Tour de Georgia on TV

Just a note for those of you who wanted to watch the Tour de Georgia on OLN and missed the show, it will be on Monday (May 1) from 3 to 5 p.m. (and that's channel 54 for those Cox Cable subscribers).

I missed part of it, so I'll try to catch it. Happy viewing.

Save the Tour!

Although we wish we were powerful enough to singlehandedly decide the fate of the Tour de Georgia, those crazy execs at Ford Motor Company think they're in charge!

I hear through the cycling grapevine, that Ford Motor Co will make a decision within 30 days of the finish of the FTdGA if they will continue the sponsorship for 2007.

Be sure to email FMC before April 23 and thank FMC for the title sponsorship and ask FMC to come back for the 2007 FTdGA.

https://secure.ford.com/en/support/emailUs.htm

-r&k

Best of ...

Here's our list of the "bests" from this year's Tour de Georgia!

BEST HOST CITY
R & K: Macon (we support the local scene)

BEST SPOT FOR SPECTATING
R&K: Brasstown Bald

BEST FOOD (RESTAURANT)
R&K: The Tavern Restaurant in Alpharetta (yum!)

BEST FOOD (SOLD ON SITE)
R&K: Chattanooga (for the chicken fingers and sausage dog stand)

BEST LIVE HEALTHY EXPO
R&K: Alpharetta

BEST WEATHER
R&K: Macon

BEST LUNCH-HOUR SPECTATORS
R&K: Chattanooga

BEST SCHWAG
Renee: I ate the heck out of some Jelly Belly Sport Beans! (Colavita olive oil samples, and Discovery sport watches were a close second and third)
Karen: Loved the Jelly Belly Sport Beans and the Colavita olive oil samples, (I didn't get the watch), but other favorites include the Shiner commemorative glass and Toyota Pro United cowbell.

BEST UP-AND-COMING TEAM
Renee: Toyota United (although they lost a few points for having pretty ladies WHO AREN'T CYCLISTS hawk their schwag)
Karen: Team Targetraining, I'd never heard of them before, and they had a great showing. I'll remember them now! (Toyota United a close second)

FUNNIEST RIDER
R&K: Dave Zabriskie (for the chamois response)

CUTEST RIDER
R&K: Lucas Euser

CUTEST NON-RIDER:
R&K: Frankie Andreu

RIDER WHO LOOKS MOST LIKE A ROCK STAR
R&K: Floyd Landis (mostly for the glasses)

FRIENDLIEST RIDER
R&K: Todd Wells (who also wins for best mountain biker in attendance)

BEST HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
R&K: Yaroslav Popovych (the man is a machine!)

BEST TEAM DIRECTOR
Renee: Micah Rice
Karen: Johan Bruyneel

MOST FASHIONABLY INCOGNITO
R&K: Dave Zabriskie

BEST TEAM KIT
Renee: Toyota United
Karen: Prodir-Saunier Duval (you can't miss them, that's why I like them)

BEST HAIR
R&K: Viatcheslav Ekimov (for his mullet)

MOST MISSED RIDERS
Renee: 1. Saul Raisin, 2. Jan Ullrich, 3. George Hincapie
Karen: 1. Saul Raisin 2. (tie) Ivan Basso and George Hincapie 3.Chechu Rubiera

TEAM WITH THE BEST FAN SUPPORT
R&K: CSC (judged solely by the number of folks seen wearing team jerseys)

Withdrawal

It's 11 a.m. on Monday morning. I'm at work. I'm NOT watching a bicycling race. I'm NOT meeting my cycling heroes and snapping photos all across Georgia. I'm bummed.

So in an effort to rekindle the magic of the Tour de Georgia, I'm going to write a "best of" list (and yes, I'll "keep it positive").
Stay tuned.

The voice of the tour

I have to give props to the guys working the mic at the Ford Tour de Georgia. They do a great job of announcing the race and letting us know what's happening out there on the course. And they do it in a very creative way. I mean, how exciting is it to over and over again say something like "so-and-so is attacking, he's going for it!" It's not really exciting.

But that's not what these gentlemen do, they come up with creative and entertaining phrases and jargon, so that nothing sounds repetitive. It's always fun to listen to them. I remember last year watching the Tour finish in Alpharetta -- hearing that the riders were carrying their "suitcase of courage" with them. I was hoping to hear that one again today. I did!

So here's some of the best from the announcer's booth hear today at the finish line:

"They're killing them, it looks like the Donner Party."
"The throttle is jammed up to the red zone."
"They are dropping bombs at the front of this race."
"This is a throwdown of immense proportions."
"We used to call this Alpharetta, now it's downtown Pain City."
"Never stop dreaming."
"Caution has been thrown to the wind."
"This is straight up danger Will Robinson."
"He brought his suitcase of courage."
"They are sympatico, working together very well."
"They are throwing more coals on the fire."
"He's flogging himself like a rabid mule."
"He's tapping on the cage to see if there's enough fuel to make it to the finish."
"They are dieing a thousand deaths."
"He is cutting through the group like a hot knife through butter."
"When the big boys come to town, you've got to stay out of the way."
"It's like watching a lion take down an antelope -- these guys are going down."