Lee's Ramblings

I've let a few things lapse over the last year or so, and I'm going to blame Facebook again, for making it too easy to 'micro blog' and upload photos and stuff.  So, over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try and get the following stuff up to date.

• Publish outstanding, half written blog posts
• Upload lots of photos to www.ieatcurry.co.uk.  I've got loads sat at home waiting to be dealt with
  
• Book a summer holiday in plenty of time
• Start a 'take a photo a day'.  I meant to start in January, then it became the second week in January, then February...  
• Plant stuff in the garden
• Sort stuff in the house.

I don't know if I have any regular followers, but you'll have been waiting a while for this post.  It seems that micro-blogging (Twitter, Facebook etc) has perhaps taken over.  It's certainly more accessible - here I have to think and put a few sentences together.  With Twitter and FB, it tends to be more or less what one is thinking at the time.

Anyway, it must be spring time as the Paris-Nice cycle race is well under way and Bradley Wiggins is in yellow for the second day!

In other news, I hope to get to the Tour de France this year but next year?  Grand Depart in Corsica? That's going to be fun to get to!

Looks like this year could be a Tour de France free year again this year.  Mustn't make a habit of it.

The main problem is trying to fit in when I can visit with the Tour's route with my work schedule and whether the towns are served by train.

This year, I'm scuppered, especially that the Grand Depart is in Britanny and their rail service isn't the best... 

The possible days I can visit are

• Stage 10 - Tue 12 July. Aurillac - Carmaux.  Rail engineering work means that it's a 2 hour bus ride from Toulouse.  Not a major problem in itself, but when the rest of the region is trying to get to the event...
• Stage 11 - Wed 13 July.  Blaye-les-Mines - Lavaur.  Same as above
• Stage 12 - Thu 14 July.  Cugnaux - Luz Ardiden.  Local town doesn't know yet what bus services are available so might not be able to get anywhere decent.
• Stage 16 - Tue 19 July.  Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux - Gap.  No hotels in Gap or in reasonable sized towns within a 90 minute radius
• Stage 17 - Wed 20 July.  Gap - Pinerolo.  No hotels in Gap.

My last remaining possibility is a visit to Grenoble on 23 July for the Time Trial, but seems a bit far to go just for one stage.

As a follow up to this post in 2007, I've updated my Tour de France diary...

I've been to the Tour for the last few years and I've think I've worked out which stages I've been to.  When at a stage finish, I always try and get as close to the finish line as possible and have always been in the last kilometre or so.

2010
A foray to a Grand Depart in another country!

Prologue - Rotterdam.  Wet, miserable, rubbish photos.
Stage 1 - Rotterdam - Bruxelles.  Near the finish in Bruxelles
Stage 2 - Bruxelles - Spa.  By the start in Bruxelles

2009
Another good vintage

Prologue - Monaco.  Fairly near to the finish and managed to get some decent photos, including a certain Manx Missile!
Stage 1 - Monaco to Brignoles.  Watched the race pass on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
Stage 2 - Marseille to La Grande Motte.  Saw the Depart by the port in Marseille
Stage 3 - Montpellier - Montpellier time trail.  Just up from the start point

2008
Unable to go.  :(

2007
Possibly one of the best years...  3 countries, 4 stages in different 5 towns

Prologue - London.  200 m from finish on the Mall.  What a location!
Stage 1 - London to Canterbury.  Marshalled on the stage and then chased the race to watch the events unfold at Stone Street (poor Cav!).  Joined the Caravane on the boat across to France...
Stage 2 - Dunkerque - Gent.  Stood on the finish line in the rain but missed the end of race crashes.
Stage 3 - Waregem - Compiegne.  Saw the Depart from Waregem

2006
Prologue - Strasbourg. Near to finish line
Stage 1 - Strasbourg to Strasbourg. Watched the 'pre race' - the riders just trundle by through the town until they are in the open road then the race starts properly.  Then moved to the finish line to wait for the race.

