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This Millar is for you, for all that you do! Beer Tram!

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Welcome bork to the Drunken Gaming Corner and to the Tour de France!  Yes indeed, the riders have a challenging day of racing ahead of them as they head out for the longest stage of the year!  The riders will be leaving the beautiful Alps as they start off from Saint-Jean-de -Maurienne and head over to Annoy-Davezieux.  Today’s race should be interesting tram!

Here they go through a tunnel towards the beginning of the stage.  Wheeees!

The coverage picked up at the second climb at Col du Granier with a pack of five riders taking a nice lead here through the scenic Alps.  A bit further down the road are some epic wooded cliffs as they head to Entremont-le-Vieux.  Looks like a nice area to camp at perhaps!

Oh noes, we had a bad crash down the descent by David Moncoutie of the Cofidis team.  Looks like he needs a new front tire now and his leg is bleeding badly and was taken to the hospital!  I hope he will be OK!!!!

Now they are making their way through the food station in Saint-Joseph-de-Riviere as Bradley Wiggins cycles and munches.  nomnomnom!

Frank Schleck is grabbing the bag with the food and water in it, while Cadel Evans is having a nice chat with TJ Van Gardener as they pedal through a scenic valley with tall wooded cliffs on both sides!  Epic!

Oh mys, I was just reading that a sports writer for Cycle Magazine likes to call Cadel Evans “Cuddle”!  I love that name for Cadel!

Ooops, the TV screen rezzed out to a solid green – LOL!

Now they are pedaling through a farming valley outside of Marcilloles as they head towards the sprint area in a flat valley.  Not all the riders are participating in the sprint.   A pack of five leaders are hanging together through the sprint and they don’t seem to be sprinting.

Wow, they have a cool Castle of the Postman.  He built a huge stone sculpture in the back yard for his mausoleum.  I wonder if he was a bit nuts by the looks of it – LOL!

More fields of sunflowers!  Yays!  Awws, a couple of riders in the back are cruising along and having some fun as they smile and wave at the cameras!

Peter Millar won the sprint even though they weren’t really sprinting for it – LOL!

The five leaders are ahead by over 11 minutes with Millar leading the way at about 40 miles out at Drome.

Epic ancient castle at Anneyron where they used to make silk to support the Benedictine Monks.  I imagine that they made beer her toos!!!!! Benedictine beer is some of the best on the planet, so drink up meh hearties!!!!  And the beer of the Day is Chimay!!! I love Chimay!  omnomnomnom!

The cyclists have been riding for over four hours so far!  That is a heck of a lot of riding!

Anneyron is a beautiful ancient town with narrow winding roads as the peloton squeezes through.

I wonder if the winner of the stage gets a free baguette? LOL!

Someone has a bright yellow car with racing decals all over and a bicycle rack on top with two bikes mounted up there a couple of guys dressed in yellow jerseys pretending to ride along!  They are parked next to a big field of maize.

The peloton is over 12 minutes behind the leaders around Saint-Sorlin-en-Valloire.

Anneyron is the home of the hot air balloon.  Wheees!  The road is quite narrow here but is no problem for the five leaders.

This guy is having the best time, sitting in his window!

There are many ancient castles in this area.  So epic tram!  One of the oldest suspension bridges in the world is along the route over the Rhone River.

 

As the peloton approaches Silon, the leaders are still about 12 minutes ahead.  There is a hill coming up towards the finish, so whoever wants to win should be ready to make their move!  David Millar is still in the lead with a pack of the same five.

No one attacked as they headed over the last hill, so the pack of five continues over the narrow and winding roads.

Bernard Isel needed a new tire.  Seems like a bad time to need to stop – LOL!

Still a pack of five leaders through Silon with a lead over 11 minutes with just a few miles left in the race.

Now they are zooming through Annonoy, and around the round-about as they pick up the pace.  Cool ancient house that is built into the side of the hill!

Now Millar has busted a move and taken the lead!  The leaders are pedaling like crazy as they cruise through a mix of old and new buildings with just a couple miles to go!

Now it’s down to Millar and  Jean-Christophe Peraud to the finish!  And after much frantic pedaling, David Millar barely wins!  Whew!  That was exciting!  Usually, the peloton catches the leaders, but not this time!  Nicely done Millar!  This Chimay’s for you!  For all that you do!!!

 BREAKING NEWS!  Matt Goss has been relegated by race commissaires following his sprint that almost took out Peter Sagan and will lose points from finishing sixth in today’s stage!  Bad Matt Goss, Bad!!! 

Tomorrow we head towards the Mediterranean in another long stage.  Wheeees!

One of the toughest days yet on the Tour! Have a Savoy Wine!

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Hello once again meh hearties!  Today is Day 11 of the Tour de Underpants, and a difficult race day is shaping up in the Alps!  Although the route from Albertville to La Toussuire – Les Sybelles is shorter stage than most, today’s course has several challenging hills and promises to separate the winners from the mere finishers!

Since we are in the Savoy Region of France, the Wine of the Day is any Savoy wine you can find in a store near you!  Many are affordable and delicious, but can be difficult to find in the States.  Your best bet is seeing what your local wine shop or grocery store with a large selection has in stock since not much of it exported.

The riders have split off into two distinct groups as they ride through a nice wooded area close to the start outside of Albertville.  The group that is leading is trying to get a head start on the large hills that are coming, and the group that is following is just going at their normal pace.

