Lance drops the hammer

“It's that time again! Good fortune Lance!”

“Sweet! And this time around, I have OLN. I look forward to watching, this race fascinates me.”

“Me, too. I have been reading about his training. This guy is probably the most dedicated athelete I have ever read about.

Live Updates”

“Of course I hope he wins but maybe it will be closer this year. Maybe there will be 3 Americans on the podium this year.”

“I read the article on him in Outside magazine. Good stuff.

GO LANCE!”

“The US Postal team is in front of the standings. 4 US riders are in the top 13 individual spots.”

“I think Lance needs to get a grip... <G>”

“7th isn't the usual Armstrong beginning we have all come to know and love. I think his strategy is different this year.

Drafting, yeah that's it, drafting. That's the ticket.”

“7th, 54th – It just started. One can win the tour without winning even one stage (sage = one days race for the wheelless). He can’t win if his team is not strong and they appear to be a weaker group that in past years. As is usually the case the tour winner will win in the mountains. These stages are just the start.

Dunadan drafting IS key to all road races (except individual time trials). That is why the individual cannot win without a strong team. Sorry but what you said is like saying “Shooting, yeah that's it, shooting. That's the ticket” about basketball.

Lance is already in a extremely exclusive group, 4 time T of F winners. Five is the most anyone has won. Maybe in the interest of USA / France relations he should lose deliberately. Don’t need anymore “unilateral” victories.”

“mtn gal - #$%@ that!
Go Lance! Go!”

“He's no Big Mig though.... yet ;o)”

“lance...noro lim!!!!”

“US Postal kicked much tail in the team time trial today. His teammate Pena (first Colombian to hold the lead) won the Yellow today with Armstrong 1 second behind. The tour heads to the Alps on Saturday”

“Yellow again today for the Postal team!”

“Was it yesterday that they finished as a team for the segment? That was awesome. I just caught it.”

“Lance went from 12th to 2nd due to team USPS' hard work. An incredible feat! Go USPS Go!”

“I want a road bike now!”

“I' ve got a great one but I haven't had time to get my fat *^% on it.”

“What kind do you have Pathman?”

“I've got a dimestore Huffy mountain bike and it kicks all forms of b_tt. It depends on who is doing the pedaling, doesn't it?”

“That's pretty Path. Uh, what I mean is that bike is very manly. Really it's a good looking bike.

Equipment matters. I don't think even the great Lance could win on a dime store Huffy. (No offense to you, if it works for you cool!)”

“Just stirring the pot, Tango. Nothing personal, especially against my man, Path. Lobo fans rock.”

“ This is what I want”

“Nice bike, Birch. I can't get my Scottish skinflint side to convince me that I need another bike.”

“I put about 3,000 miles on that bike 2000-2001.

My Mountain bike is a 1992 KHS Montana Pro, no shocks.”

“Titanium rules, it has a ride like no steel or aluminum frame I've tried . In hardtails at least, but full suspension is probably a different story.”

“In reality, I dream of full suspension. However, I put miles and miles on my bike each week, and it will not die. Can't stand to part with something that is so reliable.”

“I like my hardtail bike with a front suspension fork. It's enough for the places I ride. Full suspension lets you go a lot faster on rough terrain which pretty cool until you fall. That's the part I don't like.”

“Falling is not recommended by the manufacturer.”

“I ride a hardtail also.I replaced the seat post with a "tamer" brand shock absorbing seatpost.It works good enough for who its for. I do however need a new seat. I have a standard one and its quite miserable after a couple hours.

I have my bike at REI now as a matter of fact. I know the bike Guru who works there and he is going over the who deal for me. I got a new rear cassette,chain,1 cable and partial housing plus he tuned everything up and trued the back tire. A big reminder...check your chain for stretching before it eat the teeth on the rear cogs, its a pain...

Someday I will get a Ti frame bike...”

“Here's a question. Do you try to outrun dogs or do you slow down and try to make friends with them? Have you ever been bitten while riding? Wonder if Lance has ever been bitten by a dog while riding his bike?”

