Welcome to Day 5 of Le Tour de France, and also Tattoo Day. I promised DH that I wouldn't go ahead with the tattoo if the design wasn't 100% what I wanted - no compromises. That if I had to reschedule, even though it would make things more difficult for longer into the summer, I should do that instead. I agreed, and so I'm off in a little less than three hours with my backpack of bottled water and electronics to help move my mind away from pain and into more constructive things like audio books, meditations, music and games. Rodney will be there at 10:00 am, and he told me to eat breakfast and where to park for free, so I won't have to get up and feed an electronic parking meter. I'll bring munchies along with me too.
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One of my favorite finds has been this - GrandyOats Coconola no-grain granola. It's incredibly tasty. I treat myself to a handful for breakfast or for a quick snack and it does the trick. I'm bringing a couple of handfuls as well as a handful of nuts to munch while I'm getting my tattoo. I should be able to munch during most of the session. |
Yesterday's Tour was one heck of an ending. If you don't watch the Tour at all, try to find video to watch the final 2-3 kilometres of yesterday's Stage 4 ride. You had Brent Van Moer leading solo for much of the last half of the race, but he was finally overtaken in the final 200 METERS! Yeah - 200 METERS. And who ended up winning the stage with an impressive burst of speed? Mark Cavendish, my favorite Manx rider, who has been out of racing Le Tour for the past three years, but was convinced to come back this year and join the Deceuninck-Quick Step team. He hasn't lost his edge! He was so overcome, he sat by the side and wept tears of joy. A brilliant win by one of my favorite riders. This was Cavendish's 31st Tour de France stage win, a prodigious total in anyone's book.
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Mark Cavendish is all smiles here as he accepts his Stage winner award. Not long before, he had been seated on the tarmac shedding tears of joy. |
Today, Day 5, is our first day in France, and it's an Individual Time Trial day. The current leader of the Tour, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), will more than likely lose his yellow jersey by sunset tonight. Although Time Trials aren't the most fascinating things to watch, they are critical to the standings for the top riders, and weather is always a possible factor. Races haven't been won on time trials, but they have been lost on them. I downloaded Peacock to my phone yesterday and checked it out by watching on my phone while playing LOTRO on my laptop. It works great, so I'll be able to watch Le Tour while getting my tattoo.
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Today is the first of two Individual Time Trials, (the other will be on July 17th, on Stage 20). It's not a difficult course, but I'm sure there will be a few twists, turns, and mild hills to keep things interesting. It's almost a guarantee that we'll have someone new in the Yellow Jersey tonight. |
I took a quick "before" picture a few minutes ago. A photo to remember what I looked like before my tattoo. There will be no hiding with this tattoo. I'll be totally Front-and-Center in any group. I'd better be law-abiding, because I'd be picked out of any line-up - LOL. I've never been fond of fading into the shadows anyway, though, so I'm totally OK with that. I'll try to have photos for you tomorrow, if possible. I'll prevail upon Rodney to take some shots with my phone before we wrap everything up in bandages for my ride home. I'm taking tomorrow off since I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get (probably should sleep sitting up for the first night to give the scabs a chance to grip really well). I still have no idea how far we'll get today or how pain tolerant I'll be. Guess I'll find out - LOL.
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I thought a button-down shirt would be more sensible than something I'd have to pull over my head tonight, so a cotton button-down it is. I never photograph well, so this is really just for my records, but I'll share, just this once. |
So, that's my excitement for the day - I think it qualifies. As long as I can keep my phone charged up and my electronics working well, I'll be golden. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Please be kind and stay safe.
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