Now they are going through some switchbacks as they appear to cling to the side of the mountain.  The hillsides on the Col de la Madeleine are a beautiful lush green due to plenty of rain this spring.  So beautiful as they snake their way up the mountain.  Some people were camping out along side the road here.  Looks like epic funz!!!!

LOL!  Some guy is running along side the leaders and almost blocked their path.  Stay out of the way, crazy dude tram!!!!

Peter Velits just barely beat out Kessiakoff on the hill climb by a tire length or so, with the peloton about 2.5 minutes behind.  Now the two leaders are flying down the backside of the hill.  The road surface isn’t that great here as they fly around some very sharp corners!

Epic jagged mountaintops at Saint-Colomban-des-Villards!  Now they are climbing again through the wooded area at La Chal, with over 6 miles to the top of hill at Col de la Croix de Fer.  Cause it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll!!!

The roads are very narrow here as they wind up the mountainside towards Col de la Croix de Fer.  Roland managed to win this hill climb, while the peloton is still struggling up the hill.  One of the mechanics had his entire upper body leaning out the car window to oil some gears as they were cruising down the road.

Watch out for the corners as you fly downhill, peeps!

Looks like the ruins of a bunker from one of the world wars there, close to some cool chalets.  Rolland also won the Col du Mollard hill climb.  Nicely done!

Down the other side, someone lost their water bottle as the lid went flying one way and the container portion went flying the other – LOL!  Now some other guy is running along with the cyclists.  Wheeees!

Oh noes, Rolland took the corner a bit too fast and crashed! He quickly got back on his cycle and continued on downhill.

The cyclists are starting to pick up the intensity a bit in Le Suel.

Le Villard is a very old town, based on the architecture, as they continue uphill towards the finish.

Cadel Evans is struggling up the final hill as Bradley Wiggins pulls ahead.  TJ Van Gardener came back to encourage Cadel along.

Rolland is holding onto his lead with just a couple miles to go.  Can he hold onto his lead as the road gets even steeper as the town of La Toussuire comes into view!  Bradley Wiggins is grimacing up the hill.  Oh my, that spectator was really excited as he ran along uphill waving a big flag and yelling at the top of his lungs – LOL!

Rolland is smiling all the way towards the finish since he is in the lead.  As the finish line is in sight, he is smiling so much that his face might break – LOL!

Someone is blowing bubbles over the course a few hundred feet from the finish – LOL!

Well, it looks as though Cadel Evans has fallen back and stands no chance of winning the Tour, and it’s written all over his face.  Awwws, sorry Cadel!!! I’ll always love ya!!!!! Yays!!!!

What an exciting and scenic day of racing!  Thank you for once again joining meh here in the Drunken Gaming Corner, and see you tomorrow for more racing funz!!!

 

Macon Bacon and Rhone Wines on the Tour de Underpants, Stage 10!

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Welcome back to the Tour de Underpants!  I hope that the riders involved in accidents in the first week had a good rest day so they can perform well in the Alps!

 

Today’s segment, Stage 10, starts in Macon (I like to call it bacon!!) and finishes in Bellegard-sur-Valserine.  Since today’s stage begins in the northern Rhone Valley, The Wine of the Day is Chateau de Beaucastel from the Chateanuneuf-du-Pape region of the Rhone Valley.  Chateau Beaucastel is the go-to wine as far as Rhones go because they are always well-made and have more flavor than the other Rhones wines.  Also, Chateau de Beaucastel has an epic history with Pope John XXII moving the Roman Catholic Church to Chateau de Beaucastel in 1321 (yes indeed, I said 1321 A.D.!)

 

Quality Rhone wines have the coat of arms as part of the bottle as seen below, so if Beaucastle is not available or is too expensive (which it is in today’s world!), look for a Rhone with the coat of arms on it.

Red and rose Rhone wines are made primarily from the Syrah grapes and usually are blended with other grapes such as Marsanne, Roussane and Viognier (white grapes).  White Rhone wines are made from the same grapes, only with no Syrah.

One of the latest fads in winemaking here in the States are wineries specializing in producing Rhone varietials, and they call themselves Rhone Rangers.  Domestic wines made from Rhone grapes are very different in flavor and character than wines from the Rhone Valley, just as domestic wines made from Bordeaux grapes are very different than Bordeaux wines.  If you are looking for something different, give the Rhone Rangers a try.  Often pairs well with beef and other full-bodied dishes.

And here they go through the beautiful French Alps!  The TV coverage begins at the sprint and Michael Goss wins it in Beon by a spoke or two!  Nicely done tram!

And they ride on to Cozon along the Rhone River, past the big rail yards with cars and containers.  This is an industrial town with the air conditioning company CIAT located here.

And up the big big hill towards the small town of La Seppette.  This is a challenging section, the  Grand Colomier, as the peloton stretches out up the hill.

Oh wow, the switchbacks on top of the large hill are sooooo epic with views down to the Rhone River.  I would love to take pictures there!  France is such a beautiful country!

Oh mys, the picture is rezzing out so it looks as though one of the riders doesn’t have any skin – LOL!

The peloton is about 6 minutes behind with 30 miles to go.  The riders are really working here with their shirts open and such.  Pedal pedal pedal!

Oh mys, a spectator was waving a huge flag on a long stick and was draping it over the peloton so that the riders in the back of the group couldn’t see where they were going!  Don’t impede their progress, please!!!

Nice Norsk flags as they approach the top.  What a great crowd here!

Awesome Huge French flag over a field.  Acres and acres of French flag!

The peloton is about 5 minutes behind the leader as they fly down the backside of the hill.

