A New Road Bicycle Racing Fan
Tour de France
This summer, I decided to watch the Tour de France cycling race. I had only watched perhaps 30 minutes of it before and I found it difficult to understand the rules. I always saw beautiful scenery from the helicopter footage and thought it would be fun to watch the race just for that.
This year, I finally decided to immerse myself in the 21 days of the race and thoroughly learn about it. I created a spreadsheet with a list of the racers to help me. I added columns as I began to sort out what each subrace meant. I had a lot of questions. How was the green jersey different from the yellow jersey? Who were the most favored racers? Why did different mountain climbs have different points? How did these racers find the strength to keep going? Why did accidents happen? How did the organizers choose the routes?
A Big Time Investment
On my daily treadmill walks, I watched the pre-recorded coverage. I couldn’t keep up with it, and I was always 1-3 days behind. But I enjoyed the aerial scenery a great deal as well as all the stories about the racers, so I stuck with it. I managed to watch all 21 days. The first and second place overall winners, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, kept the race exciting.
Vuelta a Espana
I certainly understood professional cycling races better at the end, but I wasn’t certain I would ever invest that much time again. Yet, I am now watching the Vuelta a Espana. I have made it to Stage 15. There are different cyclists involved which surprised me. The Spanish scenery is just as beautiful as the French scenery.
At Home Hiking Posts Are Missing
What that means for this website is that I haven’t been watching slow walk videos during my daily exercise time. There is a big gap in posts. But because I really don’t know how many people are finding value in this website, I guess I don’t feel too guilty.
Please Drop Me Line
If you enjoy this website and want me to post more videos, please drop me a line and let me know. Maybe you are a cycling fan and understand my new fascination with the pro-races. But don’t spoil the ending of the races. please!
Here’s to your good health and happiness!
--Kim