Blather on Bicycling

A few days ago I was riding on Booth, and caught a glimpse of a bowling ball in the ditch. Unlike an area rider I know that collects roadside tools, I wasn’t about to drop that ball in my jersey pocket. This has to rank up there with other weirdest things I have seen riding, along with the swastika spray painted on a mailbox on Courtney and a shoe tree north of Elgin. However, these pail in comparison to the cat I saw on a bike on Hunter. No literally, it was a cat poking his head out of a guys coat. What was even more weird was the industrial catering-style coffee warmer/dispenser strapped behind his seat. That’s one way to stay warm and alert riding in La Grande.

The coverage of the Tour of California on ESPN2 has been enjoyable to watch so far. They air an hour of coverage at 10 or 11 pm. My brother will be attending the final day, so I’ll be able to get a recap from the ground. ESPN2 covering this reminds me of the first “real” coverage of cycling on TV in 2000, by the same channel. OLN eventually picked it up, but I’m wondering how much they really will show this year. After all, OLN is commonly referred to by cyclists as the Only Lance Network. OLN has been eliminating much of their cycling coverage and now they’re preoccupied with hockey. Because of this, last may I enjoyed watching the Giro on RAI, an Italian channel that you can order on Dish Network.