Nice sculpture of a pig by the fine food producers with some people waving flags in the middle!

Now they are in valley in the scenic town of Sothonod with the peloton behind by a couple of minutes.  They are approaching the final hill with 4 riders in the lead.  Oh mys, more Norsk flags!

Nice stretch!  One of the riders bent his leg back and gave his hamstrings a nice stretch as he was pedaling down the road.

And now Thomas Voeckler is taking off towards the finish!  He’s busting a move as the other four leaders struggle to keep up with him in the agricultural town of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.

Zoom Zoom Zoom as Voeckler zips underneath the rail bridge and on toward the finish!  And he digs deep as he huffs and puffs to the finish.  Three riders are desperately chasing him as they all grimace to the finish!  They are all looking back at each other as Voeckler holds them off for the finish in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.  All of riders were so exhausted by the finish that they had one of the slowest finishes seen in many years.  Nice job at digging deep!!!! 

Cadel Evans is leading up the peloton as he also digs deeps and holds off the peloton except for Thibot Pinot.  Great job everyone!

The Bulge of the Day Award once again goes to Peter Sagan for the way his protective cup was bulging as he was sitting on his bicycle seat as he pedaled over the finish line.  I can’t help but wonder sort of protective cover he keeps wearing through the Tour – LOL!

Awwws, Thomas Voeckler is so happy to be on the podium!  He jumped up and down from excitement and is beaming more than even the sun!  The French peeps really dig him!

Bradley Wiggins retains the Yellow Jersey, with Cadel Evans almost 2 minutes behind, and Chris Froome a few seconds behind Cadel.  Paul Sage is leading in Points for the Green Jersey, while Thomas Voeckler also leads in the hills for the red polka dot shirt.   Thomas Van Garderen leads the youth for the White Jersey, and the Radioshack-Nissan Team is ahead of the pack.

Tomorrow’s stage features some serious mountaineering in the Alps, including two of the most difficult climbs of the entire tour!  Tomorrow’s stage promises to truly separate the men from the boys.  Good luck to all the riders tomorrow tram!!!!

Thank you meh hearties for following the Drunken Gaming Corner on my epic journey through France’s Underpants!   Take care and have fun!

 

Stage 9 Time Trials on the Duh Planet!

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Good morning meh hearties!   I hope you are all doing well out there!  I’m feeling a bit foggy-headed today after putting a couple of coats of porch paint over my bath tub tiles, so now my house smells like a chemical factory or something, even with lots of windows open and several fans going!  So I’m hoping that today’s update makes sense while I’m feeling on the Duh Planet!  Wheeees!

Yes, and the Wine of the Day is none other than Oil-Based Porch Paint!  Let the good times roll!

The 9th stage of the Tour is a Time Trial from Arc-et-Senans to Besancon, and takes a bit less than an hour for the cyclists to complete.  A beautiful agricultural area just outside Arc-et-Senans.

Cheers to you toos, German spectators!!!  Yays!!  Oh wait, the New Wine of the Day is Whatever They Are Having!  Wootz!!!

 

 

Fabian Cancellara is taking his turn and pedaling hard uphill.  The team car and the camera crew must stay behind the cyclist at all times in the individual time trials segments.  He has taken the lead at the first time check at Abbans-Dessus.  Nicely done!

That was a nice scenic shot of the Oscar Meyer WeinerMobile!  And a nice sculpture featuring a boat mast with lots of different colored bicycles attached all over it!

Now Sylvain Chavenel is climbing up to the first time check area.  There goes Team Radio Shack warming up on their stationary cycles.  Chavenel was having a great run and was nearly able to catch Canellara but not quite.

 

 

Nice performance by Sandy Cesar!  Meanwhile, Peter Sagen lost about 5 minutes on his run compared to the leaders of the stage.

Fabian Cancellara has taken a couple minutes off the second time check.  And he continues to haul ass through the town of Avanne-Avene.  Cancellara has overtaken Tony Martin after he had to stop and change his tire just a few minutes into his run.  Now Chavenelle has taken over the #2 spot for today’s time trial.

Besancon is a beautiful hilly city, with the remains of the Citadel sitting high upon a hillside, looking down on the city below.  Epic!

Oh mys,  TJ Van Gardener has taken over the lead after a strong final segment!   What a surprise!

There goes Chris Froome!  Wheeees!  I love the start house area in Arc-et-Senans! 

Cadel Evans is now waiting to start in the blow-up starting house section – LOL!   He’s moved up to the starting line now.   This is a small picture of someone at the starting line:

 

 

Oh mys, a spectator had really wet pants, I wonder if he couldn’t make it to the restroom in time or what – LOL!

Cancellara still has the lead despite strong runs from a few other riders.

Frank Schleck had a good run for someone who normally doesn’t do well in the individual time trial.  Good job tram!

There goes Cadel!  He seems to be working hard here!  Wiggins has the best time at the first time check point so far!  Get out of the way, photographer with the long lens!  He almost got clipped!

Cadel Evans is shaving off the corners and lowering his weight as he flies downhill towards the Doubs River.

Chris Froome had an excellent finish and is the new leader!  He is wearing a specially designed skin suit, so perhaps that is helping him out. Can he maintain his lead as Cadel Evans and other riders have yet to complete the course?

Wow, Cadel Evans is pedaling his ass off towards the finish, as a fountain of sweat is pouring down his chin!  Go Cadel Go!  He performed well but it wasn’t enough finish in the top 5 for this stage.