2005
Stage 3 - La Châtaigneraie to Tours. Near the finish line
Stage 4 - Tours - Blois.  Team Time Trial.  About 1km from the start so wasn't too busy.  Conveniently found a bar where I was able to sit and wait for the teams to finish - along with quite a few other folk!

2004
Stage 3 - Waterloo to Wasquehal. Near to the finish line
Stage 4 - Cambrai to Arras.  Team Time Trial.  About 1km from the start on a good bend.  Remember this stage as it chucked it down all day!

2003
Stage 11 - Narbonne to Toulouse. Near to the finish line, but nearly wasn't.  After standing for a couple of hours, the police decided to move a group of us as we were "in the wrong place".  After a great deal of persistance, we were able to stop.
Stage 12 - Gaillac to Cap' Découverte. Individual time trial. Just by the starting ramp.
Stage 13 - Toulouse to Plateau de Bonascre.  Watched the race start at the Cité de l'Espace

2002
Stage 5 - Soissons to Rouen.  Near to the finish line

2001
Did not attend.

2000
Stage 13 - Avignon to Draguignan.  Near to the finish line

1999
Stage 14 - Castres to Saint-Gaudens.  Near to the finish line.  Remember being not too well this year - had been away in Poland the week prior and picked up a bug leaving me with severe trots!  The day previous I was pretty bad but managed to hold out when it was time to watch the race.

1998
Stage 14 - Valreas to Grenoble.  Near to the finish line

1997
Stage 19 - Montbeliard to Dijon.  Near to the finish line

1996
Stage 19 - Hendaye to Bordeaux.  Near to the finish line

This post is another of those that's there mainly for my benefit to save searching for it in future!

Background:  I have a BASE SIM card for use when I'm in Belgium.  The main use is data, especially that Facebook is free for users at the moment, providing you access it through http://0.facebook.com.

One of the bargains is the data packages that are valid for 30 days.

• 50MB - €5  ----> send SURF5 to 1914
• 500MB - €10  ----> send SURF10 to 1914

The APN settings are

• APN:  gprs.base.be
• User name:  base
• Password: base

I hope you find this as useful as me! 

On 9 May, Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt was descending along the Passo del Bocco, during stage 3 of the 2011 Giro d'Italia. 

He looked over his shoulder to see where the riders pursuing him were and he lost control of his bike, crashing face down.  It's not been said how fast he was going, but around 60kph may be a good estimate.  Medical staff tried to resuscitate him, although he had died instantly.

The tributes paid to him the following day were quite touching.  The race carried on, but at a reasonably sedate pace - for those riders anyway!  Each team took a stint on the front of the bunch before passing to the next.  Even though there wasn't any 'exciting' cycling to see, the roads were still jam packed with spectators not cheering, but just clapping and many of them holding up the number '108' - the number Wouter carried during the race.

At the finish line, Leopard Trek, the team he rode for, went ahead of the other riders and crossed the line with their arms round each other's shoulders.  They even called forward Tylar Farrar from the Garmin team to join them.  He lives in Belgium near to where Wouter lived and they were best friends.

That's one of the things I like about cycling - the camaraderie.  Even in the face of adversity, the guys rally round and help each other.

Wouter Weyalndt.   1984 - 2011.  RIP.

Well - time for my next excuse for not updating my blog.  I've not had time.

All too often I read on Facebook that folk are bored.   I wish I had time to be bored - just once in a while.

What have I been doing?  Well, in the last month, I've

• worked 16 shifts - one of which was a mammoth 16 hours because the job was in a mess due to the heavy overnight snow and the staff relieving me not able to get to work!
• worked another 4 additional shifts, mainly because of the bad weather we've been having
• attended a course in Birmingham for a day
• been to Brussels for my annual December trip to Belgium - this ended up in a mess with me arriving back in to London two hours late, missing my last train to Doncaster and being given a taxi as there were no hotels in London left.  The taxi took me to Birmingham as I was on a course the following day (the one in the point above!)
• Been to two Christmas dos
• Been on a shopping trip to Belgium and France - one full day and two parts of days on P&O Ferries
• Cooked Christmas dinner for 10
• Cooked Boxing Day tea for 4
  

I think that's about it!