheimer, 2:25 on Heras, and another 2:30 on Mayo.

I don't think they should try to defend the jersey for the next week, and should probably let the unknowns head up the road in the breaks. The team definitely doesn't want to be spent by this time next week, as that's when the racing starts.

Results of today's stage.


Pos Team Time Lag
1- USP - US POSTAL - BERRY FLOOR 01:12:03.270
2- PHO - PHONAK HEARING SYSTEMS 01:13:10.660 at 00:01:07.390
3- IBB - ILLES BALEARS - B. SANTANDER 01:13:18.320 at 00:01:15.050
4- TMO - T-MOBILE TEAM 01:13:22.430 at 00:01:19.160
5- CSC - TEAM CSC 01:13:49.500 at 00:01:46.230
6- RAB - RABOBANK 01:13:56.770 at 00:01:53.500
7- LST - LIBERTY SEGUROS 01:14:28.940 at 00:02:25.670
8- EUS - EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 01:14:38.920 at 00:02:35.650
9- SAE - SAECO 01:14:39.130 at 00:02:35.860
10- FAS - FASSA BORTOLO 01:14:55.700 at 00:02:52.430
11- ALB - ALESSIO - BIANCHI 01:15:00.390 at 00:02:57.120
12- QSD - QUICK STEP - DAVITAMON 01:15:32.540 at 00:03:29.270
13- C.A - CREDIT AGRICOLE 01:15:35.770 at 00:03:32.500
14- A2R - AG2R PREVOYANCE 01:16:08.600 at 00:04:05.330
15- BLB - BRIOCHES LA BOULANGERE 01:16:20.920 at 00:04:17.650
16- DVE - DOMINA VACANZE 01:16:25.370 at 00:04:22.100
17- GST - GEROLSTEINER 01:16:39.860 at 00:04:36.590
18- LOT - LOTTO - DOMO 01:17:22.750 at 00:05:19.480
19- COF - COFIDIS CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE 01:17:37.290 at 00:05:34.020
20- RAG - R.A.G.T. SEMENCES - MG ROVER 01:17:40.570 at 00:05:37.300
21- FDJ - FDJEUX.COM 01:19:36.980 at 00:07:33.710

Big day in the Tour

Today was a really important one in the Tour because Armstrong put 3:47 on Iban Mayo, one of the pre-race favorites to challenge Armstrong. The race broke up on the 2.8 km section of cobbles, and the favorites pushed the pace to distance themselves from the yellow jersey group, which included Mayo.

The impact of this won't be clearly felt until after tomorrow's team time trial where Mayo will likely lose the better part of two minutes to the stronger teams. This could effectively end Mayo's challenge for the jersey in this year's Tour...

Good times to be had in other parts of the US on the 4th

Kobayashi Sets Record for Hot Dog Eating

1 hour, 5 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!


By LUKAS I. ALPERT, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - For the fourth straight year, rail-thin Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi chewed up the competition at the Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest Sunday, breaking his own previous world record.



Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, gulped down 53 1/2 wieners in 12 minutes and shattered his own world record by three dogs. In 2002, he had wolfed down 50 1/2.


The closest competitor Sunday was newcomer Nobuyuki Shirota, 25, of Tokyo, who made an impressive showing but couldn't cut the mustard with 38 downed dogs.


Once again, then, the contest's coveted Mustard Yellow Belt returns to Japan. Since 1996, the Japanese have dominated the competition and only one American — New Jersey's Steve Keiner in 1999 — has captured the belt at the signature July 4 extravaganza.


The 5-foot-7, 132-pound Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, employed his trademark method of snapping the dogs in half before swallowing them to destroy the 19 other contestants.


Meanwhile, 105-pound Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, 36, of Alexandria, Va., could relish two new records: She ate more hot dogs — 32 — than any other woman and any other American in the contest's history.


Eric "Badlands" Booker, a 6-foot-4, 400-pound subway conductor from Long Island who came in fifth with 27 dogs, said he and the other competitive eaters were determined to unseat the Japanese.


"We aren't going to stop until we bring the belt back," he told ESPN.


Kobayashi seemed unworried. "I will come back next year and try and break the record once again," he said.


___


On the Net:


International Federation of Competitive Eating: http://www.ifoce.com

The race is on!

God Bless OLN for great coverage of the Tour. The race is underway and should be a great one! Happy Fourth of July!

The simple things

Amazing how such a simple thing can make things so much more comfortable. Out for the weekly long run, but decided on a change of venue, so I drove down to the Brushy Creek trail that runs by the river so I could run the trail and give my body a little respite from the asphalt pounding.

Coming up on mile 11 I started thinking about how I would cool down from my sweat-soaked condition to jump in my car and drive home. I'd brought a change of clothes, but it usually takes me 30 minutes just to stop sweating profusely, especially now that we're pushing 100 degrees.

Then, like an oasis, pops up a newly installed water park of sorts. Nothing too fancy, just about two dozen pipes and various sprayers, but they were shooting cool water! Undeterred by the sea of children and being the oldest in the water by at least 20 years, I waded out and cooled off under the makeshift shower. Instant attitude adjustment...

It's so close I can taste it

The Tour is here. Pre-race show tonight. 10:00 a.m. tomorrow: the Prologue. Fire it up!