OK, here comes our final rider, Bradley Wiggins!  He is flying towards the finish, will he win the stage?  He’s flying along as he turns the final corner and yesss!  He wins it!  Yays!!!  He has never won a stage before!  Like a virgin tram!!  Wheeees!

Froome is second in Stage 9, with Cancellara, Van Garderen and Chavanel rounding out the Top 5.

Overall in the Tour, Wiggins is now wearing the Yellow Jersey, with Evans a couple minutes behind him, and Froome a couple seconds back from that.  Great job everyone!!!! Yays!!

Amazing town of Besancon!  Thank you for hosting the final stage!  Beautiful!

I didn’t see any good candidates for the Bulge of the Day, so hopefully I can see something worth reporting on down the road.

OK meh hearties, tomorrow is a well-deserved Rest Day, so I won’t have an update for you here in the Drunken Gaming Corner!  I could use a break too from all these typing words! 

We will pick things back up on Wednesday in the Alps!  Wheeees!  Have fun out there everyone!!!!! Yays!!!

 

 

Pinot Day at the Burgundian Gate!

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Welcome bork once again meh hearties to the Drunken Gaming Corner!  We have another exciting day of touring France’s Underpants in the works just for meh wonderful readers!  Wheeees!

Today’s invigorating adventures begin in Belfort, where there are bats in the belfry!

Oh wait, Belfort is actually known as the Burgundian Gate due to its strategic location between the Rhine and the Rhone Rivers, and has been a traditional route to get the delicious burgundy wines to markets all over Europe.

Therefore, French Burgundies are the Wine of the Day!  Yays!  Actually, burgundy is available in both red and white versions, made exclusively with either Pinot Noir for the red burgundies or with Chardonnay for the white versions.  Many burgundy wines are made by small producers, and often in their garage, as opposed to bordeaux that are often produced on large estates.

Louis Jadot is a large negotiant that buys up wines from small producers to create larger, more uniform products that are easier to distribute about the planet.  Any Louis Jadot products are safe, quality products that are good, consistent representations of whatever the label says.  If you’re throwing a party, Louis Jadot is a good, safe way to go to make sure you are serving up something yumm at a reasonable price.

On the other hand, if you want to try to get something more delicious and exciting, the smaller producers are the way to go.  The prices range from affordable to very expensive, so the key is knowing which producers to try.  Pinot Noir is also known as the Heartbreak Grape because it is very fickle and extremely easy to mess up!  Oregon Pinot Noirs are known for being very uneven and one needs to select carefully!

Ok, the tour has gotten under way and I notice that the buildings here, close to Switzerland, have the red roofs with white siding.

Oh noes, a serious crash with Samuel Sanchez, Olympic Champ, 35 miles into the stage!  There is no apparent reason for it as he took several other riders down with him!  He looks seriously hurt and by the looks of it, will need to abandon the race, awwwwws!  He was removed from the course in a stretcher!  This Tour has been seriously dangerous for even the best riders!

Now they are heading into Switzerland at Saignelegier, about 52 miles left.  They have all ready completed several steep hills as they climb up another one.  They have some interesting architecture here with some rounded buildings and a clock tower with gold-covered numbers and hands.  This area was hit hard by the Plague in the 14th century.  Glad it’s not the 14th Century now!

The architecture is shifting a bit here, with some red roofs, and some brown.  Some of the exteriors of the buildings are pure white, some beige, some yellow.  One building has shutters with bright red and white chevrons on it – Wheeees!

I love the horse display, with farmers leading their horses around in circles travelling opposite ways!  Nicely done!  Oh, a field of French Mountain horses galloping along with the Tour!  Sturdy medium-sized brown with beautiful flowing manes!

The riders got their food and water at the food station in the town of Le Bemont with no accidents, fortunately.  The riders continue on through the mountain pastoral scenes, dotted with trees.  The peloton is about 2.5 minutes behind.

Swiss logging, so neat, so tidy!  No mess! lol!

The cows are enjoying trotting along with the Tour at Les Genevez. Fredrik Kessiakoff of Sweden is in the lead.  Some of the buildings here are newer but have the traditional colors, such as the house that has an elevated parking area that looks like a porch, so one can keep a close eye on their ride, apparently – LOL!

We have two more significant climbs coming up, can Kessiakoff keep his lead?  At about 22.5 miles out is more of a wooded area, as they drop back down through the Passage a Niveau and past a Swiss lumberyard.

Ohh, nice bell tower with the colorful Argyle pattern on it in the interesting town of Boecourt!  They are heading up the Cote de la Caquerelle, and around the roundabout with the star topiary in the center.  Nice wooden building too! The riders continue to work up the hill as they pass a giant Swiss Army Knife and a giant wooden Swiss watch.  I like the various displays as the riders make their way through the Tour.  Some of them are very creative and fun! 

Just over 20 miles from the finish with Pinot and Tony Gallopin going head-to-head for the sprint.  The peloton is 3.5 minutes behind the hill climbers at the moment.

Sainte-Ursanne is an epic small town!  Cool!

Valley of the Jora – Beautiful!  The riders are really working up the hill here at 11.1 miles out.  The peloton is really reducing in size as they head up the hills and some of the riders fall back.  The crowd is gathering as they approach the summit at Col de la Croix.

LOL!  Some people are whooping it up and having a great ole time dressed as Vikings and waving a bunch of Norsk flags all about!!  Wheeees!!!

Even more spectators here cheering like crazy as Tibout Pinot sprints to finish the climb.  The crowd went wild!  He is the new leader!!!!  He is flying along at speeds of up to 50 mph!

