My Favorites from 2010
Favorite professional photograph: Finish of the 2010 Paris-Roubaix
(just makes me wish I was there to see Fabian Cancellara win the Paris-Roubaix)
Favorite amateur photograph: Giant of the Pyrenees goes into hibernation
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| photo by Paddy Sweeney of Velopeloton |
(I think it was my advanced lighting technique and proper choice of lens. Okay, it was a random moment in France with a dog.)
Favorite photo series seen online: SaxoBank cowboys at the Tour of California
(I hope they round these men up and bring them, with their hats, to Colorado in August 2011! I gotta admit JJ Haedo looks movie-star quality in that hat! And isn't Cancellara just plain likable?) Andy Schleck, JJ Haedo, Jens Voigt, Matti Breschel and Fabian Cancellara seen on VeloRunner.
Favorite moment in a race: Fabian Cancellara drops Tom Boonen at the Tour of Flanders
(that was some motor Cancellara was using!)
Favorite off-the-couch moment as a fan online: Todd Wells wins at CX Nationals in Bend, Oregon.
(Nothing better than seeing Wells leave Jeremy Powers in the mud. Todd Wells is currently US National Champion in 3 disciplines: Cyclocross National Champion, Short Track National Champion, Cross Country National Champion - you know those other sports).
Favorite moment as a fan at a race: standing on the Champs Elysees in Paris explaining the rules of the Tour de France to a man and his wife who just landed that morning in Paris and didn't realize the Tour de France was going on.
("hey look honey, it's the Tour de France". To me that would be like stumbling out your hotel room onto the Olympics. But explaining the rules of the race simply made me appreciate how awesome the TDF really is.) Photo by PedalDancer.com
("hey look honey, it's the Tour de France". To me that would be like stumbling out your hotel room onto the Olympics. But explaining the rules of the race simply made me appreciate how awesome the TDF really is.) Photo by PedalDancer.com
Favorite Grand Tour to watch online: The Giro!
(maybe because I've never been, so the mystique of the Giro d'Italia is still in place. Plus Ivan Basso sure looks perty in pink) Photos by Steephill.TV.
Favorite UCI race to watch in person: Amgen Tour of California
(it's so small town, one can walk right up and give Cav a big old hug and pinch his cheek) Mark Cavendish Photo by PedalDancer.com
Favorite moment for the fans: Shaun White executed his 1260 Double McTwist on his last run, after he had already won the gold medal at the Olympics, simply for the pleasure of the fans. (That would be like Fabian Cancellara sprinting another 5 laps around the Velodrome at the finish of the Paris-Roubaix just for the fans).
Favorite YouTube Video: my nephew Kenny the Professional Triathlete
(wow that hair, that speedo, he just has a style all his own)
Favorite Worst Interview: Alessandro Petacchi in Vegas
(we no speak Americano! What was the interviewer thinking? This is where we can all say I want that guy's job)
Favorite new cycling column: Ask Nick
(when I grow up I want to be as cool as this guy)
Favorite article: Michael Lewis Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds
(Of course completely non-bike related, but this appeals to the travel side of me. Plus he has the best writing style out there!)
Favorite search keyword term on my blog to date: "cyclocross in parking lots"
(best descriptive term of cyclocross ever, and so proud I could provide the information the visitor to my blog was searching for.)
Favorite can you believe we are here moment: At the final podium at the Tour of California
(nothing like perfecting the art of jumping the barriers) Photo by PedalDancer.com (Kenny Rakestraw)
Favorite quote in the moment: "Why is Jens talking to that skanky girl?" - Kenny Rakestraw.
(I'm still not sure if Kenny was puzzled at how Jens Voigt was preparing prior to the Individual Time Trial in Los Angeles, California, at the Amgen Tour of California, or if he was more puzzled at the quality of the girl. Either way, it was a funny comment, then and now.) Photo by PedalDancer.com
(nothing like perfecting the art of jumping the barriers) Photo by PedalDancer.com (Kenny Rakestraw)
Favorite quote in the moment: "Why is Jens talking to that skanky girl?" - Kenny Rakestraw.
(I'm still not sure if Kenny was puzzled at how Jens Voigt was preparing prior to the Individual Time Trial in Los Angeles, California, at the Amgen Tour of California, or if he was more puzzled at the quality of the girl. Either way, it was a funny comment, then and now.) Photo by PedalDancer.com
That about sums up the year. I hope 2011 brings more class and quality to this blog. I plan to post some more pictures from the Tour of California and traveling to France for my birthday and the Tour de France this past July. I also plan to do a few book reports on the numerous books on cycling and the Tour de France I am currently reading. There will also be travel reports from attending the Tour of California, riding in California (training at low altitude!), chasing the Quiznos Pro Challenge, riding Levi's GranFondo, and perhaps the Triple Bypass, and maybe the GranFondo Whistler in 2011, plus with all hopes, more travel somewhere across to pond ...
Happy New Year!
