Le Tour: Paris Fin ....... [or is it?]

Le Tour 2011

Congratulations to Cadel Evans

The first Australian to win Le Tour de France in the 108 years of it's history... Twice a bridesmaid in 2nd place he finally won the big one! ... Congrats also to the Schleck brothers and Thomas Voeckler who once again held the Maillot Jaune for ten grueling days.

Well this is not the grand finale I had planned for the Paris leg of Le Tour .. but being so inspired by Cadel.. I felt I should make my own Tour..  Just like Le Tour.. I will start and end in Paris.. and make my way to  Rome and a few other destinations on the way... I've been so busy trying to put this together I've been ignoring my blog and yours!!! So forgive my absence and hopefully in September I'll be able to bring you some snapshots of the fun ride Tour de Ruby 2011 ...

Have A Great Week Everyone

... Hopefully I'll get back on here before I go ....

Le Tour: Pyrenees-Lourdes

Le Tour In Lourdes

[Gino Bartali - 1948]

[Thomas Voeckler]

[Jack Lemmon]

Maillot Jaune

[The Yellow Jersey]

At the end of the mayhem and carnage that was Stage 9, Thomas Voeckler of France managed to remain unscathed and secure himself the Yellow Jersey.. Back in the 2004 Le Tour, Voeckler held the Yellow Jersey for 10 straight days..  When asked a few days back if he could repeat this performance, he was quoted as saying  'I'm taking it day by day. What is sure is that I'm not going to keep it for 10 days'.

Well he might be happy to eat those words soon..  If he manages to retain the jersey after today's Stage 18 from Pinerolo to Galibier Serre-Chevalier he will have done just that!! Let's cross our fingers for him.. Each time I see his smiling face on the podium, I think he looks like a young Jack Lemmon.. don't you think? 

Here's hoping there is no more carnage of the likes we saw in the 2nd week and that Le Tour's pit stop at Lourdes will bring a bit of divine protection to the riders... I've been wanting to post these exquisite shots of La Madonna [by Annet van de Voort] for some time .. so today's collage of vintage Le Tour riders battling the mountains of the Pyrenees seemed like perfect timing... La Madonna watching over the riders as she did for Gino Bartali in 1948..

Standings

So back to the standings as at Stage 17.  No surprise Thomas Voeckler remains in 1st position, however Cadel Evans has moved himself back up to 2nd place and out of the Schleck brother sandwich he's been in lately.. [not that there's anything wrong with that!!] ... Go Cadel!!!

Have A Great Week Everyone

& to my fellow Sydneysiders - Stay Dry If You Can!!!

IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS

Le Tour Facts Info sourced from : wikipedia and letour.com

IMAGES

La Madonna: .annetvandervoort.com

Jack Lemmon: original colour shot: cineclap.free.fr

Thomas Voeckler: original colour shot: cyclisme2011uci.skyrock.com

Cyclist [current image]: original colour shot: reuters

Cyclists [vintage images]:  original colour shot: 1st - pdxk.com,

Others: various [sorry I've lost my references and will update soon]

To The Moon Alice: July 2011

I'M LATE

... I'm Late Late Late For My Moon Post .. 

Perhaps it's the world of indecision I'm living in at present.. or just the fact the moon is hiding behind rain clouds .. but  either way I'm late for the Full Moon which was TWO DAYS AGO ...   Heaven Forbid!!! The world is going to come to an end... !!! The biorhythms of blogland will be out of balance.. A tilt has been detected... So I will correct the imbalance 'tout de suite' by putting a bit of pink in my think with a lack of blue in my view!!!  by bringing you 'Pink By The Bay' to brighten up your day!!

All the above shots were taken at twilight along the bay where I live..  and yes, these are the actual colours... Pink Seas, Pink Skies and a little lavender to please the eye...  Lucky for me I get to see this in the flesh.. I wish though.. that I could see this from my window.. because I am greedy!!! and I want it all!!! I'm tired of second best and want the world laid out at my feet for my choosing !!! [Ok getting carried away now]

In the spirit of pinking up the world and chasing the blues away.. 

I've given the Blue Lady a little Pink makeover.. 

I think she likes it!!.. 

She looks pretty darn happy to me.. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend and ....

 Put A Bit Of Pink In Your Think

Thanks for indulging my need for Pink

We will be returning to Le Tour Coverage next post...

IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS:

Moon & Bay Images: [beingRuby©]

Blue Lady/Pink Lady: alterations [beingRuby©]

original painting found at Soulful Adornments

Le Tour: Vive La France

'Flying The Tri-Colores'

July 14th - La Fete Nationale

In a week that saw Le Tour being nicknamed Le Tour de Carnage... my hero of the week would have to be dutch rider Johnny Hoogerland... One of two riders thrown from their bikes by a rogue media car,  Johnny found himself wrapped around a barbed wire fence.. That however did not stop him from getting back on his bike and riding the remaining 40kms to the finish line and achieving King of the Mountain status for his efforts..  It took 33 stitches to put Johnny back together again.. Other riders that day weren't so lucky and abandoned the race to broken bones...  

Like La Liberte, Johnny bared all to fly the tri-colores in the week of Le Fete Nationale.

Have A Great Week Everyone

IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS:

I took some liberties with the following images:

Johnny Hoogerland image: Reuters 

La Liberte Painting:  Eugene Delacroix

Unite poster:  Life Magazine Archives

Le Tour 2011: Bretagne

Bretagne

Land Of The Lighthouse

Mythical creatures rising defiantly to protect and guide brave sailors who dare to tossle with angry wild seas. That is what my imagination conjures when I view these captivating images of lighthouses from the Brittany region of France..  [see source below]

Strength, Power, Beauty and Endurance are the words that come to mind. Words that could also describe the riders in Le Tour as they battle it out for rankings and stage wins in this feat of endurance..  Our own aussie rider Cadel Evans won the victory of Stage 4 beating out Alberto Contador by an unmeasurable  fraction of a second... A great feat considering only 15kms out from the finish line he had to change bikes and make up lost time to get back to the front of the peloton and on to victory..

No such luck for Victor Fontan back in 1929... At that time the rules stated a rider must complete the stage with the bike he started out on.. After destroying his bike in a tumble.. he borrowed another and amazingly completed the remaining 145kms with his crumpled bike strapped to his back..  That is not only endurance but ferocious determination..  It is stories like these that add to my love of Le Tour.. 

Perhaps it's the ardent love for their sport.. a boyhood pleasure that captured their hearts and was never lost to the burdens of adult life.. I imagine all the riders must retain some of that childhood spirit to conquer the obstacles that exist to train and compete in these events.. and the determination to see it through to the end.. 

Have A Great Week Everyone

'and remember to keep your childhood spirit'

IMAGE SOURCE & CREDITS

Le Tour Facts: Info sourced from wikipedia

Lighthouse Images: Jean-guichard.com, Aqua door: pulsarwallpapers.com, Vintage Ladies: Glamoursurf.com, Striped Beach Tents: nyaxe.com, Flag of Brittany: commons.wikimedia.org, Map of Brittany: car-hire-europa.com, Vintage photo Victor Fontan: vintagephoto.livejournal.com, Stage 4 Photo Finish: http://www.isport.in, Le Tour Logo: created by [beingRuby©]