This is more of an industrial area around Alle at about 5 miles out as the rest of the peloton battles it out!  Frank Schleck, Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans, and more are seriously competing with each other!

With 2.6 miles out, Pinot is still ahead by 4o seconds as they ramp up the intensity!  Pedal pedal pedal!

1.8 miles left, can he pull it off?  He took the short way around the roundabout!  The architecture has shifted yet again with some yellows, greens and greys  in the siding and some built-in turrets.  The crowd is going wild!

Cadel Evans launches an attack!  Can he overtake Pinot?  0.6 miles left!  Cadel is fighting for his right to party!!!  And now around the dinosaur in the roundabout!  Nice dirt dinosaur in the field toos!

Pinot is able to haul some ass and hold the rest of them off to win the stage at the beautiful ancient town of Porrentruy!!!! Nicely done, young Pinot!  Cadel Evans finished in second today!  What an exciting day of racing!!!!

Awwws, a few riders are about 10 minutes back, but the main thing is just to finish.

The Bulge of the Day goes to Fredrik Kessiakoff.  He was obviously glad to be up on the podium – LOL!  Nice outline!!!

Tomorrow is the time trials, and Tuesday is a well-deserved rest day.

Thank you for once again reading meh Tour de Underpants updates here in the Drunken Gaming Corner!  It’s been totally epic bringing it to you tram!!!!  Haz the funz!!!

A Taste of the Mountains in Stage 7 with Moselle Wines!

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Hello once again meh hearties!  We should have another exciting day of racing on tap here at the Drunken Gaming Corner!  Today’s leg, Stage 7,  from Tomblaine to La Planche des Belles Filles is 123 miles long and includes medium mountains, so we may end up with so may end up with new leaders by the end of the day!  Can Fabian Cancellara keep the yellow jersey?  The finish is quite steep (14% grade) so it should be interesting!

Cadel Evans had a quick rear tire change when the coverage first started, but he was able to catch up quickly with the peloton.  They are just past the feeding station at Laveline Devant Bruyeres.  Lovely traditional pale buildings with red roofs in this area.  I love the sunflowers in France!!!!

 

 

Peter Sagan is in the lead as they approach the sprint at Gerardmer.  Seven riders are in the lead by about five minutes. 

Oh mys, 17 riders have withdrawn from the Tour due to injuries, and 27 riders have been injured!!! Ouchies!!!!  The Tour is also dangerous!

At 57 miles out, the peloton is 4:41 minutes behind.  It looks like Matt Goss is having some problems with his gears at the sprint and he ended up losing the sprint to Peter Sagan, awwwws!  Goss could have won!

Oh mys, someone is waving a flare around and it’s creating big clouds of smoke that are hovering over the course.  Somehow, I don’t think that is helping any of the riders perform better – LOL!

Now they are heading up some real hills towards Col de Grosse Pierre as Peter Sagan really looks like he’s working here as they collect points for the polka dot jersey.  Lots of spectators are crowding along the mountain road to cheer on the cyclists!  Wheeees!

They pedaled past a cool ski area at about 50.5 miles.   They continue to cruise along towards Col du Mont de Fourche to another Category 3 hill climb.  Now they are really working up the hill!

Yays!!!  Now Bob Roll is in ad riding inside the Oscar Meyer WeinerMobile!!! Wheeeees!!! Go Bob Go!!!

Tyler Farrar has lost contact with the peloton due to his injuries.  He is really hurting!  Ouchies!  Hopefully he can heal up a bit on the upcoming rest day!

They are getting closer to the top of this summit, with the cheering crowd gathered along the road!  Wheeees!  The peloton is within 4 minutes now of the leaders as they go over the top!  Now the peloton is snaking its way downhill as they speed along at about 45 mph into the sun.  The black and white cows in a field are running away from the peloton – LOL!!!!

 

 

Awwws, college students in yellow waving at the Tour!  Yays – Farmers welcoming the Tour to town!

The Area of a Thousand Lakes sure is beautiful, about 20 miles from the finish.  The peloton is about 3.5 minutes behind the leaders now.

On through La Grand Croix with a man in a yellow hat standing on his roof and apparently oblivious to the camera watching him – LOL!

The riders are taking things up a notch with the peloton within two minutes of the leaders.   A minor crash along the side of the road who was taken out by a press car.

About a minute behind the leaders at miles out from the finish.  Many riders are falling back now including Mark Cavadish.  The crowds are gathering again to cheer them.   Jurgen Van den broeck had an issue on the hill so he’s trying to catch up now.  The riders are really stretching out now.

Alejandro Valverte had a problem too and was stopped along side the road and is trying to catch up.

The peloton has split!  They are climbing up the hill now and getting steeper!  The guy in the red shirt looks a bit crazy as he runs uphill like a maniac – LOL!

Lots of people are gathered here and they had walk or ride a bike for miles uphill to take their place along the road to cheer on the riders. 

Just a mile to go, with Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans, and Chris Froome going head to head!! Who will get there first?  Who can dig deepest for the win?  Who wants it most?  Aaaanddddd Froose takes it!!!!  Bradley Wiggins has taken the Yellow Jersey from Fabian Cannellara!

 

 

And today’s Beverage of the Day are wines from the Moselle area, which are lovely when available in the States.  These are often wine shop items or at grocery store with an excellent selection.  The roses are particularly refreshing, crisp, and yumm, especially on a sunny day!  Buy and drink whatever you can find since most is consumed within the region!!!

