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nem you'd get rock star service/parking everywhere here with your dashing looks!
steady on dear lady,,,,,cant have every one thinking im hot,,,cheers tho
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I got into the Tour de France this year too thanks to my flatmate. I have the ITV4 live feed of the Tour in the corner of my screen here at work and am following the Guardian live updates on the sly
Great archive pic btw.
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Just ordered 3 books which should arrive tomorrow, want then after me?
This description of the first few stages of the 1904 Tour had me and Paula in stitches….
In the first stage, the riders fell after only a few kilometres. Lipman broke a finger, and became the first rider to abandon this Tour. Around 100 km in the race, Lucien Pothier lost ten minutes to the main group, led by Maurice Garin, because of a broken bicycle. In Cosne, at 174 km, Pothier had reached the leading group. Aucouturier had lost more than one hour at that point. Just before the next control post in Nevers, Aucouturier fell on his face, and continued the race covered in blood. In the last part of the race, Maurice Garin and Lucien Pothier rode away from the others. They were attacked by four masked men in a car, but still finished as the first two, with Garin beating Pothier by 50 m. The many flat tires and crashes of Aucouturier, seemingly the results of sabotage, gave him a time loss of several hours.
After the stage, three cyclists were punished: Aucouturier and Samson received fines of 500 and 250 francs, Aucouturier for having a cyclist not in the race following him, Samson for riding in the slipstream of a car. Chevallier, who had finished third, was disqualified for resting in a car for 45 minutes. During the stage, Ferdinand Payan had been disqualified. Some sources indicate he was helped by a motor, other that he was helped by riders not in the race. In that first stage, Garin had asked the race official Lefèvre for food, which was illegal. Lefèvre, who knew that Garin was the star of the race, broke the rules and gave him the food, because he did not want to be responsible for Garin leaving the race because of hunger. The news that Garin had received illegal help quickly spread, and caused the fanatical crowd to take action.
For the second stage, the organisers had made the option to postpone the start by two hours, in case the mistral wind was making cycling difficult. This was not necessary, so the riders started at midnight as planned. During this stage, Antoine Fauré lead close to his hometown, and 200 fans tried to stop the rest of the cyclists from following him. Garin hurt his hand during the incident, and Paul Gerbi was knocked unconscious, and had to give up with broken fingers. The situation was only solved after race officials fired shots in the air. Further on, nails and broken glass had been spread along the road, which caused many flat tires. Because of this help, Fauré was the first on top of the Col de la République, but was taken over by the favourites later. Aucouturier won the sprint. When the riders reached Marseille, they complained that there had been too many incidents in this stage, and the stage results should be cancelled. In the last part, they had been stopped by a large group of cyclists. Maurice Garin had been attacked, and his arm had been injured: he finished the stage steering with only one hand. There was so much confusion at the last controle post, that the exact arrival times of the cyclists were not recorded.
In the third stage, the Tour reached Nîmes, near the home town of Payan, whose fans were angry because of his disqualification. They threw rocks at the riders, and barricaded the road. The cyclists had troubles passing through Nîmes, and several were injured. The most important event for the general classification was when César Garin's bicycle was broken by attackers; he had to find a new bicycle, which took him 15 minutes. Further on, nails and broken glass were spread along the road. Many riders punctured, but there were no serious falls. The cyclists passed this part walking. After Nîmes, a leading group of five cyclist was formed: Maurice Garin, Pothier, Aucouturier, Cornet and Beaugendre. Aucouturier and Cornet escaped, and Aucouturier won, beating Cornet in the sprint.
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Interesting stuff G, thanks for posting that summary!
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Great read
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If all the Tours were like that, I'd be more likely to watch. Midnight starts, crowds throwing stuff, sabotaging other riders- that's just fun…
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The Tour de France actually does a stage right by my house in Philadelphia. It is probably what our area of the city is primarily known for "The Wall" and everyone in the neighborhood uses it as an excuse to get drunk and act crazy.
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Got discharged by my neurologist today, so I no longer have to go back. Apparently my medical issues have been caused by spasming blood vessels, brought on by a massive migraine attack in February, and will take a while to fully recover…but they will recover.
So, despite me panicking like an adolescent girl, trapped in a bathroom with a tarantula, it appears that I am not going to die, or be in a wheelchair by the time I am 40......which is what I had honestly scared myself in believing.
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It's true, I am
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Nope, after getting the all clear I will be moving onto hard liquor and raw beef
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Nope, after getting the all clear I will be moving onto hard liquor and raw beef
even better
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Thanks David
