It was just Cycfanboy and I talking to each other about our favorite sport. We only knew two cycling fans in our circle of friends.

We had been to a couple of TOC stages. Met quite a large number of riders but really were amateur fans learning the ropes.

We still are amateur fans. Thanks to a few nice strangers who decided that I wasn't a spammer and took a chance on adding me to their Twitter. Anita, one of the famous Tour Diva's told me who o follow. She really got the ball rolling.

Now we know lots of cycling fans around the world. We've been inspired to ride farther,longer and make it a daily habit. Even my Non cycling fan daughter loves to ride.

What I thought I knew has changed and I have changed. I'm a bit more jaded now. Less likely to state my cycling opinions publically. I love the sport and love the community even more so.

I've been inspired to get fit, change my lifestyle, met many wonderful role models and had lots of fun. I even found cycling lovers who love my beloved Packers.

I'm going to blog along again this season. Can't wait to watch it unfold together.

I've been a Tears For Fears fan since I was 9 years old. By the time I was old enough to go to a show, they had broke up.

Fast forward to the reunion, due to life, I just haven't been able to make it to a show. The last several years was spent dealing with my husband's kidney disease. He recieved a life changing transplant in January. So when I saw that Tears For Fears was coming to Fresno, three days after my 35th birthday I jumped at the chance.

I've been a Curt Smith fan since I was 9 years old. I've followed along with his blog, twitter, Facebook etc. so the chance to see him in person was great. He even threw me a Skittle or threw a Skittle at me, I choose to believe the first scenario. This came on top of him giving me a Happy birthday tweet. Thanks for putting up with me this week Curt, it was very kind of you. 

Roland was great, a true showman and artist. So much fun watching him have fun on stage. I had been upset to be in the 5th row but luck was on my side. Nobody in the front stood up! It was bizarre to go to a show and have virtually nobody in the front standing. I guess they all got their tickets free for gambling. I turned to the man behind me and said, " I have waited 26 years for this day and I am going to stand up."

It was like my own private concert at many points.Fun to be able to look Curt,Wainright and Roland in the eye.

 I am so sorry for you setlist aficionados, I didn't keep track. Here is what I do remember:

Opened with EWTRW and the encore was Shout. They played Pale Shelter, The orginal version of Mad World, Change, Badman's Song,Sowing The Seeds, Break It Down, Roland sang Falling Down, Curt sang Who You Are, Call Me Mellow,Head Over Heels.

It was a wonderful dream come true. They sounded great, their band is great, I loved Wainright on back up. Overall a great show despite poor audience interaction which wasn't TFF's fault. My husband is a bass player and enjoyed the musical aspect of the show. They are all great musicians and the sound was the best I've ever heard.

Here is a link to my Flickr set: 

I am going to be blogging about cycling next spring and fall. I am taking some time to focus on my other blog at the moment.I know it's transfer season and there are still lots of one day races but with the start of homeschooling, I have nop time to keep up.

You can come read my rambling over there and when the time is right, I will be writing over here once again  in the spring when the season begins again.

Click the button and read Just Jules

I don't have a long history of cycling viewing, so in my short history from 05 to now....this was the best Tour ever. Previously, I have had Conner and one friend to chat with about cycling ( Hey Eric) until two years ago. I met a girl in Belgium who became my cycling buddy and we would chat back and forth. Three weeks ago, I had the idea to start this blog and creat a Twitter account to chat with other cycling fans.

WOW! What a experience it has been. Over 400 hits on the blog which is amazing to me and over 100 new Twitter friends to chat with. I've met some great women who are fans of cycling including a few Super fans. I have learned so much from people who are very knowledgable about the sport and the people involved in the sport. I've learned some life lessons along the way about meeting new people, learning to fit in and being the new kid on the block. I've seen a not so nice side of the online world too but for the most part, it's been great.

I don't see it that Andy lost the tour, I see it as him defending his second place spot. So happy that his brother was on the podium with him this year and think they both have a long ways to go and a lot to learn in the sport. Someday, I still hope to see them win.

So glad to see Cavendish win number 20. His green jersey is a bit of a controversy since he missed the time cut off twice. I am happy to see him in green and its nothing unusual for him to have controversy.