Thank you once again for following the Tour with Drunken Gaming Corner Tram!!!! Wheeeees!!!! Haz the funz meh hearties tram!!!!

Champagne Day on the Tour and it is Epic Tram!!!!

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Yes indeed, here we are, meh hearties, on Tour in the lovely district of Champagne in northeast France!  Epernay is one of the primary towns in the Champagne area, along with Reims and Ay.  I hope to visit all three someday!

Of course, in honor of the Tour travelling through these scenic chalky lands, I’m enjoying the epic 2002 Bollinger Grand Anne!  Sooooo yumm! 

It smells rich and complex on the nose, with the characteristic aged wood and aged bread dough and yeast, with lovely, rich, complexed aged bread, bread dough, and yeast on tongue, with a bright band of tart green grape and apple flavors with a splash of crisp and bright yet aged citrus.  This Champagne also has the trademarks of a fine Champagne with complex flavors woven throughout, small persistent bubbles that do not overwhelm, and a finish that drops off as one swallows it and seems to evaporate from one’s mouth.  Simply an amazing beverage!!!! 

Yes, after drinking a bit of it, the wonderful persistent acidity makes meh wonder, “How can I drink Champagne without eating my fromage?”  This is a true food Champagne!  Fermented in aged wood barrels, giving the resulting beverage more concentration and complexity.  Oh mys, I just detected a hint of the sort of agedness that indicates that is time to drink this Champagne before the entire flavor profile turns to agedness.  So drink this puppy now tram!!!

 As yet another race day begins, everyone wonders if Fabian Canellara will retain the yellow jersey for the 7th day in a row, and who will win the stage today?  Canellara?  Sagan?  Cavandish?  Where are you, Cadel Evans dear?  And will Mark Cavandish get into yet another accident?  He has been getting into crashes every day for several days now!

 The TV coverage here begins well outside of Epernay.  A bit ago, I saw some beautiful fields of yellow sunflowers as they move eastward towards Metz.  The buildings all have red roofs here and slightly darker brown siding.

Awwws, their countryside is their art!!! And this lil blogger loves it and appreciates it!  Thank you, Francois peeps!!!!  nomnomnomnom!!!!!  Champagne, foodz, and fromage for all meh hearties tram!!!!

Oh my, this Champagne goes to one head, as the tour approaches the sprint area.  Now the buildings have brighter white sides with the red roofings.  It was a close Sagen victory for the sprint after much frantic pedaling.  The peloton is now 2.5 minutes behind the leaders as they zip through the narrow traditonal streets a traditional French town!

Now they pedaling uphill in a wooded area with lots of spectators cheering them on!  Yays!!!!!  Now they are racing downhill and the road has dried out after earlier rains.

Oh noes, a bunch of people crashed up hill and blocked the peloton so now a bunch of riders are waiting around and drinking some water.  The peloton is also bunched up in a narrow area with spectators stacked up behind the barriers.  Sagen had to have his tires adjusted or something as he cruised along beside one of the team cars while a mechanic made an adjustment.

Now the peloton is getting back together as it cruises downhill and into Woinville, another red-roofed, beige-walled town that they zipped through.  The peloton is almost 2 minutes behind now.

 Zip zip zip through yet another lil town and an orchard!

 One rider gets sprayed by the team doctor in a convertible as they both cruise down the road – LOL!

 More treed area as they haul ass eastward tram!  A minute behind at 28 miles to go tram!

The Cadel Evans team says that they are more relaxed because their team is stronger overall and that they will come into their own further into the race, and I certainly hope that is true!  It’s not so important who is wearing the yellow jersey now as opposed to who is wearing the yellow jersey in Paris, just like last year tram!  In this year’s race, perhaps the biggest issue is just staying out of the crashes – LOL!!!!!

 Hallos, Peta Todd, beautiful English partner of Mark Cavandish!

Wheees!!!  Black and white cows in the field galloping along with the cyclists tram!!!

 The canal heads towards the Black Sea as it goes through fields and green countryside.  They crossed the Mosel River as it heads to Germany.

Another crash as one rider grabs his leg and several riders need new rear wheels.  This happened in the tail of the pack.  This is mayhem as riders have gone into the ditches.  Oh noes, Frank Schleck can’t find his bike and probably can’t win the Tour now.  25 km to go after this accident.

They speed towards the finish towards Metz with the peloton is just 15 seconds behind the leaders.  The roads are narrow.  One rider just abandoned as a result of that crash!!!

I just saw a high-speed train, I couldn’t tell if it was the Eurostar, a magnificent passenger train that I have crossed under the English Channel in!  Beautiful cars, beautiful train that travels up to 200 mph on the one-piece tracks through France and Europe!

 A few riders swung a bit wide around a roundabout during a left-hand turn.  The peloton has broken up into two main groups after the big accidents a bit earlier.

The leaders are riding like heck to keep the first group of the peloton at bay.  I can see some faces of pain!

 They are closing in on the finish!  Fast 200 degree turn in Metz!  And Team Lotto and Andre Greipel rallied hard at the finish yet Peter Sagen in bright green with overtaken him right at the finish!  Nicely done, Peter Sagen!!!!   He is meh new favorite to win tomorrow since he’s unstoppable tram!!!  Yays!!

 

 

Awwws, one of Sharp riders came in over 12 minutes behind the leader with his sleeve scraped off during the crash!  It is inspirational that he will ride again another day tram!!!

Fabian Cancellara retains the yellow jersey while some of the crash victims are effectively barred from winning the Tour this year!  Oh mys!!!  It was Make or Break Time on the Tour today tram!!!!!