This is funny...and scary

Slow Down: That Golfer
May Be a Traffic Cop

Police Try Unorthodox Tactics
To Catch and Ticket Speeders;
Chicago's Red-Light Cameras
By LOUISE STORY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 1, 2004; Page D1

Some of the millions of drivers hitting the road this holiday weekend will face some new surprises.

With budgets under pressure, police across the country are using some unorthodox tactics to ticket people who speed or run red lights. There are several burgeoning categories of enforcement. The most familiar is the cameras that catch speeders and red light runners: These highly effective tools are being deployed at many more intersections across the country. Police are also increasingly teaming up with officers from other towns to blanket a particular area with ticket-writing officials.

But in a more unusual approach to law enforcement, policemen are starting to don an array of disguises in order to track speeding drivers without attracting attention. Since November, officers in Wilmington, N.C., have dressed up as golfers looking for their ball at the edge of a golf course and disguised themselves as construction workers fixing street lights.

Outfitted with radar guns, they radio ahead to a partner dressed in a normal police uniform, who then tickets the offending drivers. Officers there have adopted the look of a homeless person, wearing a bandana, old Army jacket, and jeans with the knees cut out, a beat-up duffle bag at their side.

State police in Pennsylvania last month also started disguising some officers, dressing them in camouflage and deploying them to wooded areas alongside state roads. In one recent five-hour stretch, they gave out 27 speeding tickets, according to a spokesman from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Law-enforcement officers in Maine, Florida and other states are also using disguises.

Police and transportation officials say that at a time when budgets have been cut and some resources diverted to federal homeland-security initiatives, these new tactics present a more effective way to curb aggressive driving and make the roads safer. But some argue that the motivation behind the new vigilance on traffic violations is more revenue-driven than safety-oriented. In some small towns, traffic ticket revenues make up a decent chunk of the budget.

Speeders and law-enforcement officials have long played a game of cat-and-mouse, and some of the latest police tactics are a response to drivers catching on to earlier methods.

In Maine, the state police tried sticking empty police cars in the highway median to try to get drivers to slow down. But as the cars accumulated dust and dirt, drivers quickly concluded there was not a ticketing threat.


The Maine state police have since begun using the officer disguises -- but even now, they're continually on the lookout for new outfits to keep drivers guessing. "I think a lot of them are gimmicky to the point where they don't work for a long term period," says Randall Nichols, an officer in the department's operations division.

Also newly popular are "blitzes," where police from several departments team up on drivers in one town with an unusually high number of cops. That allows towns that are too small to have dedicated traffic officers set up major speed traps.

Surge in Tickets

In January, Avon, Conn., which typically has only five or six officers on duty to handle all police matters, began teaming up with eight other central Connecticut towns to target traffic violators. It borrows a handful of officers to do nothing but give out tickets. The result: Some 50 to 60 traffic tickets are handed out a day, up from the fewer than 10 that are normally issued, says police chief Peter Agnesi. Police in Utah, New Mexico and Oregon have also led ticketing campaigns in the past year.

Perhaps the most popular new ticketing tools are the cameras, which are set up at intersections or alongside the road to catch both speeders and people who don't stop properly at red lights. The city then mails the tickets to the car owners. In the past year alone, the number of cities with these cameras has increased to about 100 from 70, according to the two companies that sell most of the devices in the U.S., Affiliated Computer Services Inc. based in Dallas and Redflex Traffic Systems, Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz.

The list of cities includes everywhere from Paramount, Calif., and Medford, Ore., to bigger cities like Albuquerque, N.M., and Providence, R.I. The city of Baltimore plans to install 18 more red-light cameras on top of the 47 it already has, says David Brown, spokesman for Baltimore City Department of Transportation.

Chicago, which installed the first of 10 red-light cameras in November, says the roads are already safer as a result. One of the cameras that caught 55 violators on its first day of operation now records 39 on average, says Brian Steele, assistant commissioner of Chicago's Department of Transportation. The city is considering introducing speeding cameras as well, he says.

But another effect of the new tactics is that more tickets are being generated. The Wilmington, N.C., police, for example, typically write 34 tickets a day, but that jumps to 60 when they're using disguises, says Sgt. David Register. Chicago has issued 32,000 tickets just as a result of the new cameras, says Mr. Steele.

Alternative to Tax Hike?

The District of Columbia, for example, raised more than $85 million from traffic violators in its fiscal year 2002, or about 2.5% of its total revenue that year. But in cities with a smaller tax base, that number can shoot up. In the village of Woodstock, Vt., for instance, income from traffic violations amounts to about 15% of revenues.

"You can be ticketing people and that's extra money for you without having to raise taxes," says Eric Skrum, spokesman for the National Motorists Association, based in Waunakee, Wis. He says engineering problems, such as overly short yellow-light times, are behind many of red-light violations. Some cities, he says, don't want to fix the engineering problems because then they'd lose the revenue from the tickets.

Miffed Car Owners

In some cases, the cameras have created controversy. Some drivers in Chicago, for example, complained that they had received tickets in the mail for violations that occurred when someone else was driving their car. California, one of the earliest states to use the cameras, takes photos of the drivers of the cars as well as the license tags. It charges a fine of between $310 and $361 for drivers who run a red light, and even adds a point to their license. Non-commercial drivers who amass four points from traffic violations of any kind within a year get their licenses suspended.

Write to Louise Story at louise.story@wsj.com2

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