“yes you need to replace the chain and freewheel at the same time. Also make sure the chain and freewheel are compatible. Some chains like the regina's are so hard they can only be used with similar equipment like in this case the campy or regina freewheels.”

“I have a Trek 4500 mtn bike. It's one of the cheaper models. My road bike is my baby. It's a Litespeed Tuscany.

Birch, all seats are torture after a couple of hours.

Dunadan, I spray them in the face with my water bottle. It has worked so far. The first dog that bites me will be a dead dog when I come back.”

“birch, i recently got a litespeed road bike (on ebay) and it's the best purchase i've ever made.... it is sooooo smooth and responsive.... i have been riding almost every day and racking up the miles.... titanium is definitely the way to go!!”

“re: dogs, it depended on whether I was in the mood to race but I never stopped for one. Most will just follow along barking and a few will nip at your heels. water in the face is usually the best deterent.

re:seats. what are you doing sitting down on the seat so much?
Oh BTW sitting on the seat for too long a time can damage the nerve that runs thruogh there.”

“"Here's a question. Do you try to outrun dogs or do you slow down and try to make friends with them? Have you ever been bitten while riding? Wonder if Lance has ever been bitten by a dog while riding his bike?"

I don't try to out run them. I slow down enough to keep eye contact and watch what it's doing and whether it acting agressive. The only time I get snapped at is if I take my eyes off of the dog before I am out of it's territory. Little yappy dogs are the worst for actually going after me. They wait till I pass and sneak up behind and snap at my feet. Only one got me, and all he tasted was neoprene shoe covers. They don't have the guts to approach if you are watching them.”

“Back in the olden days there was a German Shepard I had to outrun on a regular basis. He was on a route I couldn't avoid. I finally got fed up and installed a second water bottle cage and carried a 14oz compressed air horn in it.

About a week later the Shepard came at me again and I gave him a blast at close range. He never bothered me again.”

“one time a dog was trying to bite me, I bopped it on the head with my pump...he stopped immediately.

I have a Miata with all Shimano Sante` parts. great bike, I've had it since 87 or so. I'm taking her to North Carolina this year and will hope I can pick up a bike chick or 2...hehehe...Let the games begin and maybe "I" can drop a hammer or 2. LOL”

“a small squirt gun filled with ammonia will take a little bit of the fight out of them....”

“





Mountain Unicycle”

“Ha! Not me.”

“I put a U.S.E. suspension seatpost on my bike about 5 years ago. It works really well to take the edge off bumps and has held up great. I've taken it apart a couple of times to lube and clean it, but it's easy to do. After the first season I put softer elastomers in because the medium ones were too firm for my weight. One thing that's nice about titanium is that it always looks good. No paint to chip and sweat doesn't corrode or rust the frame. My Merlin frame was ridden hard almost all off road for 12 seasons and aside from a few scratches and missing decals still looks new.”

“I got chased this morning by 2 farm dogs. I too keep an eye on them and they usually don't make chase. These 2 musta had nothing to do because they just kept after me.

haha it was to funny. I was o.k. until the steep hill. They must have kept on me for 1/2 mile before they finally gave up.”

“I'll tell ya, some of those dogs can MOVE!

lol sirpete - prolly motivated you to charge that steep hill, eh?”

“New overall leader LANCE ARMSTRONG!

"The fast tempo is a good thing,” said Armstrong. “But that was supersonic! If it looked fast, I can confirm it was very fast."”

“USA!! USA!! USA!!”

“Hey I didn't watch that on OLN yet.I never had doubt of that outcome.”

“This has really got to chap the frenchs' collective hide. I forsee more doping charges laid out post-haste. It happens everytime. Maybe a new name for the tour is in order....

new name options:
1) Lances Beeyatch
2) Tour De Lance

Go USPS GO!”

“Besides Lance being in first the team is only a little over 2 minutes behind overall.”