Thank you for continuing to following the Tour de Underpants through France in the Drunken Gaming Corner!  Haz all the funz meh hearties tram!!!!  Wheeees!!!!

More Spills + Duval-Leroy Champagne!

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Welcome Back to the Drunken Game Corner, where we will continue our exciting coverage of the Tour de Underpants in France!!! Yes indeed, we have more thrills, chills, and spills waiting for you!!

Today’s race, Stage 5, starts in Rouen and finishes in the ancient Roman town of Saint-Quentin.   This is the flattest stage so far, travelling due east.  It is raining at the finish line, so look out for that!

 

 

The cyclists are riding through the Picardy area of Northern France, which includes some of the vineyards in Champagne!  Therefore, today’s beverage is Duval-Leroy Non-Vintage Champagne!  It’s my favorite party Champagne since it’s a tasty and relatively affordable Champagne with a bit less acidity than many of the food Champagnes, so it’s perfect by itself or with a meal.  Plenty of effervescence and lemon, fruit forward green grapes and apples, light yet flavorful on the palate, with a nice clean chardonnay-like finish.  It truly is a delicious beverage!!!

 

 

Who will win today?  Will it be Cavadish?  Greipel?  Sagan?  Cancellara?  Or maybe even Cadel Evans?

We start off with the coverage beginning with the peloton ahead by about 5 minutes with 4 riders in the lead.  Many beautiful fields here as they make their way towards Saint-Quinten.

 Fabian Cancellara is going back to the team car for a chat to relieve the boredom, apparently tram!

 Now they are cruising along past another wind farm area.  Now they are grabbing the food and water bags.  nomnomnomnom!  They are picking up the pace now as they head for the sprint.  I can see the Dutch influence in the architecture here tram!

 Bernie Isen is winning the sprint so far as he pedals hard!  They are attacking!  In the end, it ended up being Ladagnous, Urtasun, and Simon for the intermediate sprint!  Wheeees!

 Oh noes, it’s starting to rain a bit there!  And helmet change time!

 Oh yes, Clean Bottle, with the nipple on top!!!  I just saw a pizza shop there that I would like to visit!!!! nomnomnomnom!

Things have cleared up as they continue on.   Nice bicycle sculpture on the lawn!

Awww, a graveyard with both British and German soldiers from WWI & II.

Epic fields of hay with some turrets in the background!  Now the peloton is catching up, just over two minutes behind at about 30 miles outside of the finish as they crank it up a notch!

 The road has split as a few drops of rain have started.  They are back together on a very narrow stretch with some interesting architecture coming up! 

 Wow, nice squares of farmland among the wind turbines!  Interesting sugar mill and gravel pit!

Here again, one can see the Dutch influence on some of the buildings with the different colors of brick in the same building and such.  Pretty!  This area also has several canals that are still used as a shipping lane and such.  Cool!

The peloton is once again speeding up as they wind themselves around roundabouts and narrow town streets.

Well, that was nice!  Mark Cavandish’s teammates are rallying around him as they get closer to the finish.  Wow, beautiful fields of yellow!

The peloton is in sight of the leaders as the pedal down a veryyyyyyy long straight road through the farming area, just about a minute behind at 10 miles away from the finish line.

 LOL!  At the finish line, before the riders got there, they had some fake race horses going across the line, along with a whole parade of blow-up figures!!! Wheees!!!!

The peloton is behind by 44 seconds at the 6 mile mark!  And another mile done!  And now uphill a bit!  Awwws, nice depiction of a bicycle using a bunch of different colored tractors!!!!! Wheeees!!!!

 Cute kids riding around a sign that says “Long live the Tour” !  Yays!

5 km to go with 29 seconds to catch the leaders!  How ironic, a sudden traffic circle split with a sculpture with some impaled bicycles on the top of it – LOL!

Oh noes!! After a peaceful and scenic day of racing, suddenly there is an accident right at the end!!!  Jonathan Cantwell went down, oh noes!  Some shoulders were touching and down they went tram!

 

 

 

The remaining cyclists continue to pedal their butts off up some narrow and turning roads, along the edge of the canal towards the finish as the gap closes to 10 seconds behind the leaders.  Can the peloton catch the leaders?  They are all pedaling like crazy and then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Andre Greipel comes from the peloton to suddenly take over for the win!!!!!! Wow!!!!  What a sprint!!!!  How exciting tram!!!!!

 

 

 

Awwws, ‘Le Tour’ is spelled out in different colored canoes on the water!  So cute tram!!!

Whew!!!  Thanks again for reading meh latest post about the Tour de Underpants!!! It has been sooo epic to be covering the Tour with all of you tram!!!!  Have tons of funz out there meh hearties!!!

 

 

Day 5 Crashing + Cider!

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After working on meh Pacific Northwest sunburn, I’m back inside for the 5 p.m. coverage of the 4th leg of the Tour de France!

I’m wondering if Fabian Canellara can keep his yellow shirt or if Frank Sagen will win the stage again, or if someone else will manage to win!!!!

Today’s coverage of the stage from Abbeyville to Rouen started about the feeding station.   Today they are riding along the beautiful Alabaster Coast, here at Ste Marguerite sur Mer!  Super scenic, not including the guy with the swimsuit thing going up his butt crack!!!

Ste Marguerite sur Mer

It turns out that one of the riders broke his hip yesterday during one of the crashes but it didn’t hurt him much yesterday, and he didn’t realize that he had broken it until an X-Ray showed it at the hospital!!!!

