Things I Like - Odds & Ends

We’ve been watching the Tour de France at the White House this past week – several hours of somewhat dull ‘racing’ capped off by 60 seconds of frantic sprinting for the finish. Of course, there's always the possibility of "absolute carnage" on the course to keep you at the edge of your seat. But for the most part, if it weren’t for the commentary by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, I’m pretty sure I would get an extra 3 hours of sleep a day.

Luckily there’s more than just bike racing to keep you entertained on the Tour. You can Take the Tour de France Personality Test from the Fat Cyclist - sample question below:

If you could choose, which kind of rider would you be?

• Sprinter: You were a bully at school, and have stopped being a bully as an adult only because you have been threatened with legal consequences.
  
• Climber: You are a good person.
  
• Time Trialist: You like to tell people that you enjoy exploring your limits and pushing the envelope. In reality, you know exactly where the edge of the envelope is and discovered long ago that you do not have the capacity to push through it. (Wow, that was just mean of me, wasn't it?)
  
• GC: You have a difficult time making up your mind. You are completely helpless when eating at a buffet-style restaurant.
  
• GC lieutenant: You evidently take great pride in having a part in the accomplishments of others. At night, when nobody is watching, you cry into your pillow, agonizing over your own mediocrity.

See the whole quiz here and check out his blog – entertaining even if you aren’t driven to exchange your perfectly good feet for round tubes of air on a regular basis. Note that the quiz is from the 2005 tour, but still very funny.

Btw – GC stands for 'Général Classement' or General Classification. It refers to the main competition within the Tour- the rider with the lowest time at the end of the race is the winner of the GC.