So happy for my Aussie friends and for Cadel Evans. Two times second and now the winner of the Tour. His wife is just darling too, so I am very happy for his fans and for their family.

Overall, its been a great year for cycling, the Tour and I am so glad to have been a part. Until next year............

We are happy Andy is in yellow tonight! Even if it's just for one day, its still a nice thing. I think he worked very hard yesterday and today to get it. We shall see how tomorrow goes. He isn't known for his time trialing skills and Cadel can TT, with only a 57 second lead it doesn't look promising. They do say that when you have the yellow jersey, it makes you do anything to keep it.

Tomorrow we will know the winner and Sunday it will be all over. 

My Dad just called and made the mistake of asking me about the Tour. He's a nice dad always wanting to know what is going on in my life. He isn't a cycling fan and only knows what I tell him. After about 10 minutes of me droning on, I think he was done listening. I knew this but didn't stop because I had a lot to say.

My nails have started many conversations. People ask, smile as I explain but after a certain point; their eyes glaze over, they start nodding and a fake smile gets plastered on their face. They regret asking, I know this but unfortunately cannot stop myself. The excitment of the Tour is something I want to share and I want other people to like the sport. This isn't the case in my world.

I've had several conversations on Twitter with others, this response is typical it seems. I don't think any of us are going to stop though, so a word to the non cycling fans............don't ask if you aren't prepared for a 20 minute conversation. 

Today's stage was the most exciting stage that I have seen in years. The climb Col Du Galibier was literally nail biting, edge of seat, tv screaming sports viewing. I love that the race is so wide open with several in contention still. Will Andy win? Will Cadel win? Will Tommy Voeckler overcome the odds and win? Will Contador win again? The last few tours were tied up by now and so this is just amazing to still not know.

I have been a little ticked at Andy until today. It was so great to see him ride off and really dig deep to win. I was teary by the end of the stage and felt bad for giving up on him the last week. I loved seeing Cadel lead the peloton up the mountain and that Tommy Voeckler hung in there against all odds. So amazing to see his smiling face on the podium. I have really loved watching him win!

I am looking forward to the Alp du Huez tomorrow and seeing the fireworks there. The Time Trial on Saturday is also going to be very exciting to watch. Sunday will be a wonderful day to hopefully see Cav win his 2oth win and in the green jersey. He almost didn't make the cut off today. I really don't want to think about Monday though.

He is mad at me for not waking him up this morning. He is mad at Andy Shleck for not riding aggressive. He is now rooting for Tommy Voekler to win. He said, "
How cool is it that a little French man blew everyone away? I want him to win the Tour."

It's fun to hear his opinions on cycling and see how they match up with the resting of the cycling community. Kids are so perceptive and he really sees the things other people see for the most part.

Tomorrow I will be sure to wake him up and save myself from seeing him sad. 

This is from my RL blog and I thought it worthy to share over here also

Once again we were able to meet some of our favorite cyclists. This year we drove two hours to Santa Clarita. We had a choice of three different locations each two hours away. A start or two finishes, since we've only been to starts and know the drill.

We got there two hours early and got a prime location at the sign in stage. The riders must sign in each day for the race. After the come down and sign autographs.

Of course, one of the first to show up was Levi Leipheimer. For some reason, everytime we see him there is a issue. He stops signing at us everytime. Three years in a row. He did it again. It was funny the announcer on the stage was saying how nice Levi is and how he always signs for every one.  He redeemed himself by coming over after I called out to him.

Our favorite rider is Andy Shleck from team Leopard ( which is pronounced Lee o pard and I mispronounce) Trek. We called Andy over showing him our shirts we I yell Andy," this is your year!" Pointed to my sleeve which said Andy TDF 2011 with my finger painted yellow, making a number one sign. He laughed and smiled. He's a nice young kid. 

Yellow is significant in cycling, most races the leaders jersey is yellow. Just thought I would explain the mail polish.

We got to meet all our favorites and some new up and comers. On new American team Kenda wasn't in our autograph book. One of the riders took great umbridge and made their own page. We met a kid who is touted to be the next American cycling great. We even saw our favorite commentator Bob Roll.

It was a great day. The kids and I made precious memories. They came home with a ton of stuff too. Hats and cowbells are their favorites.