Yann Hugo had to stop and change a tire right after the feeding station.  The peloton turned away from the misty coast and through a woodsie area.  Oh wait, he had to have another tire changed!  Catch back up!

Now they are heading back along the coast along the English Channel and through some open fields and fields of hay in Veules-les-Roses.  Beautiful!

Yes indeed, the beverage of the day should be traditional cider!!! I lovvve a great cider!!! Get whatever kind is available in your area, whether it’s French or English, it should be totally yumm!!!!

 I love the huge modern wind turbines, also in Veules-les-Roses!  Beautiful!

 Veules-les-Roses, France

Oh noes, I just saw the update about yesterday’s crashes and appeared to include 8 or 9 injuries including a broken tibia, a separated shoulder, chest contusions, a concussion, a huge gash down the front of Mark Cavandish’s leg, and more!!! Oh noes!!!  Take care, everyone!!!!

Now they are heading through Fecamp.  Three riders are in the lead with the peloton a bit over 7 minutes behind.  Yukiya Arashiro is in the lead at the moment and he lives in France year-round.

Ahhhhs, someone is sharing the love with a huge yellow shirt on the lawn, awwwww!!  I loved the Gingerbread Man of hay that appeared earlier too!!!

One of the Dutch cyclists needed a new tire and the mechanic was all fumbling about with the longest tire change so far in the Tour, as the peloton goes riding by!  The little girl outside of Faconne was so thrilled to see the tire change so I suppose it was all worthwhile!

Ohhhh, the Benedictine Palace is beautiful!!!!  So epic!!

Now some the cyclists are getting foodz to share with their teammates!!!   Nice tram!!!!

Wow, someone in meh neighborhood is really having funz with the fireworks at the moment, as someone had issues with his bike helmet and got a new one – Yays!

Nice huge fake giraffe at it starts to rain a bit, and around the roundabout in their brightly colored jerseys and helmets!  Rain water on the camera lenses with some blue skies with clouds off in the distance!  Wet roads in a little town and now some open fields!  Hello Team BMC and Cadel in the peloton!  The leaders of the peloton are having a chat now as the pedal through the tree-lined road!  Oh, there is flourescent rezzing for a few seconds – LOL!

Now the peloton is a bit over 4 minutes behind outside of Alloveyea.  Great fields as the peloton stretches out!

Oh noes, a new crash towards the rear of the peloton as the water bottles go all over and a few wheels about.  Most seem ok through a bit of chaoes.  The road was very narrow here and a few bicycles ended up on the grass to the side of the road.

The LiquidGas team has the word ‘fizik’ on their butts and it cracks me up – LOL!

Awwwws, a football field with a large pink sculpture of a bicycle!

OK, now picking up the pace along the river Seine, the same river that runs through Paris, of course!  The road seems to have dried out now, making it much safer for the riders.  The peloton is almost 2 minutes behind the leaders as they rapidly approach the finish.

Oh cool gate and gardens!  Oh yes the Clean Bottle with removable bottom tram!

 Who will win, Cavandish or Sagen?  The Route de Duclair is a beautiful area as just about 8 miles from the finish with less than a minute behind the leaders as they race through some country side here.

 They are rolling up towards the finish now as the fireworks go off.  Now we see the ancient Abbey from the 12th century as they line up the hill.

 24 seconds behind now, hello firemen display!!!

 The peloton is catching up, uphill at six miles from the finish!  Pedal pedal pedal!  Fireworks go boom here as the frantic pedal mounts!  They are closing in and in sight!!!  It’s every rider for themselves now!!!!

 LOL!  A few almost crashed into the center island, while one rider rode right on the middle of the traffic device, just like he was in Amsterdam!!!

Yes indeed, Rouen is a much larger city than the prior towns they were in, with large bridges across the river Seine.  Looks like a wonderful place to visit tram!!!

Now the peloton is pedaling their asses off tram!!!   Oh noes in front of the shopping!   Someone towards the front of the peloton crashed!!!   Here’s Mark Cavandish on the pavement!  This is probably going to prevent him from winning this stage!!!

 

 

 The aftermath of Robert Hunter crashing right at the finish! 

 

 

 

 

Some riders towards the front were able to carry on towards the finish!!!  900 meters to go over the bridge!!!  Swing hard around the corner towards the finish!!!!  Pedal pedal pedal!!!  And Andre Greipel wins it!!!!  Nicely done!!!

 

 

One nice thing about watching the coverage later in the day is that there are more photographs available on the Interwebs, but the coverage in the evening contains less actual footage and more interviews and profiles of the athletes and more hype in general.   I like the raw coverage in the morning but not getting up at 4:30 a.m. or so to see it – LOL!

Ok, thanks again for reading, meh hearties!!!

~Ettetram, from the Drunken Gaming Corner Tram!!!!

Slack Day on the 4th of July with the Tour de Underpants!!!

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Happy 4th of July, meh hearties tram!!!  I hope all of you dears are having lotz of funz out there!!!!

Thank you for following meh this far through the Tour de France!  I was more fatigued than I thought, so I managed to sleep in a bit this morgen, and when I got up, I discovered that there was no Tour de Underpants being broadcast in meh area until 5 pm!!!  It was quite distressing!  So meh post will be delayed until I am able to view the Tour and make meh goofball commentary!!!  Borkers!!!!!

 In the meanwhile, check out meh Tour de Underpants!!!

Wheeees!

Welcome to the Tour de Underpants, Amsterdam!!!!   Get a tiger butt!!!!